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Emmett coughed. “And I’m following up on that lead from one of Lindy’s coworkers about the customer who kept requesting Lindy’s table at the restaurant.”
Dana shot him a grateful look from beneath lowered lashes, and Rafe squeezed her hand again.
They stepped outside the station, and Emmett put on his hat and said, “I noticed you drove in with Rafe, Dana. I’m going back out to the reservation. Can I give you a ride back to your auntie Mary’s?”
“Sure.” She glanced at Rafe. “Thanks for the ride over and…”
“My pleasure.” Rafe took her hand, running his thumb across her smooth skin. He knew she wanted to thank him for standing up for her in there and not allowing Steve and Emmett to bully her into using some powers she didn’t even think she possessed.
He watched through narrowed eyes as Dana climbed into Emmett’s patrol car. It felt natural and right to be Dana’s protector again. And if it ever got out that she could identify the killer through supernatural powers, Rafe would do everything in his power to shield her from danger.
He didn’t have the gift, but he had a gun and he’d go to hell and back to keep Dana Croft safe.
Chapter Three
“Guess who I saw last night?” Rafe shook the container of orange juice with one hand as he took a bite of toast.
His brother, Rod, grunted from behind his newspaper, and his stepmother, Pam, raised her eyebrows as she poured coffee. “Who?” Pam asked.
“Dana Croft.”
Rod answered by rustling his paper and cursing. Rafe was pretty sure the curse had nothing to do with Dana. His brother only half listened to what anyone said unless it pertained to the ranch.
Pam responded with a curse, too. She’d poured too much coffee in the cup and the steaming liquid had run over the sides and pooled in the saucer.
Rafe grabbed a dish towel and tossed it to her. “Do you remember Dana? She went off to Georgetown, went to the FBI Academy at Quantico, and now she’s working in the FBI’s Indian Country Crimes unit. She’s in town to investigate those three murders.”
Pam’s brow furrowed as she dropped the dish towel on the counter to soak up the coffee. “Dana Croft?”
“You remember Dana, Pam.” Rod folded his newspaper and shoved back from the table. “She’s the pretty Ute girl you tried so hard to pry away from Rafe during his senior year.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Pam slid the wet towel into the sink. “I never interfered with you boys.”
Rafe clenched his jaw as Rod rolled his eyes at him before exiting the pot he had just stirred.
Looked like Dana was right about Pam if Rod had noticed. His stepmother probably told Dana to back off when they were in high school, but the fact that Dana actually did back off shocked the hell out of him. He’d meant it when he told her he never knew her to run from a fight.
Unless the fight concerned something she didn’t really want.
Rotating his shoulders, he kicked his boots onto the chair Rod vacated and leaned back. Dana had flitted across his mind a few times in the past several years; why was he allowing her to take up residence now like a big, white elephant in the corner of his brain? Correction. A dark, sleek panther. A sexy cat of a woman.
He gulped his juice. Once they caught this killer and wrapped up the investigation, she’d go back to whatever kind of life she had in Denver. And that suited him just fine. As long as he could keep her safe while she worked the case.
Pam dropped a single rose into the small glass vase on Dad’s breakfast tray. Gripping the handles of the tray, she hoisted it from the counter and turned toward Rafe. “You don’t believe Rod’s nonsense about that girl, do you? With your father’s health deteriorating, Rod’s had more than he can handle at the ranch. He’s always angry about something, and has a sarcastic tongue.”
Rafe shrugged. Even at eighteen years old, Dana could stand up to Pam…if she’d wanted to. “That was a long time ago. How’s Dad this morning?”
“The flu hit him hard, and it takes him longer and longer to recover from an illness. Doc Parker thinks Ralph needs to retire to a different climate.”
Rafe’s cell phone rang and he checked the display, which flashed Steve Lubeck’s number. His heart skipped a beat. It was too early in the morning for Steve and Dana to have uncovered anything at Holly Thompson’s house. He hoped it wasn’t another body. “I have to take this.”
Pam backed out of the kitchen with the tray almost groaning under the weight of Dad’s favorite breakfast. Pam may have broken up his parents’ marriage, but she catered to his father in a way his biological mother refused to do. His mother hadn’t possessed one nurturing gene in her body. She hadn’t contacted one of them since leaving over fifteen years ago.
Shaking his head, Rafe flipped open his phone. “Hey, Steve, anything new?”
“No, unless you count my burning ulcer. I need to see a doctor today. Do you mind going out to the Thompson residence with Dana to talk to Holly’s mother? We’re supposed to be there at eleven o’clock.”
Rafe pulled up his sleeve to check his watch. “Sure. Were you picking up Dana or meeting her there?”
“I was going to swing by her aunt’s house to pick her up. The Thompson place is on the other side of the reservation from Dana’s aunt’s house.”
“I’ll be there. Did you tell Dana yet?”
“Not yet. Do you want me to call her? I can give her a ring on my way to the doctor in Durango.”
“That’s okay. I’ll call her.” Rafe wanted to gauge her response to working with him. His presence seemed to put her on edge, and he planned to find out why.
