Page 32 of Out of Time (Undaunted Courage #3)

IT WAS TIME to formalize their date—and end his weekend with a Cara fix.

Lips bowing, Brad tossed the container from his microwave dinner into the trash, picked up his phone, and wandered over to the back window as he scrolled to her number and placed the call.

She picked up on the third ring, her greeting a tad breathless.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No. I just finished my walk around the lake. Give me a sec to go inside.” A scuffling noise came over the line, followed by a door opening and closing. “Sorry for the delay.”

“No problem. How was your weekend?”

“Full. A little work at my office, a ballet class, a call from my sister, church this morning. How about yours?”

“Low key. I did have a long chat with my parents. And I went to church too.” A long overdue return that had lifted his spirits. “I also spent a fair amount of the weekend thinking about you.”

“Can I admit I thought about you too? Or should I be more coy?”

“I prefer people who are straightforward.”

“In that case, I thought about you a lot . Also about our dinner this week.”

His smile morphed into a flat-out grin. “Same here. That’s why I called. Would Thursday night work? The restaurant I have in mind is closed on Monday, I have a presentation at the city council meeting in Potosi on Tuesday night, and I’m on duty Wednesday until late.”

“You’re one busy guy.”

“It keeps me out of trouble.” And too occupied to mope around.

“Busyness can also help keep unhappy memories at bay.”

At her soft comment, he leaned a shoulder against the wall and watched a male and female cardinal sail onto a branch and nestle up side by side in the twilight.

Professor Cara Tucker’s intuitive abilities were impressive.

“Yeah. That too.” May as well admit the truth, after everything else they’d shared.

“Been there, done that. Let’s hope dinner together will accomplish the same end and create new, happy memories in the process.”

“I think that’s a given. May I pick you up at five thirty?”

“I’ll be ready.”

With the date set, his excuse for calling was gone. But he wasn’t ready to hang up.

“How’s Natalie doing?”

“Healthwise, fine. She lost her housekeeper, though, which was upsetting.”

That was news. As far as he knew, the woman had been with her for years.

“Why would she quit?”

“She didn’t. Natalie let her go.”

“Out of the blue?” That didn’t sound like the Natalie he’d come to know. She seemed like a measured, thoughtful, levelheaded person who wasn’t prone to rash decisions.

A few seconds ticked by. “Can I tell you this in confidence?”

“Yes.”

“She has pretty solid circumstantial evidence that Lydia stole a valuable stamp from one of her father’s albums.”

Brad frowned. “Do you know why she didn’t contact me to report it?”

“She said she didn’t want to make a big issue out of it because only one stamp was missing and it appeared Lydia had a hard enough life as it was. I honestly think she would have let her stay on if Lydia had admitted the theft when Natalie gave her the chance, but she didn’t.”

What a missed opportunity for the housekeeper.

But who knew what had happened in the woman’s life to shape her character? From what he’d heard, the brother she lived with was no great shakes, and her husband had dumped her. Someone like that could have difficulty with trust—and with believing in the goodness of others.

Sad.

“Does Natalie have someone else lined up?”

“No, and I know that worries her.”

“I wonder if she’d be interested in the woman who cleans for me. I think she’s in the market for another client or two.”

“My guess is yes.”

“I’ll find a way to pass on her name without breaking your confidence.”

“Thanks. Any news on Micah’s investigation?”

“There’ve been a couple of developments, but so far they haven’t led to any conclusive evidence that his death was more than an accident.”

“If there was more involved, I hate to think that person is roaming around free and poised to get away with murder.”

“You and me both.” Especially since he had no clue about the motive.

Not to mention the fact that Cara was still taking walks around the lake. Alone.

“But why would someone hurt Micah?”

“I can’t answer that yet. And until this is resolved, you may want to be extra cautious.”

She didn’t respond for several seconds, and when she did, a thread of trepidation wove through her question. “Are you suggesting I could be in danger?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. But as I said the night you and I and Natalie had dinner, I don’t like coincidences.”

“I think Natalie figured out one of the coincidences, if that makes any difference.”

“Which one?”

“The kitchen fire. While we were working today, she told me she’d solved that mystery.”

“What’s the story?”

“I don’t know. All she said was that it had been a silly mistake.”

Be that as it may, taking that off the table didn’t alleviate his suspicions about Micah’s death.

“Even if there’s an explanation for that incident, a few elements of the crime scene bother me. I’m not letting this go yet.”

“I admire your perseverance.”

“We’ll see where it leads.” But at the very least he could talk to people who had a connection to Natalie or were regular visitors to her place, check alibis for the time-of-death window Rod had identified.

Paul Coleman, the housekeeper, Steven, and anyone else Natalie saw on a consistent basis. Even Cara, to cover all the bases.

But he’d start with the others. The woman he was talking to was definitely not a killer.

“In terms of using caution, do you think I should stop taking my walks around the lake? I do carry pepper gel, and I stay alert to my surroundings.”

“To be honest, I’d prefer that. But I’m not going to tell you what to do. It’s your call.”

“I appreciate that. If Jack were here, he’d be much more heavy-handed.”

At her wry tone, his mouth flexed. “Are you saying you have an overprotective brother?”

She snorted. “Is the pope Catholic?”

A chuckle rumbled up inside him. “I like him already.”

“Fair warning—that won’t win you brownie points from me if you follow in his footsteps. I have to rein him in on a regular basis. Bri does too. From what I heard, her future husband and Jack had quite an altercation at their first meeting.”

“Duly noted.”

“However, I do appreciate your concern. And for whatever reason, protectiveness from you doesn’t rankle me like it does from Jack.”

“I’ll take that as a positive sign.” He was out of excuses to extend the conversation. “I’ll call you before Thursday.” Or drop in for a visit if he came up with a way to give Natalie his housekeeper’s contact information without telling her he and Cara had discussed it.

“I’d like that. See you soon.”

As they rang off, he watched through the window as a stray hummingbird zipped over to a patch of late-blooming goldenrod at the edge of the yard, where it flitted among the flowers in search of nectar to help sustain it during its long, tardy journey south for the winter.

If it didn’t leave soon for warmer climes, it would be in big trouble.

Hummingbirds weren’t designed to live in a cold environment.

Neither were humans.

Happily, his world had warmed into the balmy range, thanks to the historical anthropologist who’d begun to dominate not only his waking thoughts but his dreams.

Another incentive to get answers in Micah’s case.

Cara’s safety had become a top priority, and peace of mind on that score would be elusive as long as doubts plagued him about the man’s death. If a murderer was on the loose, who knew when—or why—they might strike again?

He expelled a breath and turned away from the lengthening shadows outside as dusk succumbed to the encroaching darkness.

One thing for sure.

If someone had killed once, they’d kill again.

Meaning anyone who got in their way would be in deadly danger.