* * *
JJ ended hercall with Corrie and left her cell phone on the coffee table. She left her house soon after.
The sun wasn’t setting but the heat wasn’t as high as it had been during the day. A fact that made her exercise clothes less stifling. Even the small bag she was wearing across her chest wasn’t as uncomfortable as it would have been had they been in the thralls of a southern summer. She adjusted it as she drove to the park near Main Street. She adjusted it again once she was outside and walking the beginning of the path.
Seven Roads wasn’t that difficult of a place.
It was small but spread out enough that not everyone who lived within the town limits was on top of each other all of the time. Which meant she could do something as innocuous as jogging to get her close to Jamie Bell’s home without raising any suspicion.
JJ started her run slow.
Her leg muscles thanked her for the act of mercy.
Since her fight and run-in with Deputy Collins, her ribs had let her know quickly that any exercise was a no-go for a while. The forced break from working out had also bled into her search. She had taken the last week to be as normal as possible instead. Partly, she was waiting for the potential other shoe to drop from her break-in at Josiah’s. Partly, because even without anyone pointing fingers at her, the town’s attention had slightly turned her way.
So, she had waited.
Then she’d heard that Jamie Bell was about to leave town on a three-month-long business trip.
Which meant searching his house was now or—three months later.
While JJ was good at playing house by herself for a week, three months was too long. That didn’t mean she was going to make the same mistake as she did going into Josiah’s home. This time, she was going to scout the place longer, only going in when she was sure no one else was around.
And if she found proof that he was the one she’d been looking for?
Then you’ll what?she thought to herself, not for the first time.Tell him that you’re his biological sister who isn’t actually dead and that you’re back in town to make sure the people who almost killed you don’t try and kill him?
JJ picked up her pace. She shook her head slightly at how ridiculous it all sounded.
However, that didn’t mean it wasn’t true.
That’s why she had to be careful, even when she needed to be fast.
The park around her was replaced by the neighborhood that shared a sidewalk with it. Trees were sparse, manicured yards were not. There was a homeowners association. The only one in all of Seven Roads.
Jamie Bell was making decent money as a travel writer.
If he ended up being her brother, JJ made a mental note to be proud.
Until then, she passed by his house at a slow clip and took in as many details as she could.
Two-story. Twelve hundred or so square feet. No visible security cameras or a doorbell camera. The garage was single-car and closed. A vehicle was in the driveway, but it didn’t match the SUV he usually drove. JJ had heard he had a boyfriend but didn’t know what kind of car he used, only that he lived across town and lived with and took care of his grandfather.
They were probably preparing for him to leave the next day.
She kept on jogging until she was well past the house. An old frustration welled up inside of her as the concrete passed beneath her feet with each new step. She was looking for a needle in a stack of needles…while pretending she wasn’t.
All while racing against someone else looking for the same needle.
She wished it was easier.
She knew why it couldn’t be.
She—
“JJ?”
JJ stopped in her tracks. She’d been so focused on Jamie’s house in the distance, she had let her guard down to the street behind her. A truck was idling on the other side of the two-lane road.
