Hence, her giving in to the urge to use the outdoor spigot.
“FBI, eh?” The old coot stepped farther onto the porch. The wooden beams groaned under his slippered feet. “Got some ID to prove that, missy?”
“If you’ll allow me to reach into—”
“Easy there.” He waved his pistol in a fast circle. “One hand’ll do ’er. Keep that other one sky-high if ya know what’s good for ya.”
She obliged. Partly because she didn’t want to take a round center-mass. But mostly because the act of swinging the gun loosened the belt tied around the man’s waist. She was beginning to suspect he was naked beneath that threadbare robe.
Wouldn’t that be the cherry on top of this craptastic sundae?she thought a little hysterically.Here it is, possibly my final night on earth, and one of my last visions will be of ancient, wrinkly wedding tackle.
“You’re the boss.” She kept her right arm in the air and used her left to slowly pull her FBI credentials from the inside breast pocket of her jacket.
Unfortunately, he didn’t lower his weapon even after she flashed her badge. “That real?” he asked instead.
“Why would a woman in a pantsuit be standing in your yard in the middle of the night with a fake FBI badge?” she countered, wincing when her impatience came through in her tone.
“You tell me.” He hitched a narrow shoulder. “What were you doin’ with my outdoor faucet, eh?”
“Getting a drink. It’s a hot night.”
“But what’s an FBI agent doin’ all the way out here?”
Running for her life,she thought, feeling the effects of the panic and desperation that’d been her dogged companions since she’d heard Stewart shout her name from the adjoining room. The thought of spending a few minutes rocking herself in a corner and indulging in a good old-fashioned pity party complete with teeth gnashing and hair pulling sounded really,reallytempting.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have the time.
“My partner and I are staying at the Moonlight Memories Motel down the road. We had a suspect escape and head in this direction. I gave chase on foot but lost the trail in the woods. When I stumbled on your house, I couldn’t pass up the chance for water.”
Lies. All lies.
They came to her easily, but that didn’t mean they didn’t sit on her tongue like poison pills. Having grown up a Beacham, she’d been taught being a straight shooter—both literally and figuratively—was the only thing that mattered.
“A suspect, eh?” The man lifted an eyebrow so bushy Grace imagined some of the hair from his head must’ve migrated down his face. “He the dangerous sort?”
“You should go inside and lock the door behind you. Better safe than sorry,” she answered evasively.
The well-timedee-oo-eeof a siren sounded in the distance. Usually she took comfort in the familiar hi-lo clammer. This time, and despite the stickiness of the night, she had to suppress a shiver.
“Those will be my colleagues.” She was glad to give the codger at least one truth, even if it was only ahalftruth.
The sirens weren’t crying out for some mysterious missing man. They were crying out for her.Shewas the suspect.
“Alrighty.” To her relief, he lowered his sidearm and took a step back inside the door. “Happy hunting to ya, Miss FBI Agent. Hope ya catch the guy.”
“Thanks.” She offered him what she hoped passed for a smile and didn’t wait around to see if he did as she instructed and locked the door behind him. Instead, she turned and sprinted for the cover of the woods.
The rubber lug soles of her sensible duty shoes seemed to find every twig and snap it in two. Spindly limbs made clattering noises as she brushed by because her night-blind eyes made them impossible to avoid. Her labored breathing sounded as loud as thunder as she bolted…where?
Where the hell am I going?
She had no idea.
Usually, when she was scared or in trouble, she ran home. Between her father, who was a sheriff, her two older brothers, who were both cops, and her kid sister, who was busy climbing the ranks of the U.S. Marshals,oneof them would help her find a solution to her problem.
But she couldn’t leave a trail back to Buncombe County. She didn’t dare drag her family into this.
Whateverthiswas.
