Jason had also been thinking about the creepy books, papers, and photos they’d found in Roger Gaines’s room. If the guy was violent, he might have equally violent friends. Add in Brinley’s address and Jason was more determined than ever to keep her safe. He wasn’t sure she was actually in any real danger but he wasn’t taking any chances at this juncture in the investigation. Too many unknowns. Too many open questions.
It all came down to one thing. Jason wanted to keep an eye on Brinley until they knew more about this case.
The fact that she was beautiful, smart, and funny was a complete coincidence.
“Of course I want to. I meant it when I said I wanted to find out how I fit into all of this. So what are we going to do now?”
“Dinner,” Jason answered promptly. “Then back home. We both need a good night’s sleep. I’m guessing you didn’t get any more rest last night than I did.”
“Not much,” she confessed. “I can’t stop thinking about Roger Gaines. I don’t know how detectives do this kind of a job. I’d never sleep again.”
“I don’t usually get this personally involved in a case. Most cases don’t have this many unanswered questions also. Most of them are pretty cut and dried.”
Jason wasn’t being completely honest. There had been one case before this that had become personal as hell. It had almost killed him. And it affected his sleep. He still had nightmares, although not as often. It was a small price to pay to be alive.
“There’s a decent steakhouse off the highway. How does that sound?”
Changing the subject seemed like a good idea. He liked Brinley but he wasn’t in the mood for a confessional of any sort. There was something innocent and sweet about her that he didn’t want to sully with the sordid details.
He didn’t want her to know just how fucked up he really was.
*
By the time Brinley and Jason returned to Tremont the sun was down and she was yawning. It had been a very long twenty-four hours and so much had happened in that short span of time. Her entire life had been turned inside out.
Jason was right. She needed a good night’s sleep.
“We’ll be home in less than five minutes,” Jason said when she yawned again. “How about we get on the road about ten in the morning? You can sleep in. That will get us to Billings about lunchtime.”
Brinley nodded, shifting in her seat. She’d been sitting too long and her lower back ached. A long bike ride would take care of it and loosen up her muscles but that wasn’t going to happen at this time of night. The only thing she was good for was crawling between the sheets and spending the next ten to twelve hours unconscious.
“What the hell?” Jason hissed, the truck accelerating sharply now that he’d turned onto their street. Brinley grabbed the door handle in alarm as the engine growled, throwing her back in her seat.
“What’s wrong?”
But she could see it now even as Jason was muttering under his breath. Red and blue lights flashed on two police cars in her driveway. A crowd of people were gathered on her lawn including her neighbor Fran, Fran’s husband Richard, and Detective Westin Anderson with Huck alongside.
The blood pounding in her ears, she practically jumped from the truck before Jason even had it in park. Slamming the truck door closed she jogged toward her house, frantically scanning it for damage, fire or otherwise.
“Easy there.” Of course Jason had easily caught up to her. His hand wrapped around her upper arm, bringing her to an abrupt halt on trembling legs. “Let’s talk to West first.”
“I want inside my house. I need to see what’s happened.”
She jerked her arm free only to have West block her path as she made a beeline for her front door. Huck enthusiastically greeted Jason who scratched the canine behind the ears, much to the dog’s delight.
“Ms. Snow, I’m glad you’re home.”
The detective held up his hand in a halting motion that made her pause but her gaze was firmly on the house behind him. It was hard to see in the dim light but it appeared to be undamaged.
“What happened, West?”
Jason was beside her again. This time he draped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her close to his strong frame. Not in a romantic way, but more of a reassurance that if something bad had transpired he would be there. His fingers squeezed her shoulder as if he comforted semi-hysterical women every day.
Maybe he did but she wasn’t planning to make a scene. Yet, anyway.
West waved his flashlight toward the front porch. “Looks like an attempted break-in. The neighbor was outside and saw a flashlight through the windows. His dogs made a ruckus and while he was going for his shotgun the burglar ran off between the houses. I’ve got men out on foot looking for him but I’m guessing he’s long gone. Probably had a car parked a block or two away. Ms. Snow, you’ll need to–”
“I want to see.” Frustration with not knowing in general and these two men in particular made her yank away from Jason and zigzag around West’s imposing frame. She wanted inside her damn house. It wasn’t an unreasonable request. She didn’t want to be protected from the truth or coddled like a child. Jason and West seemed determined to delay learning the extent of the damage as long as possible.
“Wait.” Jason’s deep commanding voice made her pause but only for a moment. He wasn’t the boss of her, although he seemed used to giving orders. Without a backward glance she pushed through the crowd of neighbors and stomped up her porch steps only to find her front door hanging crumpled and sagging on its hinges. She reached out to touch the large footprint on the finished oak but a larger, stronger hand captured her wrist and pulled her back against his warm body, his arm anchoring her waist. “Don’t. That’s what West was trying to tell you. They’re still gathering evidence. You can’t touch anything.”
Her fingers curled back into her palm, the nails cutting into the flesh to keep from screaming. He didn’t get it. The utter feeling of helplessness. Outrage. She’d been violated. Like a million eyeballs staring at her stark naked. Someone had been in her home. The place she felt safe. At least until this moment. She needed to see where they’d walked and what they’d touched so she could bleach any trace of them away. If not from her mind at least physically.
With a free hand she scrubbed at her cheeks, surprised to find them wet with tears. Sagging back against him the fight drained out of her. She was exhausted. Worn out and beaten down by the last twenty-four hours. A human could only take so much and she’d had her fill.
“How did this happen? Why?” The words came out stilted but the detective seemed to understand.
West stood on the other side of her, a sympathetic expression on his face, probably grateful she wasn’t going to faint or scream or something worse. “I don’t know why this happened, Ms. Snow, but if I were a gambling man I’d say it might have something to do with Roger Gaines. Believe me, we intend to find out.”
She drew a shaky breath, hating the fact that she felt vulnerable and exposed in front of all these people. Most of them strangers. “I think under the circumstances, Detective, you should probably call me Brinley. I have a feeling we’re going to see a lot more of each other.”
“Thank you, Brinley. Just call me West. I need to talk to you about this. How about we all go into Jason’s house and sit down? Maybe have a cup of coffee or something.”
Needing to be away from the curious eyes of the neighborhood she nodded in agreement. “That sounds good. But I want to thank Richard and Fran for scaring him away.”
Jason patted her shoulder. “They can come over and join us. I’d like to hear the story directly from them.”
On automatic pilot, Brinley followed West and Jason down the steps and across the yard and driveway to Jason’s house, Huck on their heels. Her life didn’t feel like her own anymore. Something sinister – and very scary – was going on and she didn’t like it one bit.