Page 127 of Whispers and Wildfire

He squeezed my thigh. “For once in my life, I’m glad she meddled.”

We kept sipping our coffee and idly chatting while people came and went. A group of firefighters arrived while Louise and her friends moved several tables together next to us and started taking their seats. They immediately huddled and started whispering fiercely. I wondered how many of the firefighters were on their bachelor hierarchy.

Probably all of them, if they weren’t married.

As the firefighters left with their drinks, another silver-haired lady burst in—Suzanne Montgomery. I’d met her at Luke’s shop. She darted to Louise’s table and started talking frantically.

“What’s that about?” I asked.

“We probably don’t want to know.” Luke took a sip of his coffee. “Some kind of matchmaking, meddling-aunt emergency.”

“Found dead?!” Louise exclaimed. “Oh no.”

That got my attention. I didn’t bother to wait for a break in their conversation. “Who was found dead?”

“The latest missing woman.” Louise put a hand to her chest. “We were hoping she’d be found like the others.”

I glanced at Luke in alarm. The others must have been the women Garrett had been telling us about. Apparently, the woman in Echo Creek had been released from the hospital and was expected to recover from her injuries. The victim from Tilikum—her name was Bella Lewis—had also gone home. I’d heard from Harper that she was doing well, allthings considered. She had a lot of bruises, and he’d broken her arm, but she’d be okay.

“Since when was there another missing woman?” Luke asked.

“You didn’t hear?” Louise asked. “She went out for a jog and never made it home.”

“How do they know it’s the same guy?” he asked.

Suzanne chimed in. “My nephew works for the sheriff’s department, and he was first on the scene. He says they can’t say definitively yet, but the signs were there.”

“I don’t know what’s worse,” Doris said. “The same man responsible for all three, or more than one perpetrator to worry about.”

“Four,” Louise said. “Isn’t that right, Suzanne?”

I sat forward. “Four? There have been four victims?”

Doris fanned herself. “Oh my, I had no idea.”

“One was from Pinecrest,” Suzanne said. “She was found like the others. Hurt, but alive. This one, though.” She shook her head sadly.

“I’d get some pepper spray if I were you, dear,” Louise said, meeting my eyes.

“I already have some.” A sick feeling spread through my stomach. Four victims. What was even happening?

“Although I’m not sure how much good it would do if you don’t see him coming,” she said.

I stiffened in my seat. Luke stood and offered me his hand. “We should get going.”

Vaguely, I nodded. Ignoring the continuing chatter from Louise and her friends, I got up and we cleared our table. I didn’t want to hear more of their conversation.

Luke took my hand, and I held it gratefully as we left the coffee shop and started up the sidewalk. I knew the abductions didn’t have anything to do with me, but four? And the latest wasn’t just an abduction, it was a murder.

But I didn’t want to let something I had no control over get to me. I didn’t want to live in fear.

“Are you okay?” he asked as we walked. “Maybe that’s a stupid question.”

“I’m fine.” It came out like a reflex. “Actually, I feel a little sick.”

He stopped, and we moved aside as a group walked past us. Meeting my eyes, he pressed his palm to my cheek. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

I stepped in, and he wound his arms around me as I rested my head on his chest. I believed him. Or I believed he meant what he said.

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