Page 14 of Out of Time (Undaunted Courage #3)

“An excellent idea, with a potholder pyromaniac on the loose.” Natalie limped over to the counter. “I’ll lock up behind you once I write my note to Micah. You two enjoy what’s left of the evening.”

Brad motioned to the back door. “Shall we?”

“Thanks.” Cara started across the room. “Natalie, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“I’ll be in the study as usual. You may want to turn on the light outside beside the door.” She waved that direction. “It’s grown quite dark.”

Brad reached past Cara to pull the back door open as she flipped the switch, inhaling the fresh, subtle fragrance wafting from her hair. It smelled like springtime and hope and—

“Give me a couple of minutes to get the laptop and bag.” Cara angled toward him after she exited onto the galérie. “I’ll meet you here.”

Laptop. Bag. Right.

“I’ll, uh, check my messages while I wait.” And try to corral his unruly hormones.

Unfortunately, they weren’t anywhere near under control when she rounded the corner of the house four minutes later.

“Let me take those for you.” He motioned to the items she was carrying, putting his back to the light to keep his face in shadows. Who knew what his expression looked like?

“I’ve got the laptop, but if you want to carry the bag, I’d appreciate it.” She handed it over.

They descended the steps from the galérie and walked down the path. “So now that we’ve left Natalie behind, what’s your take on the fire?”

Twin furrows creased her forehead, visible despite the darkness closing in around them as the glow from the light beside the door faded.

“I don’t know what to make of it. From what I’ve seen during our brief acquaintance, Natalie’s not careless in general, and certainly not with anything that could be dangerous.

And her mind is as sharp as mine. If she says she didn’t burn a potholder and put it in the trash, I’m inclined to believe her. ”

“She did have two dizzy spells in the past week, though. I wonder if they could have messed with her brain.”

“Not that I’ve seen, and I worked with her for hours last week. To tell you the truth, she’s as puzzled by the dizzy spells as she is by the fire. She told me that other than her bout with polio and an illness during her college days, she’s always been in excellent health.”

“I’ll talk with Paul and Lydia, since they were in the house today. I don’t have contact information for her cousin.”

“I’m sure Natalie would provide it if you asked, but I doubt any of them—” Cara caught her breath as she stumbled on an uneven flagstone.

He grabbed her arm. “Watch your step.”

“Thanks.” Once she regained her balance, he released her arm and they continued forward. “I usually take a flashlight if I’m out at night. Which I try not to be.”

They rounded a bend in the path, and the cottage came into view ahead of them, a dim light burning by the door.

“I don’t blame you. It would be easy to fall in the dark.”

“I’m not concerned about that. But the criminal element tends to like the dark.”

“I don’t expect you’ll run into anyone out here except Micah. Granted, he’s a bit odd, but he’s never been involved in any trouble in all the years he’s lived on the property. I doubt Natalie would keep him around if she had any worries about his character.”

Cara stopped in front of the cottage and pulled out her key. “That’s what Steven, her cousin, says. I suppose for a city girl, isolation can breed apprehension.”

He pivoted away to scan the surroundings. “Caution is never out of place.”

“I’m sorry.” She touched his arm. “I missed that.”

He swiveled back to her, letting the dim light beside the door illuminate his face as he repeated the comment.

“That’s what my brother and sister always tell me.” She smiled. “I suppose law enforcement types all think alike.”

“You have cops for siblings?”

“No. A detective and a fire investigator.”

“That’s a lot of law enforcement in one family. Were you tempted to join the ranks too?”

“No. I’m content to spend my days diving into research that would put most people to sleep—including my siblings. They investigate deaths—and other crimes. I investigate dying languages.” The corners of her lips tipped up, and she shrugged. “What can I say?”

“I can’t speak to your research overall, but I think your current project is very interesting.”

“If you’re from the area, that’s probably because it’s a familiar subject. Did you grow up around here?”

“Yes.”

“Do you still have a ton of family close by? Everyone seems to, from what I’ve gathered in my research.”

His stomach knotted. “Not anymore. My brother’s career took him to upstate New York, and my parents retired to Florida a few years ago. Mom’s people are from Idaho, and Dad was an only child. What about you? Is your family close by?”

“My brother and sister live in St. Louis. Mom and Dad are both gone.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too. They were the salt of the earth.” Her voice rasped, and she motioned toward the cottage. “I should go in and let you be on your way. I bet it’s past your quitting time.”

