Nah, he told himself. She had no reason to toy with him that way. She might be self-centered, but from his observations she wasn’t sadistic. Only someone really warped would do something like this.
He replied to the message,Who are you?but a few minutes later his email ricocheted back to his inbox with the heading that it was undeliverable.
A person with mad computer skills might be able to trace it. But cyber forensics wasn’t in Sawyer’s wheelhouse. It might be in Cash’s, though. And if not, his cousin would surely know someone from his FBI days who could track where the email had come from.
He wondered if the sender could possibly be the woman in Santa Fe. The one who’d been reticent to talk to him. Perhaps she was trying to throw him off. Whoever it was clearly wanted him to stop searching for answers.
But why? He suspected the reason would lead him to Angie. Dead or alive.
Chapter 9
Gina decided to risk another trip to the kitchen store in Grass Valley. This time, she was loaded with cash so she could purchase anything she wanted without having to use a credit card. It was still chancy, but she was climbing the walls of the cabin.
On her way out, she stopped by Refind to see if there was anything Charlie and Aubrey needed. A couple of times, they’d grabbed her groceries or sundries in town and she wanted to return the favor. That’s how it was here at the ranch. Everyone looked out for one another.
The construction crew had moved from framing to walls and windows and were making enough racket to turn a person brain-dead. Gina went in search of her friends, only to find them in bright yellow hard hats in the middle of the crazy. They were picking out the locations for outlets and switches before the drywall went up.
“It looks as if they’re making progress,” Gina said over the noise.
The two women led her away from the mayhem to a small Airstream trailer that Aubrey had temporarily set up as an office. At least here they could hear themselves talk.
“They say two more weeks max.” Charlie hitched her shoulders. “But you know how that is. Two weeks could very quickly turn into six months. In the meantime, we’re going deaf.”
“Where’d you get the trailer?” The interior was sad. Lots of Formica finishes and worn vinyl upholstery.
“Craigslist. Charlie’s planning to rehab it and make bank when we resell it. These things are supposedly collector’s items. But first we have to get through this.” Aubrey waved at the barn.
“So far, it looks great.” Gina was impressed with the expansion’s design. The new build was definitely in keeping with the rustic vibe of the barn. They’d gone with wood siding made from reclaimed lumber. Even the windows had been recycled from a hundred-year-old farmhouse.
“I’m headed into Grass Valley. You need anything? Earplugs, maybe?”
“An industrial-size bottle of aspirin,” Charlie joked, then eyed Gina’s disguise. This time, she’d gone with a straw cowboy hat and a pair of mirrored aviators she’d picked up online.
“What? It’s not working?”
Charlie laughed. “I know who you are so it’s hard to tell. Maybe tuck your hair up.”
Gina pulled her hair back and twisted it up underneath the hat. “Better?” She didn’t wait for an answer because it was as good as it was going to get, short of her becoming a brunette. “How ’bout you, Aubrey. Anything?”
“I’m good. But I was just about to take Sawyer to pick up his Range Rover at the mechanic. You could save me the trip.”
“Sure.” Sawyer had spent much of the past week working on his article. Every time she’d gone over to use his kitchen, he’d either locked himself in his room or worked outside on his porch. She’d sort of gotten used to his company and their little banter routine. It wasn’t like she missed him—Liar!—but having him around made the days pass faster. “What’s wrong with his Range Rover?”
Aubrey shrugged. “All I know is that Jace followed him to the shop this morning and took him home and I was supposed to drive him to pick it up. But now I have you to save me the trouble.” She did a little hip-shake happy dance.
“I’ll go over and get him.”
“Don’t forget dinner at Charlie’s tonight. Just us girls.”
Gina had been looking forward to it ever since they’d invited her a couple of days ago. The last time she’d had a girls’ night was in the dorms at San Diego State. Sadie had had her sights set on USC for Gina. But Gina’s GPA hadn’t been high enough to get in. Another epic fail on Gina’s part.
“The pie is cooling and ready to go,” she told Aubrey. “And of course, strawberry shortcake.” The cake had been a special request of Travis and Grady, who’d be away but wanted slices when they got home.
Charlie had gotten the strawberries at a nearby farm stand. The blackberries for the pie came from the bush that kept giving. She had so many berries that she’d made a buckle, a pandowdy, and acrostata. Gina had delivered them to Laney and Jimmy Ray for review. Jimmy Ray said they were the best desserts he’d ever eaten and Laney had thrown a soup ladle at him. The woman had a temper.
Maybe while she was at the kitchen store she’d buy an ice cream maker and if the shop carried it, some good vanilla beans, too.
She drove to Sawyer’s and tooted her horn. He came out onto the balcony, looked down at her car, and glowered.
