Page 45 of Deadly Target (Rocky Mountain Courage 2)

“Nathan!” Erin’s voice pulled him back from the edge.

He couldn’t leave her alone in this volatile situation. What was he thinking? He worked to catch his breath and turned to face her. She still held the brass lamp as if she wasn’t afraid to use it.

Concern filled her eyes. “Are you okay?”

He nodded as he caught his breath, glancing outside again. Ginger Man was long gone. Nathan backed away from the window, stepped over the books, and skirted the shelf. He stood near the doorway next to her and looked at the mess.

“What happened? Or should I bother asking? It seems obvious.” She touched his face.

He shrank away from the pain.

“You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing.”

“You’re bleeding. I wouldn’t call it nothing. I hope you don’t need more stitches, only this time in your face.” A flicker of amusement danced in her eyes. She was trying to lighten the mood.

He bit back his frustration so he didn’t direct it at her. Still ... “I let him get the best of me. I had a gun on him, but he wasn’t afraid of it. Didn’t think I would shoot.”

“Because you wouldn’t.”

He shrugged. “He wasn’t threatening my life by throwing books at me.”

She looked him up and down. “Are you sure?”

“Hey, I gave as good as I got.”

She held up her cell. “I called the police. They should be here any minute.”

“It’s taking them too long.” His stitches throbbed, and he hoped he hadn’t torn them, but he would worry about that later.

“It’s only been a couple of minutes.”

It felt like a lifetime.

Navigating this strange situation with the police district for which Dad worked would be interesting. For Nathan’s part, he hadn’t known the house would be ransacked when he got here, though a small part of him had suspected it. “Dad’s house is a crime scene now.”

“Should we leave?” Erin tucked her hair behind both ears, her expression somber. “This feels awkward.”

“I’m not leaving before I look at Dad’s crime board.” Nathan gestured to the wall behind Erin.

She angled her face over her shoulder, then turned to face the board. “Oh. Now we’re talking. This might actually make the trip here worth it.”

Names and pictures and photographs edged around a big white space. Lines were drawn connecting the images and information. “Looks like some missing information.”

Erin approached and lifted her fingers to hover over the clearly demarcated empty space, though she didn’t actually touch it. “Do you think the articles that Dwayne gave Newt were here?”

“I’m not sure. He said he was working on a case that reminded him of the articles. I would think they wouldn’t be the center of his investigation.” Sirens finally blared in the distance. “They’re almost here. We should look around to see if we can find the articles before it’s too late.”

“You don’t think the man who was going through the office got them?” she asked.

“No.”

“Why not?” Erin asked. “It seems the cold case is important and could be the catalyst for everything that’s happened.”

Nathan took in the names scribbled on the board. What were you working on, Dad? He leaned closer and pulled tape off one edge of the empty white space to examine it. A small sliver of paper was stuck to the tape. “You could be right. The articles could have been at the center of this crime board. Whatever was there, I’m guessing that Dad took them down before he left.”

“I’d say it’s a good guess,” Erin said. “He was told not to continue looking into that case, so he took down the articles as a show of compliance, while ... um ... he continued his investigation.” She reached into her purse and lifted out her iPad to take pictures. “We can use this. Do you think the man in here was looking for the articles too?”