“Do you want me to get back to you?”
“When you can.”
“Listen, Engstrom.Don’t take any chances.Your life won’t be worth a plug nickel if Jennings gets wind of your whereabouts.”
“I won’t.”
Lesley’s knees felt wobbly and weak.She lowered herself onto the couch and covered her mouth with one hand.Cole didn’t need to worry about her suspicions.He could handle her.After all, he had a way with women.
More than that, he was in danger, terrible danger.Tears filledher eyes, blurring her vision.The two men continued talking, but Lesley couldn’t make out what they were saying.A few minutes later she heard the front door open, then close.When she’d gathered the resolve to stand up and look out the window, the sporty red car was gone.
Lesley didn’t eat dinner that night, and breakfast held no appeal the next morning as she dressed for church.She sat through the Sunday school and the morning worship service, but if anyone had asked her what had been discussed, Lesley couldn’t have told them.
She talked and chatted with friends and promised to come to a baby shower the women’s group was giving Jenny Perkins the following Tuesday.She smiled at the appropriate times, spoke when necessary, but her mind was buzzing and the sick feeling that had attacked the pit of her stomach yesterday afternoon persisted the rest of the day.
On her lunch break Monday afternoon, Lesley stopped in the library.She wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking for, but she had a name and would go from there.Without arousing the librarian’s curiosity, Lesley took down from the shelves several volumes relating to the auto industry.Twice she’d heard people say Cole seemed to know a lot about cars.The one remark that struck a chord of response in her had been that of the tow truck operator, who’d said Cole had fixed the foreign car after just listening to the engine.
Flipping through the indexes of several books, Lesley drew a blank.
“Can I help you?”The gray-haired librarian asked her when she returned an armload of books to the counter.
“Not today.Thanks.”
Lesley returned at five after the bank had closed, took down several more volumes and sat at a table, leafing through the back pages.
“If you’d let me know what you’re looking for I might be able to help.”The librarian tried a second time.
“I have a name of someone and I wanted to see if I could find it.Someone who may have been in the news recently.”It was a stab in the dark, but she didn’t know where else to look.If Cole was running from the authorities, his name would have been in the newspapers.
The woman’s brow was wrinkled in a deep frown.“Locally?”
“No, I was thinking more on a national level.Possibly from Indiana.”That was where Cole’s out-of-state check had been issued.
“Possibly the personal names in theNew York Times Indexwould be of help, but we don’t have that reference book here.”
“Could you find out for me?”
The woman looked unsure.“I can check, but it may take a few days.What’s the name?”
“Engstrom.”
“First name?”
“I’m...not sure.”If Daniels wasn’t his last name, who was to know what he’d used for his first name?
“I probably won’t have the information until the end of the week.”
“That’s fine.Thank you.”
November and December were heavy snow months in northern Idaho.Normally Lesley didn’t mind.Idaho was sometimes called America’s Switzerland, and the skiing was fantastic—some of the world’s best.But Lesley’s thoughts weren’t on the glacial valleys or the pristine forests as she pulled into her driveway.
Everything was still and beautiful.The town below looked like something out of a fairy tale.The sky was already dark, and Lesley’s nerves were raw.She couldn’t stay in the apartment without pacing or having her stomach churn with nervous anxiety.What would she learn about Cole?What shocking thing was she about to uncover about the man she was coming to love so intensely, the stranger who lived next door?
With so much nervous energy pent up, Lesley charged out back and grabbed the snow shovel.Several inches more were forecast for the night.If she cleared the space behind her car now, it meant less work in the morning.
She had managed to shovel only a small portion of the area when Cole’s front door slammed.
“Just what are you doing?”he demanded.His mood didn’t appear to have improved.
