He walked into the kitchen just then, filling up the room with his height and powerful presence. “You two have enough time to exchange the latest gossip?”
“For the time being,” Nell said.
Jenny rose from the table. “It was really nice meeting you, Nell.” The older woman just smiled and nodded. Jenny turned to Cain. “I can walk down the hill. There’s no need for you to drive me.”
“We’ve got an appointment at the police department. Chief Nolan is waiting for us.”
Jenny sighed. “Right. I can’t believe I forgot.”
Cain turned to his grandmother. “I won’t be long.”
Nell smiled as if she knew a secret Cain didn’t. “Take your time. I’ll be right here.”
Jenny led the way out of the kitchen. In minutes, they were settled in the Jag, driving back down the hill to Main Street. “You haven’t mentioned last night,” she said.
Cain slid her a sideways glance. “Which part? The monster in your hotel room, or the monster in your dreams?”
Jenny glanced out the window, looking at the buildings perched precariously along the street. She turned back to Cain. “Maybe you were right. Maybe it was one and the same.” Though after listening to Nell, she didn’t believe it. “I’m sorry—”
“Don’t say it. It’s over and done. Best to just move on.”
“Maybe so, but I still appreciate what you did.”
Cain turned the Jag onto Main Street. “That reminds me, I haven’t thanked you for your help last night.”
“My help?”
“The brass lamp next to the bed. Quick thinking and pretty damn brave. Most women would have run away screaming. Instead, you pitched in to help.”
“It never occurred to me to leave you there to fight Ryder by yourself.”
Cain cast her a sideways glance. “As I said, I appreciate the help, but anything like that ever happens again, you get the hell out of there and leave the fighting to me.”
Jenny made no reply. There was no way she would ever abandon someone who was risking himself to save her.
From the dark look in his eyes, Cain knew what she was thinking.
* * *
Cain parked near the police department. They made their way along the street and went inside.
Chief Nolan was waiting, a robust, heavyset man with a leonine mane of thick gray hair. He took his job seriously, and he didn’t like ripples like the ones created in the Copper Star last night.
Chief Nolan gave Jenny and Cain each a yellow pad. “I need your statements in writing. But first, just tell me what happened upstairs last night.”
“Where’s Ryder?” Cain asked.
“Transferred him to the Yavapai County Jail down in Camp Verde. Unfortunately, some fancy lawyer showed up at the jail this morning to represent him. Looks like he’ll be out on bail sometime tomorrow.”
Cain swore. Thinking about what had happened, Jenny felt a chill.
“If he knows what’s good for him, he won’t come back to Jerome,” Cain said.
The chief sat down in his chair. “Take it easy, Cain. We’ll be watching for him. He turns up around here, he’ll be back in jail before you can count to ten, and next time he won’t be getting out so easy.”
Jenny hoped Chief Nolan was right. She also wondered where Ryder had gotten the kind of money to hire an expensive attorney.
They finished the paperwork and left the building, and Cain walked her the short distance back to the saloon.
