Page 11 of Dark Terror
Now a killer was going to take away the bit of peace she’d found.
Gabe glanced at Cara. Her eyes stared at something he couldn’t see, and she held the ugly little dog to her chest as if the mutt was some kind of magic shield against the evils of the world. No one knew better than a cop that evil existed, and he wished there was something he could say or do to make her feel safe again. The urge to protect her hadn’t lessened, and that was still concerning.
He thought of her spending the day with Mrs. Kastrop, of Cara not getting the kind of support she so obviously needed right now. “Where are your parents?” he asked, suddenly realizing that was who she needed to be with. If he had to, he would cover a paid week off to get her out of town until they could catch the killer.
“In a cemetery in Denver.”
Well, that was awkward. “I’m sorry.” He hadn’t lost a family member—thank you, God—but Brittaney had taught him about loss and the helpless feelings that came with it.
“Thank you.” She peered up at him with those gold-flecked brown eyes.
Before he could stop himself, he curled a finger under the strands of blue in her hair, lifting them. “I like this. It’s unexpected.”
“The blue is for David.”
“David?” The streak of jealousy was surprising.
“My brother. He was a cop in Denver. He and his partner were killed answering a domestic call.” She tugged her hair away.
“David Jenner was your brother?”
“He was.”
“I didn’t realize. I’m sorry.” He hadn’t connected the names. “I represented the Dark Falls Police Department at his funeral.” He’d seen two women sitting on the front pew, both with their heads bowed, their hair hiding their faces. The one on the right had been a blonde, so the other one had to have been Cara. She hadn’t had the blue streak then.
“Thank you for being there. It meant a lot to see so many police officers from all over the country.”
He nodded, knowing any words were inadequate. “Do you have any other family? Brothers? Sisters? Grandparents?” Someone who could be with her?
“There’s an aunt, my dad’s half-sister, but she lives in London. They weren’t close.” She looked up at him and shrugged. “Other than her, no.”
They arrived at the library, and Gabe opened the door, then followed Cara in. He didn’t know what to do about her. She was alone in the world and in danger as long as the killer was at large.
“You’re late, Cara,” Mrs. Kastrop said after glancing at the clock on the wall. “And you cannot bring that dog in here.”
“I was—”
“It wasn’t her fault, ma’am. We had more questions for her this morning.”
“I hope this unfortunate business isn’t going to interfere with her job, Detective. Cara, give him the dog and clock in. There’s a cartload of books that need to be shelved. After that, a delivery arrived this morning that needs cataloging. ”
Unfortunate business?“I’m sorry, but I need her to come to the station with me today for a further interview.” What was he doing? But he refused to leave Cara with this cold woman who had no sympathy for what she’d gone through and who didn’t care about her safety.
Cara frowned at him but didn’t comment. After some grumbling about the inconvenience, Mrs. Kastrop walked away on a huff, and he got Cara out of there.
“Have you considered another job?” he asked once they were outside. He’d driven her to work this morning, so he led her to his department issued, unmarked Ford Explorer.
“I love my job, and it’s not like there are an abundance of libraries in Dark Falls. I deal with Mrs. Kastrop by keeping my head down and staying out of sight as much as possible.” She made a cute snorting sound. “That was working pretty well until last night.”
He opened the passenger door for her, then made his way around the hood of the SUV, his eyes scanning around him, looking for any sign of the man who’d been watching Cara.
“Am I really going to the police station with you?” she asked after he was in the Explorer.
“It’s up to you. You can or if you’d prefer, I’ll take you home.” Her eyes were darting from left to right and back again, and he knew she was also searching for the man. That made him angry, and he’d like to get his hands on the dude, teach him a lesson for scaring her.
“I’d rather stay at the library than go home.”
“Then spending the day with me it is.” As to what he was up to, he didn’t have a clue. “We should probably take the dog back to your house, though.” It was bad enough he was going to show up at the station with his witness in tow, but adding Cricket to the mix would only make the ass chewing coming his way worse.