A FTER THREE UNSUCCESSFUL phone calls to Dana, a three-mile run and a conversation with Alicia Clifton’s agitated boyfriend, Rafe pulled into the reservation. His patrol car rolled to a stop behind Dana’s rental, and as he opened the door, the wind snatched it from his hand and flung it wide. The winds always kicked up on the reservation. Before the oil money started pouring in, the winds stirred up a lot of dirt from the undeveloped lands. The winds still stirred up dirt, but now it came from the construction sites that dotted the reservation—dumping grounds for a killer.
Rafe’s gaze darted toward the thick foliage where Dana’s attacker had disappeared last night. One of Emmett’s officers had scoured the area this morning, but didn’t turn up one clue. The “Headband Killer,” as they’d secretly dubbed him, seemed to move about silently and stealthily, snatching women, murdering them and dumping their bodies without leaving a trace of evidence.
Rafe stuffed his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders against the sudden chill in the air. If it was their guy who accosted Dana, thank God all he had in mind for her was a warning. But why just a warning? Why didn’t he drag her off and strangle her like all the others?
For some reason, despite her Ute heritage, Dana didn’t fit his pattern. Or he didn’t want to mess with an FBI agent. Or maybe Dana was right—a wannabe attacked her, not the real killer.
He huffed out a breath in the cold air and stomped up the two steps to Mary Redbird’s door. Even though she’d married a Croft, everyone called her Mary Redbird or Auntie Mary. After Dana’s mother died, her aunt had raised her, since her stepfather, Lenny, was useless. He hadn’t been back in town two weeks, and he’d already caused a ruckus at the Elk Ridge Bar the other night.
He knocked on the door and Dana opened it, wearing slacks and a blouse. This time she had a shoulder holster with her weapon tucked inside, not packed away in her purse.
“What are you doing here?” She grasped the door and the doorjamb, blocking his entrance to the house.
“Steve’s ulcer is acting up. I’m going with you to interview Mrs. Thompson.”
“Oh, I thought maybe you were just in the neighborhood again.”
“I tried calling you on your cell phone a couple of times, but it went straight to voice mail.”
“We don’t have the best reception out here.” Her grip on the doorjamb loosened. “You should’ve tried my aunt’s number.”
Rafe jerked his chin forward. “Are you going to invite me inside this time?”
“We need to get going. I’ll get my jacket and…”
Auntie Mary ducked beneath Dana’s arm. “Nonsense. Come on in, Sheriff McClintock.”
Dana’s jaw tightened but she threw open the door, and Rafe squeezed past her to clasp Auntie Mary’s clawlike hand. “You can call me Rafe, ma’am. You’re looking as spry as ever.”
Thumping her cane against the floor, Auntie Mary chuckled. “Spry is only ever used for ancient people who haven’t dropped dead yet. It’s good to see you, Rafe. Haven’t seen much of you since you returned to Silverhill, but I did vote for you for sheriff.”
“That’s good to hear, ma’am. I’m just sorry such sad business brings me to the reservation.”
Auntie Mary shook her head. “It’s a tragedy for those girls and their families. As much as I like having my great-niece here, I hope you catch this killer quickly.”
“We will.” His gaze meandered around the cozy living room, settling on the crackling fire in the grate. He stepped toward the fireplace, holding out his hands. “It’s chilly outside. I think we’re going to have an early winter.”
Leaning forward, Rafe peered at the framed photos on the mantel—Dana’s high school graduation picture, Dana with the FBI director and several pictures of Dana as a young girl.
He reached forward to pluck one of the photos from the mantel and Dana shouted, “Let’s go.”
Jerking his head to the side, he almost dropped the frame. “What’s your hurry?”
Dana held her breath as Rafe clutched the picture of his daughter, Kelsey, in his hand. She should’ve seen this coming. The man traipsed around Silverhill, and even the reservation, as if he owned the place. Obviously, he figured he could show up on Auntie Mary’s doorstep day or night. She should’ve insisted Auntie Mary put away all the pictures of Kelsey.
She yanked her suit jacket over her holster. “It’s almost eleven. We need to get over to the Thompson house.”
Rafe placed the frame back in its place, and Dana let out a slow breath. She needed time to tell him about his daughter, safely at home in Denver with Dana’s cousin. She’d wait until the investigation ended because once he found out she’d been keeping this secret for ten years, they’d never be able to work together.
Raising his brows, Rafe glanced at Auntie Mary and she rolled her eyes and said, “You know Dana. Prompt. Punctual.”
“Just like you taught me.” Dana grabbed her coat from the closet. She had to propel Rafe out of this house—away from the photos, away from the memories.
Rafe turned his back on the fireplace and Kelsey. Dropping an arm around Auntie Mary’s shoulders, he bent to kiss her cheek. “We’ll catch up another time.”
Two circles of color dotted Auntie Mary’s cheeks as she smiled up at Rafe. Dana shook her head. Rafe’s easy charm affected all women, young and old. She’d figured out later, after a few psych classes, that the abandonment of his mother drove him to conquer every woman he met.
