“Probably. Still, this scrap of paper looks like it was torn from something bigger. Maybe that will give us a clue.” Pausing, he glanced across the table at Sara. “Anything else?”
“Well,” she said, “I do remember that Vicki kept a diary. If you can get a peek at that you might uncover some clues, maybe a motive, in case her drowning wasn’t an accident. She thought she’d uncovered theft so it’s possible someone down there decided to get rid of her. If the diary wasn’t washed away in the flood it may have been sent home to her mother with her other personal belongings.”
“I can ask,” the chief replied. “If Helen chooses to give it to me, fine. If not, there’s nothing I can do legally. Texas police have declared Vicki’s death an accident.”
Sara sighed noisily. “Oh.”
“You taking care, Miz Sara?”
She hesitated, then spoke her mind. “Trying to. I did it Adam’s way and all that accomplished was getting a lump on his brother’s head. I don’t intend to act foolishly, but I am going back to work. My hospital has door guards and cameras in all the hallways, plus plans for defense in the event of an attack. I can’t think of anyplace I’d be safer.”
Adam humphed. “How about away from the public?”
“Like last night?” she said with a touch of cynicism. “That worked well.”
“We had a visitor out at the ranch,” Adam explained in reply to the chief’s raised eyebrows. “They apparently drove off when we left to take Kurt to ER.”
“Whoa. The sheriff’s department didn’t mention getting a call out your way.”
“Probably because the threat passed and we drove Kurt to the hospital. By that time...”
Floyd interrupted. “Hold on. Start from the beginning.”
As Adam explained the previous night’s drama in detail, Sara had to stifle a strong urge to contribute comments. It wasn’t that Adam was leaving anything out. She simply felt compelled to offer her personal opinion.
However, when Adam finished explaining and Floyd looked to her for corroboration, she merely nodded.
The chief pushed his plate away, drained the last dregs of his coffee, blotted his mustache again and got to his feet, hat in hand. “Okay. I’ll get this sent off to the state lab, just in case. In the meantime, I’d advise you two to keep a low profile.” He looked to Sara as he donned his official cap. “I see no reason for you to miss work. Just watch your back and don’t get complacent.”
“Wait a minute.” Adam stood to face the chief. “There’s no way I can keep an eye on her if she goes back to work.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to settle for escorting her to and from.”
Sara realized the seriousness of her situation, yet the astonished expression on Adam’s face almost made her chuckle. He was so used to calling the shots and getting his own way, it was amusing to see him reacting to an opposite result.
Taking pity, she grasped his hand as she slid out of the booth and joined the men. “I’ll be fine. Really I will.”
Adam looked decidedly unhappy. “I don’t like it.”
This obvious comment encouraged her to smile. She gave Adam’s fingers a squeeze when she looked up at him and sweetly said, “Tough.”
To her surprise his gaze darkened, his eyes narrowed and he glared at her. She’d assumed he’d find dark humor in her comment so to see him get angry came as a shock. So did the rest of his behavior. After a moment’s pause he jerked his hand out of her grasp, wheeled and headed for the exit.
A hush came over the dining area. Sara’s jaw dropped. Where had all that fury come from? One minute Adam had been promising to defend her against the whole world and the next he was stomping through the door and into the street.
“You sure pulled the bit tight on his bridle,” Floyd said with a grin that lifted the ends of his mustache.
“Sure looks like it.”
The chief’s laugh echoed inside the small café, bouncing off the wood-paneled walls and causing murmurs among the other diners. Sara was painfully aware that Adam had caused a scene, leaving her and Magill to deal with unwanted attention. She was not pleased. Not one bit.
“Did you get your car back after you found the note?” the lawman asked.
Sara shook her head. “No. We left it at the garage and came to find you.”
“Then I’ll walk you back over to pick up the car.” He gestured toward the door where they’d last seen Adam. “Unless you’d rather chase after your cowboy.”
“He’s not my cowboy,” she grumbled. Her eyes to the floor, she hurried to escape all the stares and whispers. She couldn’t help thinking, Adam is not my anything, and wondering if he still considered her even a friend. Before today she had never seen him display that kind of swift anger or show such a lack of self-control.
The chief accompanied her to the door and out onto the sidewalk before he commented. “Kane takes pride in his work and his life’s goals. We men do that. Don’t sell him short, Miz Sara. He’s one of the good ones.”
“I know that.” Shading her eyes from the morning sun she peered up at him. “Why did he get so mad? I was only teasing him the same as I used to when we were kids. It never bothered him before.”
Steve was smiling as he looked her up and down. “If you don’t mind an old man saying so, you’re no kid now, Sara. And Adam isn’t a shy teenage boy, either. You can’t treat him like one and get away with it. Not anymore.”
“I wasn’t. I didn’t...” But she had and she knew it. No wonder Adam kept acting as if she were his childhood buddy. She was unconsciously perpetuating that concept herself.
