Bailey tried to squelch her disappointment, but it wasn’t working. “So we’re back to square one again.”
Nate leaned closer, his arm pressing against hers. “The good news is, now his DNAisin the system. If he messes up in the future, it’ll get matched to your case, and Paris will be alerted. It’s another step in the right direction. He messed up when he let you see him and again when he left evidence behind. It won’t be long before he makes an even bigger mistake. We’re going to catch him.”
She nodded, drawing reassurance and strength from him. She couldn’t help wondering, though, why their suspect wasn’t in the system. Maybe it was a good sign, and the guy wasn’t a hardened criminal.
Or was it only because he hadn’t been caught yet?
Chapter Twenty-Five
The whole ride home from lunch, Bailey had been unusually quiet. Nate tried to start a conversation several times, but her answers were brief and scattered. He finally turned the music up, letting the boys sing along to one of their favorite songs and giving her the peace she seemed to need.
He pulled into the drive leading to the front gate and stopped to punch in the code. That’s when he noticed a large cardboard box sitting on the ground beside the mailbox.
“Bailey? Are you expecting any packages?”
“What?” His question seemed to break her out of her reverie. She leaned forward to look. “I don’t know. Maybe. We have several companies that send us new products to stock in the store on commission. It could be from one of them.” She released her seat belt and opened the passenger door before Nate could offer to get it for her.
She retrieved the mail from the mailbox and set it in the console. Then she went back for the box. It was the size oftwo shoeboxes lying side by side. “Weird. There’s no label on this.” She lifted it toward the cab of the truck.
“Bailey, wait?—”
She screamed and dropped the box again, practically jumping into the truck, her breath coming in gasps.
“Mom? What’s wrong?” Seth leaned forward in his booster seat.
Bailey looked at Nate, her eyes wide. “Something moved in the box after I picked it up. I think there’s something alive in there.” She gave a violent shudder.
Nate threw the truck into park. “You guys stay in here.”
He jogged around the vehicle. The box had landed on the ground, one corner propped up by a large rock. Nate nudged it with the toe of his shoe and immediately heard something shift around inside.
He dialed Paris’s number. The detective answered on the second ring.
“Paris here.”
“Hey, it’s Nate. We’ve got a suspicious package out in front of Bailey’s place—no label or return address. There may be a living creature inside. Something’s definitely moving around in there.”
“Steer clear of it. I’m sending a unit your way.”
With that, the connection ended. He got back into the truck. “The police are on their way. While we wait, let’s take a look at the camera footage and see if we can figure out who left it.”
“What if there’s a puppy in the box?” The question came from Seth. “Or a guinea pig?”
“Or a rhino.” Jordan cackled at his suggestion. “A biiiiig rhino.”
Nate looked in the mirror at the youngster. “That would be quite the magic trick, wouldn’t it?” He glancedover to see Bailey smiling at her son’s antics in spite of her worry.
He half listened as the boys went through idea after idea, trying to one-up each other.
“Here we go.” Nate positioned the phone between them. Bailey leaned in so she could see the screen, too. She rested an elbow on the console, the sleeve of her shirt tickling his arm. “Here’s the first recorded footage.”
They watched as a woman in a postal service uniform placed several envelopes and flyers in the mailbox and closed it again. She walked away immediately and didn’t return with the box.
“That’s our normal mail lady,” Bailey confirmed. “She’s been delivering in this area for over a year now.”
“Let’s see what this second recording is. It looks like maybe ten minutes after the mail was delivered.” He started the next video. Both he and Bailey leaned in closer, their heads nearly touching.
A man walked into the frame, a large-brimmed hat pulled low over his ears and blocking any view of his face. Thanks to a long-sleeved shirt and dark pants, there was no way to see any distinguishable marks.