TWENTY-FOUR
Terra stepped into the hall and listened to the voice mail her superior had left. Dan had called to check up on her about the break-in last night and her 911 call to dispatch. Oh brother. She wished she hadn’t made that call. But a dark and lonely mountain road wasn’t the place to risk a confrontation alone.
While she listened to the message, she peered through the window in the door and watched Jack help Dallas tape up boxes. He’d insisted on waiting until a deputy arrived to protect Dallas. Sure, this was all part of Jack’s job, but he truly seemed to care about Dallas’s well-being, and right now he was going beyond the call of duty. He was listening to his instincts, and his gut told him she wasn’t safe.
Something had changed him. Not that he didn’t care about people before, but Terra wasn’t sure this Jack could have left her without facing her like the old Jack had. Without looking her in the eyes and telling her one last goodbye. She had the feeling that he’d found whatever it was he’d been looking for. That he’d found himself.
Shrugging off the errant musings, she thought ahead to what came next. She was anxious to head to Neva Bolz’s home. In the meantime, she would listen to the rest of her voice mail messages, then she would search the Internet for anything she could find about Neva and the company she worked for.
The next message was from her neighbor, Allie. Uh-oh. Had something happened? She didn’t take the time to listen to the message and instead returned the call.
Allie answered. “Hey, Terra. Did you get my voice mail?”
“I didn’t listen, actually. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, sure. I didn’t mean to scare you. But I wanted to make sure you’re still alive.”
Terra snorted a laugh. “Yeah, about that. I meant to come home sooner. Sorry I haven’t been back. What’s up?”
“Sudoku has been rubbing up against the door. I can tell she really wants to get out. Probably wants to go home and see you.”
“Aw, my cat actually misses me? I didn’t think that was possible.”
Allie laughed. “Of course it’s possible. But don’t worry. I don’t mind watching out for her, but I thought you should know.”
“Thanks, Allie. I owe you. I’m in the middle of an investigation right now. I’ll see you and Su soon. Let her know I love her.” When she’d taken this position six months ago and moved back to Montana, she hadn’t wanted to be alone and had thought a cat would be the easiest pet. What had she been thinking?
Maybe staying with Gramps wasn’t such a great idea, though she’d initially convinced herself that she needed to be there for Owen. It was only forty-five minutes away. But that was still forty-five minutes away. As long as Su was being cared for, she would wait until she had a decent break to return to her apartment.
Footfalls echoed in the hall behind her. As she turned, she reached for her weapon in her shoulder holster, then relaxed when she saw it was Deputy Linda Pendergrass. Linda, who was in her midthirties, greeted Terra in her no-nonsense manner, then entered Dallas’s office. Terra waited in the hallway as Linda and Jack spoke about protecting Dallas.
The door opened and Jack exited, closing the door behind him, a serious expression on his face. He pursed his lips and turned to walk down the hall.
She kept pace with him. “You’re that worried about her?”
He angled his head. “Aren’t you?”
“Actually, I was holding out hope that you would come up with a valid reason she didn’t need to be concerned about her safety.”
“I think she’s smart and leaving town is the right way to go. I don’t know that her life is in danger, but Aunt Nadine always says an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Terra chuckled. “I think Gramps has said the same a few times.”
“That brings me to you. Everything okay? You haven’t noticed anyone following you again, have you?”
“Not this morning when I headed to the hospital. I could have been mistaken about the tail last night.”
He glanced at her. “Right. And then your grandfather’s house was broken into, you inside.”
“They were after his safe, not me.”
He flashed her a concerned look.
They bounded down the last set of steps.
Outside, the sun shone in a bright blue, cloudless sky. The days seemed to start that way, but eventually scattered thunderstorms developed, leaving some places drenched with the potential for flash floods and other places bone dry.
They climbed into Jack’s SUV.