have to rely on natural light for the search. And this late in the day, whatever natural light the house provided wouldn’t amount to much.
That’s why he asked Gemma to round up every flashlight she had at the store and home while he scoured the building for any at City Hall. After gathering up as many LED lanterns from storage that he could carry to the squad car, he texted Gemma.
You ready?
On my way. I found five. Is that enough?
Plenty. I managed to find several lanterns that we used when we searched the woods last winter for Winnie Clover’s dog. I think we’re good to go.
Several minutes later, he watched as Gemma pulled her Volvo into the City Hall parking lot next to his cruiser. She got out toting a gym bag.
She held it up. “I brought the flashlights along with a few bottles of water just in case we get thirsty. And some snacks.”
Lando slid his Ray-Bans on and stared at her. “Why? It’s not a weenie roast.”
She elbowed him in the ribs. “I feel like we’re going on an adventure to a haunted house. Sue me if I’m excited about it. The feeling I have right now is similar to how I felt when I went out there on Monday. Something keeps pulling me back.”
Lando patted his jacket pocket where he’d put a copy of the search warrant for safekeeping. “With this, we get to stay as long as we like. You’ve got hours to walk the grounds, set up camp in the basement if that’s what it takes.”
“Let’s hope I don’t have to do that.” Gemma stuffed her bag in the rear cargo hold of the SUV before settling into the front seat. “Did you call Zeb?”
“Yup. He’ll meet us there. How’s Lianne?”
“Back to walking on air, in love, caught up in planning a wedding for the first week of April.”
“What happened to Sunday?”
Gemma snorted with laughter. “Common sense and logic finally kicked in. But we could’ve definitely pulled it off in a pinch.”
“You really believe that?”
“Sure. Why not? There’s no waiting in California. They get the marriage license today; we throw together a party on Sunday with all their family and friends and call it a wedding ceremony. Done deal.”
“Sounds okay to me.”
“Men,” she muttered with a shake of her head. “Turns out, when push comes to shove, Lianne wanted something a little more romantic than a thrown together event. She and Luke are both okay with waiting three more weeks. Besides, it’ll give Lianne’s parents a chance to get down here and be part of it. Mr. Whittaker wants to be there to give away his daughter. And who could blame him? Remember, Lianne is the only child they have left. And Lianne feels she owes it to them to see a real wedding, not a rushed, hack job.”
“Okay, that makes sense. It’s just that this morning they were all lovey-dovey and anxious to get it done.”
“As I said, when the heat and smoke faded, clearer minds prevailed.” Gemma twisted in her seat and caught a glimpse of another vehicle following them. “Is that Dale?”
“Yeah. He has the original search warrant and plans to hand-deliver it to Jocelyn.”
“Darn. I’d like to be there to see her bony face when Dale hands it to her. What’s the copy in your pocket for then?”
“The caretaker, Bruce Barnhart. That is if he gives us any trouble.”
Dale veered off toward Shell Bay and the Williams’ home while Lando continued northward to Moonlight Ridge. “The plan is for Dale to text if there’s a problem.”
“What is Jocelyn gonna do? Send her lawyers to stop us?”
“Even a lawyer recognizes there’s no fight to stopping a legal search warrant.”
Driving through the Oyster Landing neighborhood and around to the Ridge, Lando made a turn onto a paved road and pulled over.
“You’re waiting to hear from Dale, aren’t you?”
“I don’t want the caretaker coming out with a shotgun and pointing it at us. Then I’d have to have a confrontation with an armed suspect.”
“Suspect. I like that. You think he’d go to such extremes to keep us out of the house?”
“Who knows? But I’m not taking any chances. Barnhart was the guy who called the cops on you Monday.”
“I don’t like him already.”
Lando’s cell phone buzzed with a text message. He picked it up and announced, “It’s done. Dale says Jocelyn was not happy about it.”
“Too bad. She probably didn’t think you’d ever reopen the case.”