Parker rubbed the back of his neck. “After everything that’s happened this past year, the county approved me to hire more staff. We now have someone on island at all times. I’ll have them put the store on their regular route.”

I turned to Caelyn. “You have something to protect yourself with? A knife? Taser?” I hated the image of Caelyn having to fight anyone, but the idea that she might not have anything to defend herself with was even worse.

A small smile curved her mouth. “You sound like Shay.”

“I don’t know who the hell that is, but if she’s telling you to be cautious, I like her.”

Parker chuckled. “Me, too.” His expression grew serious. “There is a longshot we need to consider.”

Caelyn began twisting the strap of her bag. “What?”

“That this could be related to your parents.”

I didn’t know much about Caelyn’s parents, other than that they had been charged with drug-related offenses and had lost custody of the kids. But Parker’s tone had my entire body stringing tight.

Caelyn’s eyes went wide. “Mom’s out of prison.”

Parker nodded slowly as if trying to put together invisible pieces in his mind. “Hadn’t thought about her as an option. I haven’t been in touch with her parole officer since she was released, but I’ll remedy that.”

Caelyn shivered even though the sun shone brightly, and I had another urge to pull her in close. When would the world give this woman a break? She nibbled on her bottom lip. “She’s shown zero interest in me or the kids. Not once has she initiated contact. Do you really think that after all of these years, the first thing she does is leave me a nasty note?”

Parker rolled off his gloves and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “I’m honestly not sure. But you were an integral part of putting her away for as long as you did. Your testimony, allowing Will to testify, it’s why her sentence was the max.”

“But she’s out. And it’s not like she can be mad about my dad. He never even saw the inside of a jail.”

Parker shook his head. “Some people have bitterness in them that even years won’t lessen. And speaking of your dad, you haven’t heard anything about him, have you?”

“No.” Caelyn looked out towards the ocean at the end of the street. “I used to call the state police and my FBI contact every couple of months or so to see if they’d heard anything, but I haven’t in a while. And it’s not like he’s showing up on our doorstep with presents for all of the birthdays and Christmases he missed.” She looked back at Parker. “What about the people he was mixed up with?”