The sheriff leaned forward, sweeping his gaze over the group. “Here’s the plan. We go through Carter’s findings, keep gathering evidence, and build a case that’s too solid to ignore. I’ll reach out to my contacts and get external oversight involved, but we need to stay quiet and keep this under wraps until we’ve got everything lined up. No one leaks anything. We can’t afford for them to get ahead of us.”
Dale nodded. “We’re with you, Gabe.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Whatever it takes, we’ll see this through.”
Harper met his gaze, her eyes filled with determination. “We can’t stop now. We owe it to Mary and everyone else who was hurt by what they did. We’re going to finish this.”
Gabe met each of their gazes, his expression one of unwavering support. “All right then, let’s get to work. We’re going to take them down, one step at a time. And we’re going to make sure the truth comes out, no matter what.”
As the group huddled closer to review the evidence, Cas knew they were in deep, and the risks were real, but he was determined to see Harper and Sadie, as well as Mary, come out on top.
It was time to bring Harland County’s dark past into the light, and they were ready to do whatever it took to make sure justice was finally served.
***
Cas stood near the window, arms crossed as he listened to Harper and Gabe discuss their next steps. The tension in the room was palpable, everyone on edge as they tried to piece together the final elements of this tangled mess. He glanced out toward the driveway, where his truck was parked by the garage. It was quiet, the sun casting long shadows as the day moved on, but Cas couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched, that something was coming.
The sudden crash of shattering glass tore through the house, startling everyone. Cas’s heart leapt as he turned toward the sound, his instincts immediately kicking in. He bolted for the back door with Gabe and Mac right behind him, the three of them racing outside. Cas’s eyes darted to Harper’s truck, and he felt his stomach drop at the sight of the shattered back window, glass scattered across the ground.
“What the hell?” Cas muttered, scanning the area. Whoever had thrown the object was nowhere to be seen, but he wasn’t ready to let it go.
The three of them spread out, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone in the area. Cas sprinted to the edge of the driveway, his eyes darting to every corner, every possible hiding spot. The neighborhood was quiet, shadows cast from the setting sun made it impossible to see clearly. Cas’s frustration grew with each second that passed without any sign of the culprit.
“Nothing,” Gabe called, his voice tinged with annoyance. “Whoever did this is long gone.”
“Probably had a car waiting for him,” Mac said, phone in hand. “I’ll get Carter on it.”
He clenched his jaw, kicking a piece of broken glass in frustration. “They’re messing with us, and they know it. They’re getting braver, too. This happened under the sheriff’s nose.”
Gabe nodded, his expression tight. “Desperate people do desperate things. They’re trying to shake us up, but we can’t let them.”
Cas turned back to the truck, his gaze landing on the object that had been thrown through the window. A thick, half-melted candle lay among the shards of glass on her seat, its wick charred and blackened. A note was tied around it, the paper singed at the edges and smeared with soot. Gabe pulled a latex glove from a pocket in his uniform and carefully picked up the candle, untied the string then unfolded the note.
“‘Keep going, and you’ll end up in ashes like the rest,’” Gabe read, his voice low. He looked up, meeting Cas’s eyes. “They’re escalating.”
Anger flared through Cas swift and strong. “This has gone far enough. We need to use the evidence we’ve already gathered and shut this down before someone really gets hurt.”
Mac, who had been examining the ground, stood up and dusted off his hands. “This is more than intimidation now. They’re making it clear they’re willing to act, and that puts everyone at risk.”
They headed back to the house. Gabe pulled out two evidence bags and shoved the candle and note inside them along the way, his expression grim.
Cas understood the magnitude of the situation and it pressed down on him, every step he took heavy with frustration and determination. As soon as they were in the house, Dale and the girls advanced, asking what happened.
“Found another note,” he replied, then asked his brother to pull up the footage from the cameras mounted around the house.
“Already did,” Dale said, holding up his phone.
Cas stood behind his brother with the others, fixing his eyes on the screen as the footage played. They watched as a figure darted into view, face obscured by a baseball cap pulled low. Dale rewound the footage, slowing it down to try and get a better look.
“Check this out,” Dale said, pausing the footage on the clearest frame. “We’ve got something. Not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.”
The figure glanced up for a moment, revealing just enough of their face to be partially visible.
Cas leaned closer, studying the grainy image. It wasn’t a full view, but the person’s face was just visible enough to catch a few defining features. A thin male, about five feet eleven, in his late thirties, no facial hair. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
“Send that to me,” Gabe said, pulling out his phone. “We’ll run it through our systems and see if we get a hit.”
Mac nodded. “Send it to Carter too. He can work his magic on it, see if we can get a clearer picture.”
