She shook her head. “And I’ll bet you didn’t get much.”
“Not yet. But I will.”
“Use your biggest legal guns on them, Ranger. Their clients paid for supersecrecy, and they expect their secrets to stay buried forever.”
“I’ll get the answers I need.” He frowned. “Has anyone else bothered you lately?”
She sighed. “Rick Dowd. Sydney’s brother.”
“When?” he growled.
“At the feed store the other day. He’s hurting. I know that. But he was rude.”
“I’ll talk to him.”
She met his gaze. “No, don’t. Like I said, he still grieves for his sister, and seeing me was a surprise.”
“Was it a surprise?”
“It was for me.”
“And you’re sure it was for him?”
A wrinkle furrowed her brow. “I assumed so.”
“Okay.”
“Okay, you’ll let this drop and leave him be.”
“I’m not making any promises on that score.” She stared at him as if searching. “What do you want to say?”
“I’m not sure I should. You might go raging out of here.”
He raised a brow. “I don’t rage. Too much.”
His honesty made her smile. She studied him as if she too were doing a little fishing. “I spoke to a woman today who was with me at Shady Grove.”
“I thought you didn’t know any real names.” He fought a surge of frustration.
“I saw her a couple of years ago at a wine festival. She told me the name of her dress shop. I tracked her that way.”
When they’d met and discussed Sara, why hadn’t she told him about this person? But he didn’t press, sensing the brittleness of Greer’s trust.
Carefully she picked up her cup and took a sip. “I visited her yesterday after I talked to you about Sara. I wanted to make sure she was okay.” She tossed him a tentative if not guilty smile. “I told her I wouldn’t tell anyone about her.”
“Why?”
“She has a new life. She doesn’t want to remember the past. When she approached me two years ago, I wasn’t happy to see her. And I don’t think she’d have talked to me if she weren’t a little drunk.”
Secrets simmered in this elite group of the privileged. And if he pushed as much as his gut demanded, she’d scramble back into her ivory tower never to be seen again. And so he did what he didn’t do well. He waited.
She shoved out a breath. “I asked her about Sara. Asked if she’d seen her recently. She hadn’t. Nor had she seen Rory. And like I suspected she didn’t want to talk.”
“What’s her name?”
Her brow furrowed as she studied his face. She wanted to trust him. Wanted to, but wasn’t ready to make the leap. “I told her I wouldn’t reveal her past.”
Greer needed to learn he was a man she could trust. Just like she enticed those nags to trust her, he needed to persuade her. “I can’t protect her if I don’t know her name.”
“She’ll be upset.”
His muscles tightened and pinched with impatience but he kept his voice steady. “Greer, I can’t help her or you if you don’t put faith in me.”
She fiddled with her bracelets.
“Greer. Tell me.”
Her gaze locked on his, she nodded as if deciding to leap. “Jennifer Bell. She owns a dress shop in Austin called Elegance.”
Satisfaction venturing beyond the job burned through him. He’d extended a hand to her and she’d taken it. “I will talk to her.”
Her cheeks flushed as if she’d betrayed a dark secret. “She won’t talk to you.”
“Why do you say that? I can be subtle when I put my mind to it.”
His rare attempt at humor passed her by. “Because she’s afraid her past will be exposed. A lot of the kids at Shady Grove came from families who value status above all else. My parents were like that.”
“And yet you’re talking to me.”
“I left that world behind. For me it was about survival.”
“She might not be as attached to that world as you think.”
“She is.”
“I need to talk to her, Greer. That’s not negotiable.”
Frustration churned in her gaze. “I told you she didn’t keep up with the other two.”
“I’ll ask my own questions during an investigation.”
“Jennifer and I were friends at camp. If she’d planned to talk to anyone, it would have been me.”
“I can be persuasive.”
A frown furrowed her brow. “She’ll know I sent you.”
“If she’s smart, it won’t be a big leap for her.” He leaned forward a fraction, wanting to ease the anxiety rippling through her. “She doesn’t need to know you sent me.”
“It’s not that. I’m not afraid of what she’ll say. I feel like I’m betraying her. But I’m afraid if I stay silent, she could be hurt.”
“You were right to tell me.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Why did she end up at Shady Grove?”
She shook her head. “No. That’s for her to tell you, not me.”
“How did she try to kill herself?”
“Ask her.”
Bragg admired Greer’s loyalty. When Greer pledged her fidelity he knew it was rare. He wanted her full trust. He wanted her on his side. He wanted her. “Fair enough.”
Bragg rarely offered information during an interview. He took. Didn’t give. But he sensed if he offered her a measure of trust he’d reap more than he gave.
“Red rope bracelets were found at both Rory and Sara’s crime scenes.”
“What?”
“They were made of a standard crafting yarn. Three strands, braided tightly together, and tied in a knot.”
She swallowed. “Sounds like what we had at Shady Grove.”
“Who else knew about the bracelets? Was it a tradition at the camp?”
“No. It was just our pod. My idea. They symbolized our friendship. How would anyone know?”
“That’s what I need to find out.”
“Do you think I could have caused this?”
“No.” He injected harsh determination into the word. “This is not your fault.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t allow this killer to add to your burden.”
She tried a smile, but it failed. “Carrying burdens seems to be my thing.”
Worry flattened her mouth into a thin line, and he wanted to ease it. “I saw that damn ugly dog sleeping with Mitch on the couch at home tonight.”
“That would be Jasper. He’s smart.”
He didn’t miss her defensive tone. She was also a champion of lost dogs. “Well at least the Good Lord didn’t shortchange that dog totally. Where the hell did you find him?”
“Feed-and-seed store. No one wanted him.”
But you took him. “He’s lucky you happened along.”
“I think we’ll find we’re the lucky ones.”
“Maybe.”
A silence settled between them and then finally she sipped her coffee and pushed it away. “The vineyard is calling. There’s much to be done.”
As she rose so did he. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
“Thanks.”
Her easy acceptance spoke to how much the caller had rattled her. He followed her outside the coffee shop, holding the door for her. She moved quickly but her short strides couldn’t have kept pace with his long legs if he’d walked his normal pace. He slowed his stride and found he liked having her beside him. Liked the way the top of her head barely reached his shoulders. Liked the perkiness radiating from her. Liked the curve of her body and the way her hips swayed as she walked.
At her truck she opened the door and slid behind the wheel. She started the engine and rolled down the window. “Go easy on Jennifer. She talks tough but she’s not.”