If the Feds were gone, she probably wasn’t here anymore, but he wanted to be sure. And he couldn’t help but think about Franny’s point yesterday. The Feds hadn’t asked about Albennie’s past.
Not that it mattered. Everyone he’d questioned that morning had basically said they didn’tknowabout Albennie Ward’s past. Not where she’d moved to Hope Town from, if she had family nearby or not. They’d never seen family or a boyfriend. She was a woman who’d appeared one day and mostly kept to herself.
He thoughtmaybeLia Blair knew more and wasn’t saying, along with the bookstore owner he’d talked to, but he kind of wondered if they were just keeping their friend’s secrets—not trying to impede an investigation. He kept expecting the sheriff to pull him. There was a time clock ticking on this—and since the Feds had announced they’d found the getaway car inIdaho, Royal just didn’t see how much longer Sheriff Buckley could justify him being here.
Royal kept chewing over that story from the Feds. It struck him as all wrong. If a guy was going to leave a car behind—he sure as hell wouldn’t leave it anywhere near where he was headed.
Royal should know. He’d left a few cars behind in his day.
After a morning of driving around and seeing a fat lot of nothing except what he always saw, he parked behind his building and got out for his foot patrol. Nothing, nothing and more nothing. Not even the odd stranger.
But the business owners he’d introduced himself to the first day tended to wave or nod or greet him. Sometimes they introduced him to one of their staff. He was considering going to the bookstore and seeing if they had any of Franny’s books. What would be the harm in reading one, getting a sense of what she did?
But he heard his voice being called before he could make a move to walk toward the bookstore.
He glanced over his shoulder to find the woman who was dominating way too much of his thoughts lately—considering he was on special assignment and he barelyknewher.
But she bustled across the street and up the sidewalk. He met her halfway. She didn’t look upset but determined. “Everything okay?”
“As okay as it can be, I guess. Are you busy? Can you come over to the bakery?” she asked, those pretty eyes intense anddirect. They looked greener outside. Something about the lighting, he supposed.
And since that wasnotwhat he should be thinking about, he squinted across the street. “Isn’t it closed?”
“Lia’s closing up now, but she wanted to tell you something. She was going to do it tomorrow, but I happened to see you, so I thought I’d just act as middleman.”
“All right.” He followed her down the sidewalk and across the street. She knocked on the bakery door that was now locked, but Lia came right over and opened it up for them.
“I thought you could tell Ro—Deputy Campbell about that woman now, since he was right there when I walked out.”
Lia looked from Franny to him. “Yeah. Sure.” She wiped her hands on the towel stuck into the tied belt of her apron and held the door open for them to step inside. She didn’t looknervousexactly, but definitely unsure. “It could be nothing.”
“Which means it could also be something,” he replied. “Being a cop involves all sorts of somethings and nothings.”
She smiled thinly. “I’ve always hated cops.”
“Hey, me too.”
He clearly surprised a laugh out of her, and a curious look from Franny, but he listened to Lia talk about a woman who’d come in asking questions that didn’t sit right with her.
He thought of the woman he’d seen yesterday. Popping into businesses. Talking to the clerk at the antique shop. He still didn’t have an ID on her. “Describe her for me.”
Lia’s description was dead-on to the woman he was thinking of. He frowned. The rundown sheriff had given him this morning had said the Feds had left for the time being.
But ifshewas here this morning, had they? Were they lying about this too? Or were his instincts off and she wasn’t a Fed at all? Did that makehera sinister addition to this town?
Two pairs of female eyes studied him, clearly waiting for him to do something with the information. He could keep it to himself. Keep them out of this.
But people came and went from Lia’s bakery all day long. And Franny was a witness in the kidnapping. It seemed the more they knew, the better they might be able to help.
“I saw her yesterday poking around. I think she’s a Fed.”
“But you told me this morning the Feds had moved out.”
“That’s because I’d been told they had. And maybe she did after she got one more look at the scene of the crime.” But it didn’t sit right. Likemaybehe’d been told something that wasn’t true at all.
“I’m going to tell Zach,” Lia said.
Royal tried not to bristle. “What’s Simmons going to do?”