Sara made a face and glanced at her companion. The cut of his police uniform gave him an air of authority and helped mask his love of food, but it was nothing like seeing Adam in his fire department garb. Or dressed for ranch work, come to think of it. No matter what Adam Kane wore, which profession he personified, he was the most ruggedly handsome man she’d ever seen. And the most appealing.
Someday, maybe, when he wasn’t in a huff, she’d tell him so. Today, however, was clearly not the right time.
* * *
Adam didn’t go far. He rounded the corner nearest the café and waited. Why did that woman get under his skin so easily? And why was he having so much trouble keeping an even temper no matter what Sara said or did? The answer was plain. He was desperately worried about her safety and cared way too much for his own good. Having her thwart his plans to protect her and then joke about it had pushed him too far because he was so frustrated with her and with their situation.
Further reflection reminded Adam that Sara was behaving the same way he was. Was she on edge for the same reasons? Was it possible she, too, was sensing the kind of personal attraction to him that he was developing for her? Was that why she kept seesawing between camaraderie and pushing him away?
His pulse jumped like a wild mustang when he spotted her crossing the town square in the company of the police chief. Well, at least she’d kept her head enough to allow someone to escort her. That was smart. So why was she so determined to keep him at arm’s length?
Assuming that Sara was headed back to the B Street Garage to claim her car, Adam circled around to his pickup truck and moved it to where he could observe her without calling attention to himself. Since she wouldn’t allow him to openly guard her, he’d have to do his best on the sly. What he was going to do when it was time for him to go back to twenty-four-hour shifts at the fire department he didn’t know, but this would suffice for the time being.
Magill escorted Sara to the garage office and went in with her. Adam watched and fidgeted. The chief couldn’t have stayed inside for more than two or three minutes before leaving. That meant Sara was now on her own again.
Adam was considering getting out of his truck to be closer to her when he saw her familiar small car leaving the lot. She didn’t turn toward him but
that didn’t matter. There were only two places she was likely to go: her new house or the hospital. Both could be reached easily from the center of Paradise, so he started by plotting a course for the closest rather than chase her through the streets and be noticed.
Wheeling into the co-op parking lot to access her new home, he pulled behind an enormous trash receptacle, parked and got out. “Sara, Sara, Sara, where are you?” He knew she wasn’t scheduled to work, so the logical choice had been to stake out the small house Cynthia had found for her. Apparently, he had chosen wrong.
Adam slipped his cell phone out of his pocket to check the time. Given his agitated emotional state it was possible he’d imagined how long it should take her to get there. Barely three minutes had passed since he’d left his truck.
He scanned the area around the small house again.
And saw movement!
Could Sara have parked on the opposite side street and entered through the rear yard? He supposed it was possible even if it was the least sensible choice. He took a step forward. Then another. Something was wrong. Whoever was circling the perimeter of the dwelling wasn’t walking normally. He or she was acting furtively.
Since he was still holding his cell he punched her unlisted number on his contact list. She answered almost immediately. “Hello?”
“Sara, it’s me. Adam. Where are you?”
“Stop worrying. I’m fine, okay?”
His voice was low and gravelly because he didn’t want to be overheard. “Where are you?”
“If you must know, I’m on my way to buy new clothes,” she said, sounding a trifle put out.
“You didn’t go to your new place?”
“No. Why?”
“Because I see somebody messing around outside it. Looks like they’re trying to find an unlocked window. I thought maybe you’d misplaced your keys.”
“I haven’t had time to stop at Cynthia’s to pick them up yet. You should know that. You were with me almost all morning.”
“Right. Listen,” Adam said, “I’m going to go see who it is and what they want. If I don’t call you back in five minutes, call the police.”
“Adam!” Her shout was so piercing he held the phone away from his ear.
“Just do it.”
“Why wait?” she demanded. Adam could picture her facing him down, hands on her hips, eyes blazing.
“Because if I call and the person hears sirens or even suspects I’ve seen him, he’ll run. We need to stop this right now and find out who it is.”
“You’re a firefighter, not a cop.”
“I’m also a marine.”
“That doesn’t make you bulletproof.”
Adam chuckled under his breath, relieved to hear concern from Sara, especially considering their recent tiffs. “You sound as though you might care if I got shot.”
“Of course I would, you stubborn—”
“Now, now, watch your language, Miz Southerland.”
She made a noise that sounded like a combination of disgust and frustration. “The only time I have any trouble being nice is when I’m around you. Wait for me. I’m coming.”
Of course Adam couldn’t allow her to join him until he had cleared the area but he didn’t say so. He simply ended their conversation, tucked the phone back into his pocket and started jogging toward the semi-isolated dwelling.
The shadowy figure he’d been observing stopped moving for an instant, then dashed around the corner of the building.
Adam broke into a run.
Followed the path of the suspect.
Swung around the same corner.
And hit the ground face first.
Sara wheeled into the co-op parking lot, spotted Adam’s truck and skidded to a stop next to it. Where was he?
