The Cradle Conspiracy. Christy Barritt

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      He handed Sienna hers. “Sorry—no cream or sugar. But it’s warm.”

      “Thank you.”

      He sat across from her again, his thoughts spinning toward the unknown future. “You said you brought something for Colby to eat in the morning, correct?”

      “Yes, that’s correct. I grabbed some of his favorite snacks and some juice, cereal and bananas before we left.”

      “Good, at least we don’t have to worry about that.” He had so many other things on his mind—food wasn’t at the top of his list. He and Sienna could make do with whatever they found, but not the baby.

      He glanced up as he felt Sienna studying him.

      “Why are you helping us, Devin?” she asked, not looking the least bit embarrassed or apologetic to be caught staring. “Why put your own life at risk?”

      “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I sat back while something happened to you.”

      “But you don’t even know us.” Confusion stretched through her voice.

      “I don’t have to know you. I know enough. You’re a single woman and Colby is a child. I can’t leave you on your own with someone trying to kill you.”

      She held her coffee in front of her with both hands, ready to take a sip. “Well, that’s really nice of you. I just hope you don’t regret it. I’m not sure what lies ahead.”

      “None of us do, do we?” Devin’s voice caught. His whole life had been proof that what a person hoped waited for them in the future was often not reality.

      Sienna took a sip of her coffee and leaned back. “No, we don’t. Funny how we’ve lived beside each other for six months and this is the most we’ve ever spoken.”

      If Devin was smart, he wouldn’t be too chatty now, either. Sienna did look so inviting, though, with that black-and-red flannel blanket around her and with her fingers hugging that coffee mug.

      Maybe that was why he’d always stayed away from her, for that matter. Because Sienna was inviting, and he didn’t want to tempt himself.

      His heart would always belong to his wife. To even entertain the idea of giving his love to someone else felt like a betrayal. So his walls went up. And they stayed up. It was all he knew to do.

      Devin needed to make sure those walls stayed stronger than ever. Because the peril around them could test all of his limits.

      * * *

      Sienna took another sip of her coffee, her mind racing. She hated just sitting here and waiting. Hated the questions fluttering in her mind. There had to be something she could do—something besides thinking about the turbulence in Devin’s gaze and the haunted look in his eyes.

      She swallowed hard and pushed down the questions about her handsome neighbor. She had other much more pressing things she needed to consider and figure out. The sooner they had answers, the sooner she could resume her life.

      “Devin, is there a computer here?” she finally asked.

      “There’s one in the corner. Why?”

      “Do you mind if I use it? I’d like to do my own research on Anita.”

      “I suppose it can’t hurt.” He stood and directed her to an old desktop. “We’ll have to use my hot spot to log in. No internet here.”

      “I should have guessed.”

      Sienna sat there, her fingers poised to begin typing. As she hit a key, the computer came to life. The glow from the screen cast its light in the room.

      Devin didn’t move from his spot beside her, peering at the screen in curiosity.

      And something about his nearness had Sienna’s nerves on edge.

      It was the situation, she told herself. And that was all.

      After getting signed on to Devin’s hot spot, she typed Anita’s name into the search engine. A little ball formed on the screen, letting Sienna know it was going to take a moment to get her results. Sienna couldn’t help but muse at the complete silence around her.

      At home, she could hear the air blowing through her vents as the HVAC either chilled or heated her house. Could hear the hum of the lights. The swish of the dishwasher. Cars passing by on a nearby highway.

      Here...there was so much stillness that it was almost unnerving.

      The wind blew a spattering of debris against the cabin just then, breaking up the tension that had begun to stretch across her shoulders. She hoped that was the only unexpected sound she heard tonight. No more windows being shoved open or unexpected footfalls or the click of a gun being cocked.

      Finally, the little ball on the screen disappeared, and results were listed down the page.

      It was like Detective Jenson said. Anita’s social media account didn’t appear until four months ago. But Sienna herself hadn’t opened an account until six months ago. Social media just wasn’t her thing.

      Sienna clicked on the woman’s profile picture and studied it a moment. Anita was petite—probably just over five feet—and twenty pounds or so overweight. She had blond hair that was cut to her shoulders in no particular style. She hardly ever wore makeup, but she did wear a necklace with a crown trinket at the end.

      Sienna had asked her once if there was any significance to the jewelry, but Anita had told Sienna that she just liked the piece.

      There were no pictures of Anita with Colby, nor did her profile share very much information other than the fact she liked ice cream with caramel on top, she loved working with children and she was born in September.

      Why were there no pictures of her with Colby? Someone as bubbly as Anita should thrive on social media. And the woman was always snapping pictures on her phone. She insisted on showing them to everyone when she got to school each day. It wasn’t a bad thing. But even when Sienna was in a hurry, Anita didn’t seem to notice. She had all the time in the world.

      “It just doesn’t make sense,” Sienna muttered, leaning back in the rickety computer chair.

      Devin shifted beside her. “Maybe she doesn’t like being online.”

      Sienna shook her head. “Anita seems like the type to love stuff like this. I just can’t believe she had nothing until she moved to this area. She was the type of person who would insert herself into conversations when she wasn’t welcome. She was clueless about it. Or she’d interrupt you to tell you something new that Colby had done. She had one of those grating personalities where everything was all about her.”

      “It sounds suspicious that she doesn’t have a more flourishing social media presence then, doesn’t it? People that like attention seem to thrive on social media.”

      Sienna twisted in her chair to better face Devin and see his expression. “Why would she move here and create a new identity?”

      “Maybe she’s running from something. Maybe СКАЧАТЬ