Cain leaned across and brushed her hair back from her face. “You did great. Now just leave it all up to me and Kennett and JB and the whole, entire Crayton Police Department. Okay?”
Nodding she rested her palm on his hand. “I doubt any of that helped, but I tried.”
“Don’t worry about any of this right now. Just lean back and get some rest. You’ve had a long day.” He leaned over and kissed her softly. “I’ve got you, Betsy. I’ve got you.”
Kennett cleared his throat loudly. “Did you two forget I’m back here?”
She laughed lightly as Cain straightened back in the driver’s seat. “This has been a long and interesting day. I think Betsy and I need some sleep,” he said.
“I thought JB was coming over at eight?” Betsy questioned.
Cain shook his head. “JB texted me right before you came out of the diner. Said he didn’t have any important results back yet. We’ll wait to meet until eleven tomorrow.”
The three of them piled out of the truck. Stretched, as if needing a break from the tension inside.
“Well, I better get on the road, see what I can find out at some of those other places.” Kennett turned and started for his cruiser.
Betsy’s expression turned serious as she faced Cain. “What other places?”
“I’ll explain later.” He took a few steps in Kennett’s direction. “Watch your six, man. Call if you need anything.”
“Got it. Thanks. Hope I find some clues as to what’s going on here in Crayton.”
“Just remember, no connection is still a clue.”
“Got it.” Kennett slid into his cruiser, gave a thumbs-up and buckled his seatbelt.
As he pulled out of the diner parking lot, Betsy flagged him down, walked over to the cruiser’s passenger side and motioned him to lower the window. “You be careful. I don’t like my friends and family being in danger. Especially because of me.”
“Thanks, Betsy.” Kennett nodded. “The next time you’re riled at me, I’m going to remind you of that friendship designation.”
She smiled and pointed her finger in his direction, then tapped the side of the door panel a second before he drove away. Cain moved closer and looped his arm across her shoulders.
“Long story short, there were some other drug-related events that happened last night. They may all tie together.” He remembered what Shadow had said about being sent to other locations in Missouri to watch who went where. So maybe it did all tie together, but for now he wouldn’t hold out for any kind of an easy break in the case.
Besides, there might be an outside chance that what happened last night at Peyton’s and the break-ins there and at Betsy’s house early this morning were two separate cases. Coincidences happened. But not often—especially in the world of drugs. That was a business based on money and power...and control. Of course, there were usually a lot of strange bedfellows in that scenario.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Pulling around to the back of his house felt like second nature to Cain. Parking under the carport felt secure. Garage would be better, but he worked with what he had. At least he’d invested in some dusk-to-dawn spotlights for the back door area. Out front, his house sat diagonal to a streetlight. He turned off the truck and glanced around the oversized double lot his house sat on.
There’d been a time when this had been his home growing up. Then his mother had left, and his dad liked the cabin at the lake better. This property had turned into rental income.
Cain had bought it a few years back when his dad needed money to move to Alaska. Now that Cain needed money to take care of his dad, he planned to sell the property. Sometimes life made not-so-funny circles. So did money. So did a person’s health.
One of the first things Cain had done when he came back to town a few months ago, had been to clear out all the brush and junk and half-rotten trees that had taken over the property. Very little was left in the way of places someone could hide if they were planning to break and enter. Tonight, he was more than glad he’d done that. Tonight, that was a big plus.
Part way home, Betsy’d reclined the passenger seat a few inches and fallen asleep. These past twenty-four hours had been rough on her. Physically and emotionally. Probably felt like years since she’d flown out of California’s LAX yesterday morning.
Betsy slowly stirred out of her short nap. Like a small child waking from a drive home from their grandparents’ house, she fought to open her eyes. Softly grunted, then lightly sighed as she stretched. “Are we home?”
“Yeah. We’re at my house.” Cain grabbed his gun from the console and slid it into the holster strapped on his shoulder. “You wait here until I check inside.”
Raising the passenger seat back to the upright position, she pulled on her hat and gloves. “Will do.”
Feeling more than exposed as he walked to the back door, he looked for signs of fresh footprints in the snow. The only ones he saw were a jumbled, crisscross trail of rabbit tracks. Usually, the squirrels stayed further back on the lot, having made some big nests in a couple of the tall old trees. In fact, once he’d noticed the squirrels’ nests, he hadn’t had the heart to disturb them by taking down any limbs.
There’d never been a security system in this house, and he hadn’t seen a reason to install one. But just like every job he’d been on and every place he’d ever lived, even as a teenager at the lake cabin, he had used his own carefully devised security system. Like placement of lint and paper, and clothes tossed in movement paths. And one he especially liked—a smooth broom sweep of carpet to show new footprints if there were any.
