If I Should Die_ A Novel of Suspense - Allison Brennan [41]
“Got it,” Adam said, and sped past them.
The turnoff wasn’t far, and Adam made the turn in his black Jeep, driving as fast as he could on the rutted, unpaved road. Tim followed.
By the time Adam was in view again, he had the door of his Jeep open, an AR-15 over the top of the window frame, scanning the area across the logging road.
Sean jumped out and got into his own truck. He looked around quickly, assessing potential dangers, but nothing seemed out of place …
… except a blank envelope on the dashboard.
He still had on the gloves from the mine. He opened the unsealed envelope and removed a single piece of white paper on which was typed:
IF I WANTED YOU DEAD, YOU’D BE DEAD.
GO HOME.
THIRTEEN
Sean slammed the door. He handed Lucy the unsigned note as he scanned the horizon.
“We should get out of here,” Tim began. “He could be—”
“He’s gone. He gave us a warning.” Bastard.
Sean continued to assess the landscape. If the sniper was telling the truth, he intentionally tried not to hit them. But the shots came close enough to make him believe, at the time, that the shooter wanted them dead. Or maybe when he missed, he wanted Sean to think it had been planned. Either way, he was enraged.
“He was up in a damn tree,” Sean said, having a hard time reigning in his temper. “I don’t think he stayed around long enough to clean up his brass.”
He started down the logging road toward where the shots had been fired.
Tim followed. “You can’t go out there. He could still be around.”
“Dammit, Tim, he could have killed us!”
What Sean wanted to say was that the shooter could have killed Lucy. When he found out who it was, he’d pummel him. But his anger wasn’t going to help them here and now. He reined it in. “He’s gone. I’m sure of it,” Sean said with as much calm as he could summon from inside. “If there’s any evidence out there about who this bastard is, I’ll find it.” Lucy nodded at him. Sean was relieved that she understood. “Keep your eyes open, Luce.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll go with you,” Tim said. “Adam, stay with Lucy.”
Sean had identified the area where the shots originated. Heading that way, he noted three possible trees in the distance the sniper could have climbed, all the while scanning the area to make doubly sure he wasn’t wrong about the bastard’s departure.
If I wanted you dead …
First the tricky maneuver that led to his fall into the mine, then someone taking shots at him, now further threats. Sean had to find out if the vandalism was related to the shooter, because if it was that meant the dead girl was also connected.
The first tree Sean approached had a large, freshly broken branch near the ground. Sean looked up and noted several cracked branches.
“He shot at us five times,” he said. “I want the brass. There’s a good chance he didn’t wear gloves when he loaded.”
“I’m shutting down the resort,” Tim said.
Sean stared at him. “You’d give in to these scare tactics?”
“He could have killed you.”
“This is my battle now.”
Tim clenched his fists, showing a rare anger. “Like hell it is.”
“Dammit, Tim, he went after me. I’m not backing down, not until I find him.”
“I have to postpone the opening. I have a lunatic shooting at my guests.”
“We’re hardly guests.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s only three weeks until my first real guests arrive, and I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to one of them. If we stop these people before then, great, but I’m still not opening until it’s settled.”
Delaying the opening was exactly what both Henry and Jon Callahan had suggested the night before. Was the shooting to underscore this so-called suggestion? The vandalism had escalated from property damage to arson to attempted murder.
If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead.
“Let’s find the brass first,” Sean said. “Then, I want you to meet with the Callahans. Jon Callahan told us last night that he wanted to talk