“Seth! Come back here,” I whispered, loudly.
He slipped and grabbed my hand. I took a moment to convince my heart to stop racing and realized I couldn’t hear Mac and the other officers inside anymore. I leaned over to peek through the window and almost lost my balance when I saw Mac’s face peering back at me. He rolled his eyes and shoved the window open.
“Come on. I wondered how long you would stay out there.” He put his hand out through the window. I took it and he pulled me inside. So glad to be safe and not sliding down the roof, I clung to him for a moment. I also thought that would remind him of how he really didn’t want to arrest me. I hoped the guys were safe—that he hadn’t seen them—but then he pushed me away and stuck his head out the window again.
“You guys coming or are you enjoying the weather?”
Seth and Alex climbed back into the attic and waited, casting nervous glances from me to Mac and back again. Their clothes dripped quietly onto the floor, and they stood as still as possible. They both knew better than to say anything.
Mac crossed his arms. Seth shuffled his feet and continued to study the floor. Alex pushed his hands in his back pockets and looked at the ceiling.
“How did you know we were out there?” I said.
“Your Jeep is easy to spot and there’s this.” Mac passed his phone to me—there was a picture taken from the backyard of the three of us standing on the roof before it started raining.
I handed it back. “Charla?”
Mac nodded. “She was smart enough to come in when the rain started.” He left the rest of that statement alone.
I waited. I knew Mac wouldn’t be able to hold off for very long.
“What are you doing here? How did you get in? I should be taking you all down to the station.”
“I think we’ll leave you two alone,” Alex said and snagged Seth’s sleeve. They both raced down the ladder to the floor below.
Mac turned slowly to face me.
“We had a key so, technically, we didn’t break in,” I began.
Mac pinched the bridge of his nose.
“We wanted to help Dylan. He couldn’t have hurt Rafe. We were just looking for some other reason why someone would want Rafe dead.”
Mac nodded and then shook his head. He took a deep breath and I sensed he was maybe counting to one thousand.
“I can’t do this again,” he said. “You and your gang of amateur operatives have to back off and let me do my job.”
“But—”
“No. I almost lost you last summer. Seth could have been killed. Do I have to remind you of the danger?”
I shook my head.
“If I have to put all of you in a jail cell to keep you protected, I will. Fortunately, I think Dylan is the murderer and he’s already in prison so you’re safe for now.” He put his hand up to stop me from interrupting. “If that changes and I sense any risk to any of you . . .” he dropped his hand. “Help me out here, Clyde.”
I didn’t want to see him so worried and harassed. But he didn’t ever listen. Once his mind was made up, he was like Aunt Vi with a mission—unstoppable. I nodded, indicating acquiescence that I didn’t feel.
18
Seth, Alex, and I left Rafe’s house under Mac’s watchful eye.
The rain had slowed and we walked to the car, where we were greeted by the wagging and woofing dogs. Baxter ran the length of the backseat, causing the vehicle to rock. So much for subtlety. We climbed in and I started the Jeep and put it in gear. Before I had a chance to pull away from the curb, a black Tahoe barreled past.
“Hey! That was Skye!” Seth said from the backseat. “What’s she doing here?”
I turned to look at him. “Are you sure?”
He nodded.
I suppressed a grin. Seth had mentioned Skye at every opportunity since he met her, but he did have a good point. What was she doing in Rafe’s neighborhood? I couldn’t imagine that she had been involved in his death, but she might have insight into what was happening in his life just before he died. I pulled out to follow her.
I wasn’t sure whether this was a good idea. Mac had just extracted a promise that I wouldn’t involve myself. But how dangerous could a teenage girl be? We caught up to her at a stoplight and Seth jumped out of the Jeep before I could stop him. He knocked on the passenger window and gestured to a parking lot up ahead. He jogged back to the Jeep and climbed in.
“She’s gonna pull over in that gas station.”
We parked the Jeep right behind Skye’s Tahoe and got out, to the loud objections of the dogs. Tuffy jumped into the front seat and put his front paws on the dash, barking the whole time. Baxter sat more calmly in the back and volunteered a low woof whenever Tuffy stopped to take a breath.
Skye climbed slowly out of the driver’s side. Faith hopped out of the passenger seat and zipped around to where we stood. Skye gave us a dazzling smile.
“Hey,” Seth said with the air of someone passing in the hall.