“It’s pretty unlike her. But then again, I’ve never struck back at her. Maybe she finally learned her lesson.”

I hoped that was the case. The last thing Brody needed was someone else turning his life upside down. Things around the island had been quiet for the past week, but everyone was still on alert. No killer had been found. People traveled in groups at night, and everyone locked their doors instead of leaving them open as they often did.

We pulled our mail from the boxes and headed back out to the street. As we walked towards The General Store, my steps faltered. I felt heat on my face, an invisible energy pouring into me. I glanced around and came to a halt as I caught sight of Sam across the street. His eyes locked on Brody and me, his gaze zeroed in on the place where Brody’s arm rested across my shoulders.

“Ignore him and keep moving,” Brody instructed.

I forced my feet to take one step and then another, but they were robotic, as if I’d never made the movements before. “Have you heard whether he had an alibi for the second murder?”

The quick movement of Brody’s eyes told me that he had. I squeezed his side. “Don’t hide things from me.”

“Things have been good for the past few days. I didn’t want to sour the mood.”

He was right, things had been good. They’d felt lighter. As if the clouds had parted in the midst of a storm to give us a break. “I get it, but I deserve to know what’s happening.”

Brody pressed his lips to the top of my head as we rounded the store and headed for the dock. “You do. Griffin told me that Sam has an airtight alibi. And, unlike the first murder, he doesn’t have much of a connection to the victim.”

Disappointment flooded me, and on its heels, guilt. That I wanted Sam to be the one who had killed these men. Because it was somehow easier. Safer than some unknown person wreaking havoc on our little island. Bile crept up my throat, and I took slow, deep breaths to steady myself. By the time we reached the boat, my stomach had settled.

We set our haul of goods on the dock, and Brody climbed onto the Whaler so I could hand things over to him one at a time. As he stowed the bags below deck, I boarded. But my foot caught on a rope, and I stumbled, the mail in my hands sprawling across the deck. I muttered a series of curses that had Brody chuckling as he reappeared. “That’s enough to make a sailor blush.”

I scowled at the rope. “It was out to get me.”