Page 46 of Hold Your Breath
The receptionist looked up from the computer screen and frowned. “He wouldn’t be able to use a different name here. We offer services for veterans. We don’t just take anyone off of the street.”
Lou tried to look confused. “I don’t know why he’s not in your system, then. Do you remember seeing him here? He’s about five-ten, a hundred and fifty pounds, sixty-five, gray hair, has diabetes, and he had those two toes on his right foot amputated last year.”
Tina’s lips flattened. “That describes a lot of patients, and I can’t really talk to you about anyone without verifying that they gave you access to their records. I’m sorry.”
Although she was disappointed, Lou hadn’t expected to get much information from the staff. “I understand. Do you happen to know of any local support groups for amputees or diabetics? My uncle actually lives in the Simpson area, so anything around there would work the best.”
“Sure.” Tina seemed relieved to be able to help with something. Her fingers tapped on the keyboard, and then she pulled several sheets of paper out of the printer. “Here you go. I included ones in the Denver area, too.”
Lou smiled as she took the printed pages. “Thank you.”
As she turned away from the check-in desk, she scanned the waiting area. Callum was leaning against the wall next to the entry doors. When she caught his eye, he shook his head. He must have struck out with the other patients. She pushed away the disappointment as she crossed to where he was standing. That had been an extremely long shot.
As soon as they were back in the truck, she shared the gist of her conversation with Tina. Holding up the support-group lists, she gave them a shake. “I figured we could check with the coordinator of each of these, see if they recognize my ‘uncle’ and know what name he was using.”
“We’ll probably run into the same privacy issues as you did at the clinic,” he cautioned.
“I know. I just like to be doingsomethingto figure out who this guy is. Who knows”—she shrugged—“maybe we’ll get lucky.” When he sent her a smile, she eyed him suspiciously. “What?”
It was his turn to shrug. “You’re doing a good thing. According to the word around Station One, the cops really have hit a dead end. Sounds like the BCA and the local guys are doing more fighting than investigating.”
“We need to keep looking. I feel kind of responsible for him.”
“Because you were the one to find his body?” Callum asked, turning onto the highway.
“And because I kicked him,” she admitted. “There’s some residual guilt.”
He just shook his head at her, looking amused.
“Honestly?” She stared out the windshield. “Out here, it’s too easy to disappear, to become nothing.”
“That could never happen to you. You know that, right?”
“Not now, maybe. When I first moved out here, though, who would’ve looked for me?”
“No maybe about it,” he said harshly. “If you go missing for five minutes, every cop, firefighter, diver, and search and rescue member is going to be looking for you, and we won’t stop until you’re safe again. Got it?”
Smiling, she turned her head to look at his profile. “Got it.”
* * *
Rob was leaving her driveway when she and Callum returned. Reversing the sheriff’s department SUV, he backed along the driveway until he stopped just in front of her cabin. Callum pulled up next to him, rolling down his window so their driver’s doors were side by side.
“I didn’t get much,” Rob admitted as soon as Callum’s truck rolled to a stop. “The snow is so packed that there wasn’t much for boot prints, and I couldn’t find any fingerprints on the propane line or the doorknob to the shed. I took some pictures, and I’ll make a report, but that’s about all I can do for now.”
Callum tightened his fingers around the steering wheel. “Any idea who might be doing this?”
“No!” Lou burst out in frustration aimed more at the situation than at Callum or the sheriff. “I keep trying to think of who I’ve annoyed—other than you—and I can’t think of anyone. I look at each person who comes into the coffee shop, wondering if it could be them, but I just can’t picture anyone I know being a freaky stalker! Seriously, no guy has even asked me out since I arrived, so I don’t even have a short list of the rejected and resentful.”
There were a few seconds of silence before Callum said mildly, “I was talking to Rob, actually.”
“Oh. Sorry.” She paused before waving a hand toward the two men. “Carry on then.”
Rob smiled at her but sobered quickly. “Afraid I’m right there with you, Lou. We have our couple of troublemakers, the people we usually look at when there’s been a theft or some minor damage to property. I haven’t been able to connect any of these guys to you, though.”
With a grimace, she said, “It makes it worse, actually, that I have no clue who it is. It makes me think it could be anyone, which is why I’m mentally accusingeveryone.”
To her surprise, Callum ran a hand across her shoulder and gently squeezed the back of her neck. In the months he had known her, he’d so rarely touched her—or anyone, that she’d noticed—that any physical contact made her jump. The sparks that lit her skin when he touched her didn’t help, either.
