Temptation Trails (The Haven Brothers #3)

“Yeah.”

“Jasmine received a similar package shortly before she was murdered. A box with a pair of her underwear in it.”

“Is that in the case file?”

“Sort of. When her sister was interviewed, she mentioned Jasmine had received a couple of strange packages shortly before she disappeared. But everyone assumed they were from an angry ex-boyfriend. He had a solid alibi for her murder—he was in Alaska—so the investigators at the time assumed the packages weren’t related to the case.”

“How do you know they were Jasmine’s underwear?”

“It’s not something I can prove, but that was what Jasmine and her sister believed at the time. They were an exact match.”

“Was she also missing a pair?”

“They didn’t know. That would be hard to determine anyway. Do you know how many pairs of underwear you own?”

“Good point. I doubt my wife does, either.”

“Exactly. But Jack, Harper is missing a pair. We’re sure of it. When she bought them, it was a set of six, and we could only find five. We looked everywhere. Not only was someone in her house, they’re possibly mimicking one of the precursors to a murder I’m currently investigating.”

“And you think it could be Jasmine’s murderer.” It wasn’t a question.

“It’s a possibility.”

He paused for a moment and I heard his long exhale. “I’m going to have Spangler investigate the possible break in at Harper’s house.”

“Jack—”

“Don’t argue. It’s policy. You aren’t working your girlfriend’s case. But I’ll let him know about the possible connection to the Joyner murder. If signs point to this being the same guy, we’ll need all hands on deck anyway. You’ll be involved.”

My jaw hitched. She was my woman, I wanted to be the one to investigate. But he was right, it was department policy. There wasn’t anything I could do. And Spangler was a good guy.

“Okay.”

“And be careful. If this is really connected, and I’m not saying it is, you know what it means.”

“Yeah, it means a lot of things. It means the killer is not only still out there, he’s still in Tilikum. And he’s very aware that someone is looking into his case.”

“It also means he’s good. Not a lot of guys can get in and out of a house without anyone knowing.”

“He’s evaded us for a decade. He’s obviously good at a lot of things.”

“Indeed,” Jack said. “I’ll pass this on to Spangler and he’ll be in touch soon. Where’s the package?”

“It’s on her kitchen counter. Her prints will be all over it. Mine aren’t.”

“Got it. Listen, personal question for you.”

“Yeah?”

“Is Harper uh… expecting?”

My brow furrowed. “How do you know about that?”

“Rumors. Figured if she is, you should know people are talking. And if she isn’t, same thing. You should know people are talking.”

I blew out a frustrated breath. “She is. It’s new. Damn it, I haven’t even told my family yet.”

“No one will hear it from me.”