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“No!” A red tide washed over her cheeks beneath the mud smears. “I have no proof anyone was here. The sheriff’s department would put me down as a lunatic.”
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay here by yourself?”
“I’ll be fine. Linda should be home soon. I’ll ask her if she was here. Maybe you’re right.”
“I can stay while you shower. I mean, wait in here.”
“Really, I’m okay. I’ve been on edge.” She breezed past him and picked up the bag of food on the floor, and then opened the front door. “Thanks for coming back and helping me. I feel like a fool.”
“I wasn’t going to leave you flailing around in the mud.”
She rolled her eyes. “That bad, huh?”
“You were scared and had a fall.” He put his finger to his lips. “I won’t tell a soul.”
“Good night, Cole.”
“Good night, Caroline.” He left the house and waited on the porch as he listened for the click of the dead bolt.
Jamming his hands in his pockets, he put his head down and walked briskly to his car, keeping to the paved walkway.
He started the engine and cranked on the heat and defroster full blast. Blowing on his hands and rubbing them together, he eyed Caroline’s duplex over the steering wheel.
Had he miscalculated? Would her ex really travel across the country to stalk her, or more unbelievably, send someone else to do it? How had she been so sure someone had broken in? Was it paranoia or was she really expecting trouble? And from what quarter? An abusive ex-husband, or from someone equally as dangerous? A drug trafficker looking for his money?
Cole felt a stab of guilt that he’d circled back to his original suspicions. He’d put those to rest after talking to Linda Gunderson, and what earthly reason would Linda have to lie for a complete stranger? To fabricate a whole life for this stranger?
Money? Timberline Treasures hardly looked like a bustling, profitable enterprise.
He threw the rental into gear and backed out of the driveway. Maybe Caroline had paid Linda to claim her as a cousin. Linda told a mighty convincing story.
As he watched Caroline’s porchlight fade into the darkness in his rearview mirror, he set his jaw. There were too many puzzle pieces that didn’t fit. Caroline Johnson hadn’t quite convinced him that she wasn’t the woman with Johnny Diamond.
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