[COMPLETED] When down on her luck, Abby Redding lands a position as the personal assistant for wealthy businessman Alex Carter, her first assignment is to fix up his new cabin in a remote town.
Things don't go as planned when an unsolved murder and...
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Cletus Jones had always wanted to take pictures of war-torn countries or natural disasters. Instead, he wound up working with a reporter for some online gossip site that paid well if the shot was worth it. Jenny Blake wasn't the worst person he knew...but her self-absorbed nature made her difficult to get along with. Cletus focused his camera on the woman who supposedly was Alex Carter's girlfriend. He didn't understand what the big deal was when it came to Alex Carter. As far as Cletus was concerned, he was just a rich kid that had become a richer adult. There was no special mystery about the guy but women drooled over him and here he was in some random town no one would know existed unless they accidentally drove got lost there.
Cletus glanced across the small grocery store in Bayless to stare at Jenny. Whether she admitted it or not, she was one of Alex Carter's fans. Cletus could tell. She hadn't taken her eyes off of Mr. Moneybags since he entered the grocery store. It was the same look his mother used to get when she saw the liquor store. It reeked of need and desperation. No matter how hard he tried, Cletus couldn't shake the ominous feeling that came over him when they drove into Bayless.
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Alex Carter was currently talking to Wally, who was behind the register. Meanwhile, Abby waved at Maria who was dressed in a blue dress with pineapple print. "Maria...I see you're all alone today. Where are your friends?" Abby asked.
Maria smoothed down her blue dress. "They're probably at home. I came here with Chuck to get a few groceries. He wanted me to make my famous Chicken casserole."
"Sounds delicious," Abby said, smiling. "You know, I'm glad I got to see you today. I was hoping we could talk for a few minutes."
"Sure! I'd love to," Maria answered. "What about?"
"Well...it's about the cabin."
Maria glanced around as if she wanted to make sure no one was listening. "What about it?"
"I kept thinking about the cabin. I was wondering why the sheriff just moved out so suddenly, even leaving his property behind. Mr. Carter has it in storage but surely the sheriff would want to keep mementos of his family."
Maria looked around again before whispering, "Well...I'm not too sure since I was a kid myself back then but the rumor was he was so shocked by everything he left it all behind."
"He was shocked that his family was murdered? I guess I could understand that. I still don't understand why anyone would want to murder a little girl. It makes no sense. Yeah, I could see how living there would be hard on anyone. I mean...I wouldn't want to live in the same place after that happened. Still, he didn't even take their pictures or belongings."
"Didn't you hear?" Maria asked.
"Hear what?"
"Well after everything happened, Sheriff Don spent a lot of time with his brother in the city. Zachary was in the hospital, after all. What was really odd was when Zachery came back, Sheriff Don didn't. Everyone wondered when Don would return. He wasn't sheriff back then but you know what I mean. Anyway, he didn't. It was probably two years later before he returned. Many women noticed that when he came back he wasn't wearing a ring anymore."
