Page 24 of Dark Terror
Oh, hell no. “This is police business. You can’t run around investigating, especially not when we’re doing our best to protect you.”
She rolled her eyes, indicating he was an idiot. “I’m not one of those too-stupid-to-live people like you see in horror movies. Trust me, I’m not venturing down to any basements or into any strange houses. I’m a librarian who happens to excel at research. What do you need to know?”
Actually, giving her some harmless assignments would keep her occupied and her mind off a killer stalking her. “Okay, Sheri Carstad worked for Sherman Enterprises—”
“The developers?”
“Yes. See what you can find out about the company. Who owns it, what her job was, if possible, a list of whom she worked with and reported to. Anything you think would be of interest.”
She grinned. “I’m on it. Mind if I watch a ball game while I work? The Rockies are playing tonight.”
“You like baseball?”
“Would I want to watch the game if I didn’t?”
Gabe laughed. “I suppose not.”You’re more fascinating by the minute, Cara Jenner. And that wasn’t such a good thing. “I play on the Shoots and Ladders baseball team. It’s a cops and firemen group. You’ll have to come to a game sometime.”
“I’d love to. My brother played on his department’s team, and I went to the games. I always rooted for the firemen just to aggravate him.”
“You better not root for the other team at my game.” Maybe it was her eyes, now lit with mischief. He’d already noticed that he could read her—her mood, her fears, the wistfulness when talking of her brother, her playfulness—in those gold-flecked eyes that fascinated him.
“I can’t promise anything until I see how hot the guys on the other team are.”
After giving him a smirk, she walked out.
It was definitely the eyes… Well, that was one of the things, he thought, his gaze on her ass, and a damn fine one it was. He also liked the fun side of her and the soft heart that had taken in a dead woman’s dog.
Then there was that kiss. How was he supposed to wipe that from his mind?
Chapter Nine
He was going to kill that fucking dog, right after he taught the woman a lesson for poking her nose in other people’s business. The man waited until after midnight to return to Cara Jenner’s house. He’d come close to getting caught earlier when the dog had spied him hiding in the bushes. It was his fault for being too impatient to get his hands on the witness. He would have had her if not for the damn dog scaring her back inside the house.
How much had she seen? Enough to pick him out of a lineup? When he’d heard a gasp accompanied by the damn dog’s barking as he’d buried the knife in Sheri Carstad’s heart, he’d panicked. Instead of slipping away under the cover of darkness as he should have, he’d panicked and chased the woman. She’d been too far away to catch before she reached the library door, and he’d stopped near a streetlight. That was what had him worried. Had his face been visible? Probably not considering how far away he’d been, but he couldn’t take a chance.
Too much depended on the cops not linking him to Sheri, the reason he was back at Cara Jenner’s house. Breaking in had been a piece of cake. A pry bar and about two minutes was all it had taken to force the sliding glass door open. He stepped inside, pausing to listen for the soon-to-be-dead dog. The little shit had it coming. If not for him, there wouldn’t have been a witness.
When all stayed quiet, he turned on his penlight, thinking himself smart for bringing it. On silent rubber-soled feet he went searching for the bedroom, his ears listening for the sound of barking. He couldn’t wait to put an end to the shit dog that had him sneaking into a woman’s house with murder on his mind. He was a stand-up guy, a man people depended on. He’d worked hard and deserved everything coming to him. He couldn’t… wouldn’t end up in prison.
“Where the hell are you, Cara Jenner?” he snarled when he found the house empty.
Furious that she’d escaped him again, he swept his arm across the top of her bedroom dresser, sending perfume bottles and other shit flying. An opened envelope landed in front of his feet, and he picked it up. It was a bill from her cellular service, and he grinned.
“I know your name, Ms. Jenner. I have your cell number. I know where you work. Hide out all you want, but you can’t escape me.”
He would find her.
* * *
Since Gabe had holed up in his office all Sunday morning, Cara had set up shop on his back patio to continue her research on Sherman Enterprises. The day had been too beautiful to spend inside, and he had a lovely backyard. A privacy fence enclosed the small area from the other town house yards, and an abundance of colorful flowers in pots framed the slate patio.
After the bad dream and restless night she’d had, the peace she felt in Gabe’s little garden was welcomed. Not wanting to make a fuss over a terrifying dream and give it more power, she hadn’t told Gabe. She paused to watch Cricket chase the butterflies fluttering around the flowers. “Don’t you eat those pretty things,” she said when he almost caught one.
He looked back at her, and she could almost see him rolling his eyes, and then he snapped at the next butterfly coming too close to his mouth. She’d been out most of the morning, and getting thirsty, she went inside to the kitchen to get something to drink. Hearing voices, she stilled, wondering who the female was talking to Gabe.
“What were you thinking bringing her here?” the woman said.
Were they talking about her?