Did her desertion of Rafe after high school really hurt him like Auntie Mary suggested? He sure seemed to move on quickly.
“Ready?” Dana shrugged into her coat and shrugged off the memories.
Rafe tossed his keys in the air while they walked toward his patrol car. “Do you want to drive over to the Thompson place or walk?”
Normally, she enjoyed a nice, brisk walk, but if Rafe left his car here, they’d have to come back for it and he’d have another excuse to get inside Auntie Mary’s house. Dana couldn’t allow that. Not with those pictures of Kelsey adorning the mantel.
“It’s too cold for a walk.” She rubbed her hands together. “And I’m wearing high heels.”
“Good point.” He jabbed at his remote and opened the passenger door for her, placing his hand on the small of her back. Through her coat, suit jacket and blouse, the man’s touch scorched her. When he shut the door, she dragged in a deep breath and whispered, “Get a grip.”
He slid onto the driver’s seat and cranked on the engine. “Emmett told me one of his guys canvassed the area here this morning but didn’t find anything from the attack last night. Have you had any more trouble?”
“No. Emmett had Jimmy patrolling the reservation last night, and I think he made lots of loops around Auntie Mary’s place.”
“Good. I’m hoping that was our killer. It shows he’s cocky, too self-assured. That’s going to land him in trouble.”
“And if it was the killer who attacked me, he didn’t have murder on his mind. So even though I’m half Southern Ute, I don’t fit his profile for whatever reason.”
“The first two victims were full-blooded Ute.”
“The first two, but not Holly.” Dana chewed her bottom lip. “There has to be some other connection.”
A few minutes later, Rafe pulled his patrol car in front of the Thompson house. Dana shoved open the car door, grateful for the biting chill in the air. Sitting in close confinement with Rafe did a number on her senses. He didn’t even have to turn on the charm for her, his very presence, the timbre of his voice and his clean, masculine scent made her knees weak.
Weak knees—just what she needed for a serial murder investigation.
Rafe pushed open the gate in the front and it banged closed behind them, its latch broken. They climbed up the two steps to the sagging porch and Rafe rapped on the screen door since two pieces of dirty tape crisscrossed the doorbell. Louella Thompson obviously hadn’t used the money from the oil wells for home repair.
The door creaked open, and a tall woman, clutching a glass in her hand, peered at them through the screen door. “Sheriff McClintock? I thought the FBI was coming.”
“Afternoon, ma’am. One of the agents got sick. I’m his replacement, but I’m with the other agent. Do you remember Dana Croft? Mary Redbird’s great-niece?”
“Sure.” Mrs. Thompson clicked open the screen door. “I’d heard you were with the FBI, Dana.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss, Mrs. Thompson. May we come in and ask you a few questions about Holly?”
Mrs. Thompson nodded and held open the door, ushering them inside. The smell of booze hit Dana like a sledgehammer. It rolled off Mrs. Thompson in waves. She gestured toward a small, plaid sofa. “Have a seat. Do you want a drink?”
Rafe held up a hand. “We’re officially on duty, Mrs. Thompson, but thanks anyway.”
Dana shooed an orange tabby from the sofa and sank onto the soft, worn cushion. Rafe perched on the edge next to her and swept off his hat.
Mrs. Thompson laughed, a hoarse sound, as if that laugh had been a long time coming. “I’m not offering you the bourbon, Sheriff. That’s all mine. I need it now more than ever. Would you like some coffee or water? That’s about all I got. How about some hot tea? I have that tea Auntie Mary likes, Dana.”
“Nothing for me, thanks.”
Dana replied, “I’ll have some tea.”
Mrs. Thompson lurched toward the kitchen, and Dana pushed up from the sofa. “I’ll help.”
“You sit down. I need something to keep me busy.”
Dana exchanged a look with Rafe. As she settled back on the sofa, she whispered, “Do you think we should come back later? How much help will she be in this condition?”
“Maybe this is the only condition she has. Besides, the alcohol might loosen her tongue, bring down her guard.”
Mrs. Thompson appeared in the kitchen doorway, propping her shoulder against the frame. “The kettle’s on. What do you want to know about Holly?”
Dana cleared her throat. “Did she have a boyfriend?”
“Holly liked boys…maybe too much.” Mrs. Thompson swirled the amber liquid in her glass. “But she didn’t have one boy in particular. She dated around like a lot of twenty-one year old girls. Even dated that young sheriff’s deputy you have working for you.”
A muscle in Rafe’s jaw twitched, the only sign that this bit of information surprised him. His stoicism, the mark of a good cop, impressed Dana.
Rafe fished a notepad out of his breast pocket along with a pencil. “Can you give us a list of the guys Holly was seeing, including Brice Kellog? Any of them upset about not having an exclusive relationship with her?”
“Not that I know of.”
The teakettle whistled and Mrs. Thompson disappeared back into the kitchen. She called out, “Do you want any sugar?”
“No, thanks.” Dana mumbled to Rafe, “I’d better help her with that.”
