Leslie knew she couldn’t hide her disappointment. He was probably right, and it was a random one-time thing. Even if she knew one hundred percent that that was true, it was going to take a while before she would feel completely at ease going into her house at the end of her shifts.
“Someone should be at the house in a couple of hours to put in a new window. I’m having security lights installed at the front and back doors, too. You know, the kind that turn on when there’s movement. I considered getting a quote on a security system, but I know it’s out of my price range right now.”
She wished she had a dog. A large dog with a booming bark. She’d always wanted one, but since she was on shift for a full twenty-four hours at a time, it would never work. Maybe one day, in the distant future, that could change.
“The security lights are a great idea. Something like that is often enough to discourage someone from messing with ahouse. We’ll have extra patrols in your neighborhood for the next few days, too. I know it doesn’t seem like much…”
“No, I appreciate it. Thank you.”
Leslie’s stomach growled. She’d grabbed a granola bar on the way out of the house this morning. She hadn’t picked anything up when she took Becca to the cafeteria, but all of the food had smelled delicious. Maybe she should swing through a drive-through and grab a burger on the way back to the house to meet the technician. She considered asking Clint if he wanted to join her for a quick lunch but stopped herself. He was on duty, and he surely had a list of things he had to do next.
The elevator just down from them dinged, and an older woman got out with a small bouquet of flowers in her arms. The vase was light purple, and it was filled with white roses and carnations along with some beautiful little lavender-colored flowers that matched the vase. Baby’s breath filled out the rest of the bouquet.
The woman was dressed in the uniform of a hospital volunteer, including a name tag that had Gloria printed on it. She passed them and paused at the door to Danny’s room, where the posted officer stopped her.
The bright smile on the woman’s face shifted to confusion. “I’ve got flowers for Leslie Granger, room 112.”
Leslie exchanged a surprised glance with Clint. “I’m Leslie. Do you know who they’re from?”
“I have no idea. I just deliver flowers.” She smiled brightly again as she handed over the bouquet. “Maybe they signed the card? Have a great day.” With that, she waved and disappeared back into the elevator.
Leslie held the bouquet away from her and breathed in the heavenly scent of the flowers. The carnations were especiallystrong.
“I take it you weren’t expecting flowers?”
“Most certainly not, and especially not here. This makes no sense.” She moved to a small table next to a couple of chairs and set the vase down. Clint followed her. A large envelope was held in place by a floral pick. The only thing written on the envelope was her name and the room number. Leslie retrieved the envelope and pulled the card out.
On the front were the typed words, “Never Forgotten.”
When Leslie opened the card, there was nothing written inside. Instead, there was a photograph folded in half. She opened it up and gasped. It slipped from her hand and fluttered to land face up on the floor at her feet.
It was a picture of her reading nook.
From inside her house.
Chapter Ten
The moment Clint saw what was in the photo, his blood boiled. The intruder had violated Leslie’s space, taken pictures, and was now using that to target her. And for what purpose? To show he had some level of control? Just to frighten her? Because they’d certainly accomplished that.
She’d barely said a handful of words since she first accepted the bouquet of flowers at the hospital. Now they were at the police station, where he’d shown her to a quiet conference room. She filled out an official report and was now nursing a cup of coffee that Tia, one of their dispatch personnel and self-appointed barista in residence, had brought her.
Clint sat down in the chair beside hers. “I took the flowers and the note down to the lab for processing. I was hoping the flowers had come from the hospital gift shop. Instead, a man brought them into the hospital wearing a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head. He told the volunteer it was supposed to be a surprise andwondered if she’d deliver the flowers for him. She didn’t think anything of it and agreed to help.”
Leslie set her coffee down on the table and pressed her fingertips against her temples. “And the hood prevented the cameras from getting a good look at him.”
“Yep. This isn’t the guy’s first rodeo. The volunteer couldn’t see his face well, either, but she said he was white, middle-aged, and five foot seven or five foot eight. She also commented that he wore black leather gloves.”
“Which means the lab isn’t likely to pull fingerprints off the flowers or the note.”
He hated the defeated undertone in her voice. Even still, she wasn’t wrong. At least they knew more about the person who broke into her home than they did this morning. He told her as much.
“The volunteer said the man already knew which room to have the flowers delivered to. Which means he got that information somehow. We’re going to go through footage from the hospital and see if anyone wearing a hoodie like that came through before. Maybe asked about Danny.”
Leslie slowly exhaled and leaned back in her chair. “Yeah. That’s a good idea.”
“We do need to talk about another possibility that we’re considering?—”
A knock at the conference room door interrupted him and drew their attention. Paris walked in and addressed Leslie.