“As a matter of fact, I’m not on duty today.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Then why did you come out here tonight?”

He frowned.

Good question.

There’d been no official obligation to respond to this callout, nor to instruct his deputies to let him know if another SOS came in from Natalie’s house.

So why had he?

As the explanation slammed into him, it drove the air from his lungs like a punch to the solar plexus.

He’d asked to be alerted for one simple reason. Another SOS would give him an opportunity to cross paths again with the woman standing in front of him.

And that was wrong, wrong, wrong.

It was also unfair to Elizabeth.

A tsunami of guilt crashed over him, but he fought it back. Cara was waiting for an answer, and he had to come up with a plausible excuse.

“My senior deputy alerted me to the call, and I decided to swing by. Natalie’s a fixture in the community, even if she keeps a low profile, and I was concerned about her.”

True. Just not the whole story.

Cara gave a slow nod. “I admire your dedication to your job.”

“It’s not a nine-to-five calling, that’s for sure. But it is getting late. I should leave.” He backed off a few steps. “Let’s hope the crisis cluster has passed.”

“Amen to that. Thanks for walking me back to the cottage.”

“My pleasure. Good night.” He turned on his heel and escaped into the darkness.

Yet as he strode away—and despite the guilt pricking his conscience—he admitted the truth. From the moment Cara had appeared on his radar, the darkness he’d been living in for the past three years hadn’t felt quite as oppressive.

He’d have to deal with that ... and the implications.

But not tonight.

Instead, as he circled around to the front of Natalie’s house, he refocused on the events of the evening.

While the fire had done no lasting harm, Natalie’s insistence that she hadn’t used a potholder, let alone burned one, was troubling. Especially since this incident had come on the heels of her dizzy spells.

Yes, people who were older could be prone to health glitches. And yes, accidents like fires in trash cans happened. It was possible Natalie had had a memory lapse despite her insistence to the contrary.

Nevertheless, the condensed timeframe didn’t feel right.

He opened the cruiser door and slid behind the wheel.

Maybe he was looking for connections that didn’t exist. Maybe everything that had happened was innocent. Maybe this was the last call he’d make out here during Cara’s tenure.

Yet deep in his gut, he had a feeling there was more to come.

And that the next incident wouldn’t be nearly as innocent.

THINGS COULDN’T BE GOING ANY BETTER . Faster, yes, but the pace would accelerate if problems continued to crop up at Natalie’s.

Glass of ice water in hand, I wandered outside, into the darkness. At least the heat had abated somewhat.

I settled into my favorite chair and took a sip of the cold liquid.

Now that the groundwork had been laid for my plan, it was time to begin dropping strong hints to Natalie. Convince her to give my proposition serious consideration. It would be so much easier to get what I wanted—what I needed—if she was cooperative.

If she wasn’t?

More persuading might be necessary.

I grimaced.

That wasn’t my preference. She was a nice woman who’d never hurt anyone in her life. On the contrary. Everyone knew how she’d taken care of her father in his declining years.

A mosquito landed on my arm, and I slapped at it with my free hand. But not before it pierced my skin.

Muttering an oath, I swigged my water.

Everybody was out for blood these days.

That’s why you had to protect your interests. Especially when the stakes were high.

Best case, Natalie would come around. She was a logical person. Even if she didn’t want to admit she or her house were vulnerable, it was hard to argue with hard evidence.

The bigger issue could be the professor. As long as she was on the premises, Natalie might not see an urgent need to take any action.

So it was possible Cara Tucker would require some direct convincing to vacate the property.

That would be tougher to pull off but not impossible. I’d have to noodle on the best approach to take with her ... but I had a few cards up my sleeve that could do the trick.

Another mosquito buzzed me, and I waved it away as I stood and trekked back to the house. I wasn’t going to win my battle against the winged marauders on this Sunday night. I was too outnumbered.

I slipped back inside, closed the sliding door behind me, and deposited my glass on the counter.

Froze at the streak of red on my arm.

Blood.

It had to be from the mosquito I’d swatted.

Swallowing past the bile that rose in my throat, I twisted the faucet and scrubbed the stain from my arm.

The red streak disappeared, but the image remained in my mind.

I didn’t like blood. Never had. Even that scant streak had been enough to turn my stomach into a blender.

That’s why I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.

If fate was kind, all would go well and I could accomplish my objective without being forced to take any drastic action. Without causing anyone physical harm.

Ultimately, though, I’d do what I had to do to achieve my goal.

Because sometimes the end justified the means.