She already knew about that, thanks to Brad. But true to his word, when he’d passed on her name to Natalie, he’d simply said that he’d heard about Lydia’s departure from someone in town. Which he had—aftertheir discussion. Apparently, there was a server at the local diner who knew everything there was to know in town.
“If Brad likes her, I bet you will too.” Cara shut down her laptop.
“He does appear to be an excellent judge of character.” Winking, Natalie grasped her cane and stood.
Cara let that pass as Natalie walked the journal back to the desk. “You can tell me all about her tonight at dinner.”
“I’ll do that. I hope you have a productive afternoon.”
After gathering up her tablet and pen, Cara headed back to the cottage.
The weather had turned a tad chilly, and she picked up her pace down the path. Fall was settling in, air crisp, sky deep blue, leaves brilliant shades of yellow and russet, light golden. Such a perfect autumn day.
It was hard to believe any dark currents could be rippling under the placid surface of such an idyllic setting.
Yet strange happenings had been occurring since the dayshe arrived. Dizzy spells, a house fire, lights in the woods, the theft of a valuable stamp, a suspicious death. Not to mention the mystery of Marie, with its ominous overtones, which predated all of the current incidents.
Was it possible this place was jinxed?
She rolled her eyes.
No, of course not. That was ridiculous.
Nevertheless, all of the weird goings-on were more than a little perturbing.
So despite how much she enjoyed working with Natalie ... despite her stimulating research and writing ... she wouldn’t mind if they wrapped up the translation sooner than scheduled. Then she could return to her safe, cozy condo back in Cape, where the scariest thing that ever happened was an occasional tornado warning that sent her scurrying to the basement to wait out storms far more predictable than the tempest churning below the surface here.
NOT AGAIN.
Biting back a word he never said, Brad punched the end button on his cell and dropped into his desk chair.
With the early flu wave sweeping through the department and decimating the ranks, he’d have to fill in and take on a patrol shift tomorrow night instead of enjoying his long-awaited dinner with Cara.
At this rate, she was going to think he didn’t want to see her.
But he couldn’t conjure up extra deputies out of thin air.
Heaving a sigh, he called her number.
She answered on the first ring. “Good morning. Or should I say afternoon, now that it’s a few minutes past noon?” She sounded cheery and upbeat.
Not for long.
“It’s afternoon—but either way, it’s not good.”
“Uh-oh.” Her inflection deflated. “Why do I think I’m about to get bad news?”
“Because you’re a smart, intuitive woman.”
“Our date is off again, right?”
“Yes, and I’m totally bummed. But I’ve got three deputies out with the flu, and we’re a small operation. There’s only so much juggling I can do with the schedule unless I give people back-to-back shifts, and that’s a last resort. I don’t like having deputies on duty who are sleep-deprived. I’m going to have to run a patrol shift tonight.”
“Dang.”
“Ditto.”
A sigh came over the line. “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am—but I do understand. Do you want to reschedule?”
