glanced around the foyer again before his gaze fell on Madison. “Keep the doors locked.”
“I will.”
Madison stayed at the door and watched Brody as he crossed the lawn to his truck. He’d been a godsend, she couldn’t deny that. It would have taken her at least a week to get someone out to fix that door if it hadn’t been for him. Sure, she could have probably called someone from church or one of her friends to help her, but the truth was that her relationships had suffered since Reid died. The friends that Madison had had in the area while growing up had mostly moved away. She still knew a few people who lived in various parts of the county, but, like most parents of preschoolers, life was hectic and busy and with time they’d lost touch. Perhaps she should have tried harder, but at the end of most days she was exhausted.
After Brody disappeared into his truck, she went back to her office. She glanced out the window as she sat down. The beautiful Chesapeake Bay stared back at her. She and Reid had purchased this home while he’d been stationed down in Hampton at Langley Air Force Base. Madison had actually moved away from York County when she went to college. Then she and Reid had married. Their first station had been in Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. They’d moved back to Seaford two months before Lincoln was born. They didn’t know how long Reid was going to be stationed here, but they knew this was the place they wanted to end up one day. That’s why they’d purchased the small house located across the Chesapeake Bay. The home wasn’t their dream home, but the location was perfect. It fed both Madison’s creative side and Reid’s need for space and land.
Something in the distance caught her gaze. Mr. Steinbeck, an older gentleman who’d taken to being both a school bus driver and a fisherman in his retirement, docked his boat on the bay as he did nearly every day in the summer. Locals nicknamed him Fillet since he sold fish out of his truck off the main highway through town on most days.
The man was a little different. He had a tendency to stare, probably without realizing it, but Madison could never tell what the thoughts behind the stare meant. He’d made her uncomfortable, but Reid had always insisted that the man simply didn’t have many social graces. He’d lived alone for as long as Madison had known him and seemed to simply lack interpersonal skills more than anything else.
A pier jutted through the marshlands to the water, and there were a few locals whom Madison allowed to use the space. Like clockwork, Mr. Steinbeck appeared at the pier every day around eleven o’clock to begin his excursion. And almost every day he saw Madison either coming or going. He would have had ample time to have gotten a grasp on her schedule.
Would someone like Mr. Steinbeck be responsible for committing such a despicable crime? Madison just couldn’t see it. He seemed like such a gentle—albeit awkward—soul. But weren’t the best criminals the ones who blended in, who tricked their victims into thinking they could do no harm?
As Madison leaned back in her office chair, she glanced outside at him again. He stood on his boat, wearing camouflage waders and a fisherman’s hat. He blended right into the environment. And he was staring at her office window, almost as if he could see inside.
What if Mr. Steinbeck was more than a friendly local? What if he was behind her attack yesterday?
Chills ran up her spine at the thought, and she scooted closer to her desk and away from the open window. After yesterday she didn’t know whom she could trust, and she wasn’t taking any chances.
SIX
B rody didn’t want to leave—yet he did. He wanted to stick close to Madison to make sure the madman who was out there stayed far away. Yet in order to catch that madman, he needed to do his job, which required him to be away from her. He’d checked out her house before he’d left to make sure everything was
“I will.”
Madison stayed at the door and watched Brody as he crossed the lawn to his truck. He’d been a godsend, she couldn’t deny that. It would have taken her at least a week to get someone out to fix that door if it hadn’t been for him. Sure, she could have probably called someone from church or one of her friends to help her, but the truth was that her relationships had suffered since Reid died. The friends that Madison had had in the area while growing up had mostly moved away. She still knew a few people who lived in various parts of the county, but, like most parents of preschoolers, life was hectic and busy and with time they’d lost touch. Perhaps she should have tried harder, but at the end of most days she was exhausted.
After Brody disappeared into his truck, she went back to her office. She glanced out the window as she sat down. The beautiful Chesapeake Bay stared back at her. She and Reid had purchased this home while he’d been stationed down in Hampton at Langley Air Force Base. Madison had actually moved away from York County when she went to college. Then she and Reid had married. Their first station had been in Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. They’d moved back to Seaford two months before Lincoln was born. They didn’t know how long Reid was going to be stationed here, but they knew this was the place they wanted to end up one day. That’s why they’d purchased the small house located across the Chesapeake Bay. The home wasn’t their dream home, but the location was perfect. It fed both Madison’s creative side and Reid’s need for space and land.
Something in the distance caught her gaze. Mr. Steinbeck, an older gentleman who’d taken to being both a school bus driver and a fisherman in his retirement, docked his boat on the bay as he did nearly every day in the summer. Locals nicknamed him Fillet since he sold fish out of his truck off the main highway through town on most days.
The man was a little different. He had a tendency to stare, probably without realizing it, but Madison could never tell what the thoughts behind the stare meant. He’d made her uncomfortable, but Reid had always insisted that the man simply didn’t have many social graces. He’d lived alone for as long as Madison had known him and seemed to simply lack interpersonal skills more than anything else.
A pier jutted through the marshlands to the water, and there were a few locals whom Madison allowed to use the space. Like clockwork, Mr. Steinbeck appeared at the pier every day around eleven o’clock to begin his excursion. And almost every day he saw Madison either coming or going. He would have had ample time to have gotten a grasp on her schedule.
Would someone like Mr. Steinbeck be responsible for committing such a despicable crime? Madison just couldn’t see it. He seemed like such a gentle—albeit awkward—soul. But weren’t the best criminals the ones who blended in, who tricked their victims into thinking they could do no harm?
As Madison leaned back in her office chair, she glanced outside at him again. He stood on his boat, wearing camouflage waders and a fisherman’s hat. He blended right into the environment. And he was staring at her office window, almost as if he could see inside.
What if Mr. Steinbeck was more than a friendly local? What if he was behind her attack yesterday?
Chills ran up her spine at the thought, and she scooted closer to her desk and away from the open window. After yesterday she didn’t know whom she could trust, and she wasn’t taking any chances.
SIX
B rody didn’t want to leave—yet he did. He wanted to stick close to Madison to make sure the madman who was out there stayed far away. Yet in order to catch that madman, he needed to do his job, which required him to be away from her. He’d checked out her house before he’d left to make sure everything was
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