Not knowing which way to go she paused and studied the scene. There was no way to tell where he had gone or whether or not he was all right. She gritted her teeth. “If anything bad happens to you because of me, Adam Kane, I’ll never forgive you.”
Sadly, her life consisted of many acquaintances yet only two true friends. Losing Vicki had been bad enough. Losing Adam, too, would be... It was unthinkable.
Starting off at a brisk pace, Sara approached the rear of the tiny dwelling. Shade trees had shed fall leaves and they were piled up in heaps against the rear wall. A few branches showed new buds but right now the old walnut tree and its oak companions cast gnarled shadows that reminded her of spooky fall pictures.
Traffic in the nearby street continued to hum. Birds that should have been singing spring’s praises and flitting overhead, however, were silent. So were the insects.
Should she call out to Adam? No. That would be foolish if the threat she was sensing was real. But she could use her phone. Surely Adam had switched his cell to vibrate for safety.
Her hands were shaking as she cradled the smartphone. His cell number was easily located. She tapped the screen, put the instrument to her ear and waited. It started ringing. Echoing.
Echoing? Sara held her breath and strained to listen. His cell phone was sounding off, all right, only what she was hearing wasn’t coming from their connection. It was coming from the other side of the building!
“Adam?”
There was no reply. Trembling so badly she could hardly stand she pocketed her phone as she cast around for a weapon. Anything she could lay her hands on would do.
A brittle, broken tree branch seemed to be the only option so she scooped it up, raised it like a baseball bat and started toward the sound of the ring tones.
Something rustled in the fallen leaves ahead. Sara whipped around the corner, branch held high, and came upon him. Breath left her in a whoosh. Her defensive stance held while she looked for others and demanded, “What are you doing? Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
Then she noticed the dry leaves he was brushing from his hair and clothing as he sat up. “What happened? Were you hit? Shot? What? Answer me!”
He huffed as he stood and continued to clean, leaning forward to ruffle his short dark hair. “Beats me.”
“How did you end up covered with leaves?”
Stretching and obviously mentally checking himself over he shook his head. “I guess I ran into something that knocked the wind out of me.” He rubbed his stomach. “I didn’t see a thing.”
“That wouldn’t be enough to keep you down and out.” She cast aside the crumbly dead limb she’d been carrying as a weapon and dusted off her hands.
“That’s what I thought.”
“When did you get here?”
“I’d just arrived when I phoned you. Why?”
“Because that was five or six minutes ago. A blow to the torso shouldn’t have caused unconsciousness unless you have internal bleeding. And in that case you would probably still be lying on the ground.” She reached toward him. “Let me check.”
Adam took a step back and wobbled. “I’m fine.”
“Look, I’m the expert here. Stop arguing and stand still so I can be sure.”
He ended up leaning against the side of the wooden building while she gently examined his neck, shoulder and rib areas. Other than a chuckle when she inadvertently tickled him, he didn’t comment.
Feeling light-headed, Sara managed to keep her mind on her task only because she was so concerned for his health and welfare. By the time she finished the cursory exam she was fighting the urge to throw her arms around him in relief that he was okay.
Instead, she stepped back. “I’m not finding a thing wrong with you. No broken ribs. Are you sure you weren’t hit on the head?”
Adam put a hand to his forehead and started to shake his head, then stopped. “No, but I am kind of dizzy. What smells funny?”
He sniffed his hand, then extended it toward her. “What’s this odor?”
She gasped. “No wonder
I was having trouble getting my breath. I thought maybe I was having an allergy attack. Somebody used ether to knock you out after you were down!”
“I must have fought them and got some on my hands.”
“Apparently. It’s old-fashioned but effective.”
“That’s crazy. Who runs around with a bottle of ether in their pocket?”
That question sent a shiver zinging up Sara’s spine despite the warmth of the sun. “Someone who plans to incapacitate another person, namely me, since this is my new home.”
The stern expression on Adam’s face told her all she needed to know. He agreed. And he was getting ready to issue more marching orders, orders she was loathe to accept.
Why not listen to his advice? Why not let him boss her around? What was it about their history that made her act so independent and resist his guidance?
A surprising answer popped into her head and she nearly rejected it out of hand. Could she be holding a grudge about his leaving town right after her high school graduation? They’d had plans for the future, at least she’d had. And Adam had totally rejected both her ideas and herself. Watching him leave had plunged a hypothetical knife into her heart. Seeing him kiss and hug Vicki goodbye had twisted it until she’d fled rather than see any more.
So, if she was withholding forgiveness the problem was hers. So was the decision whether or not to deal with it.
Something told her it would have been easier if she wasn’t being stalked and threatened. Then again, if these trying circumstances had not thrown Adam and her together, perhaps she would never have faced the truth. Up against a possible end to her life, petty disappointments of the past seemed inconsequential.
Why was that? she wondered as her thoughts whirled.
She huffed in disgust. Because in the grand scheme of things, they didn’t matter at all.
Making eye contact with Adam before he had a chance to speak again she blinked back tears and simply said, “I’m so sorry.”
Fatal Threat Page 9
