Catching Sam: Book 2 of 5: The MacDonald Brothers by Emily Matthews (best mystery novels of all time TXT) 📗

“Yeah, of course. Everything’s fine. Do you need any tools? I have a cordless drill, and I borrowed a ladder from the neighbor next door.”

Guess she was getting right down to business. “I should be fine with that. Looks like we’ll need a lot of batteries for the alarm system.”

“Great. I’ll head out and get those. Will you be okay here?” She was already heading for her keys.

“Oh, sure,” he said, a little surprised. Why was she bolting out of here so quickly?

“Okay. See you in a bit then,” she said as she all but ran out the door. He heard her car start and watched her back out of the driveway.

“Well, guess I better get to work,” he muttered. She hadn’t even mentioned where she wanted the cameras.

Considering the doors were the most logical place for them, he installed the wireless cameras in the front entryway, outside the slider, and over the garage door. That would show her the main points of entry. If she wanted them on the windows, he could put those up later. She just had to download the app and sync up the cameras, and she’d be in business. It was actually a pretty slick little system.

He picked up the manual for the alarm system to familiarize himself with the way it worked. There were some boxes for the doors, others for the windows. There were fire and carbon monoxide alarms and a base that controlled it all. Each door alarm came with a keypad so you could turn it on and off with a code.

He started with the doors. The cordless drill she’d left him petered out after the front door and the slider. He only had the door that led to the house from the garage to finish, so he went looking for a regular screwdriver.

He began opening drawers in the kitchen, looking for a junk drawer that might have something he could use. On the third drawer, he found a stack of letters, all from a California prison. They were all addressed to Annie at a California address, but most were stamped “Returned to Sender.” They had all been opened.

He could easily take a peek, and no one would be the wiser. The desire to take a look was overwhelming, but he wouldn’t invade her privacy. As he went to replace the letters, he noticed a legal-size manila envelope with an attorney’s name in the return address.

That proved to be too tempting. He set the letters on the counter and pulled out the manila envelope. This could be about her divorce. He pulled out the contents, and sure enough, they were divorce papers. Relieved to see the date was almost two years ago, he quickly flipped through the pages.

They had only been renting, so there was no property to divide. Wayne had apparently had her sign a prenup, so it looked like neither party would have to pay the other anything. It all looked straightforward and simple. Until he got to the last page.

Annie had signed, but her husband had not. On the line where his signature was to go, he’d written one word—never.

Sam didn’t have to be an attorney to know that wasn’t good. He hoped to God this was just an early copy that Wayne had rejected, and the final documents were somewhere else. That made sense. She probably had them in a file cabinet or a safe deposit box.

Feeling guilty, he put everything back the way he’d found it and moved on, continuing his search for a screwdriver. Finally, he gave up and started on the window sensors instead. They were installed using strong, double-sided tape and didn’t require any tools. He affixed the bases but left the tops off. Once Annie came back with the batteries, he could finish those up quickly.

He finished the downstairs and then went upstairs to start there. Curiosity getting the better of him, he went to the room that had been locked the last time he was here. Sure enough, the door was still locked. He looked to see if it was something he could pick easily. Sometimes just a pointy object inserted into the center of the knob would open a lock, but this needed a key.

On impulse, he ran his fingers along the top of the doorjamb, and a lone key fell to the floor. He picked it up and debated whether he should open the door. He’d left the letters, knowing they were probably from her ex-husband, but couldn’t talk himself out of discovering what was behind this door.

He inserted the key and turned. Upon opening the door, he was taken aback, totally unprepared for what he saw. There were boxes stacked around, but amidst those was a fully assembled crib and a rocking chair next to it. The crib was engraved with the name “Avery” on the headboard.

What was this? Was Annie pregnant? And she’d already had a crib made and named the baby? It didn’t make any sense.

She couldn’t be pregnant—at least not with his baby. They’d only been sleeping together for a couple of weeks, and they’d used protection each time. Well, almost every time. Damn that Maui trip.

He knew protection wasn’t foolproof, but the odds of her getting pregnant in the last few weeks were slim to none. It must be someone else’s baby, but whose? Maybe she didn’t know and was looking for someone to be the daddy. Maybe she was waiting to spring it on him and was planning to claim it was his. For the first couple of months, she wouldn’t be showing anyway, and he’d have no idea.

He racked his brain for an innocent reason this stuff would be here but couldn’t think of anything. Perhaps she was holding the crib for a friend. Or maybe someone had given it to her for “someday” when she would need it. But in either of those cases, why would she set it up now? And why keep it under lock and key?

As far