Page 6 of Crosshairs

She studied him a minute, then barely shrugged. “Sure.”

Linc followed Ainsley up the stairs to the library and knelt beside her as she ran her hands over the short carpet near where Cora had fallen.

“Is it wet?”

“Somewhat, but it’s probably what the paramedics tracked in. Or us.” She held up a blade of grass. “But I doubt any of us brought this in.”

She moved to the desk area and raked her fingers through the rug, frowning as she held up a fragment of a leaf and more blades of grass.

“Could’ve been there awhile,” he said.

“No. I came over to Cora’s this afternoon and couldn’t believe she was trying to vacuum this room. She is so fiercely independent, she almost didn’t turn the vacuum over to me. Someone tracked water and debris into the library since then.”

Ainsley ran her hand over the carpet again.

“Will you be staying in Natchez long?” He’d been dying to ask that question since he arrived.

She looked up at him. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

Ainsley hesitated, then shrugged. “I’m here because of the girl who was killed. Sam Ryker called in ISB.”

Everything fell into place. Ainsley was an Investigative Services Branch ranger. “The girl at Rocky Springs?”

She nodded, then turned her attention back to the carpet, and he took his cue from that. “Is the desk where you first noticed damp spots?”

“Yes.” On her hands and knees now, she slowly felt the carpet, crawling as she followed what appeared to be a trail of dampcarpet that led to the fireplace. Ainsley’s phone dinged a text and she stood. “They’re ready to leave,” she said. “I’ll have to come back later.”

He cocked his head, listening. “Since the worst of the storm seems to be over, I should see if anyone needs help.” Linc hesitated. “Would you keep me in the loop about Cora’s condition? And if you discover that someone broke into her house.”

Her shoulders stiffened, and she pressed her lips together in a thin line.

Before she could say no, he said, “I’ve gotten close to her since we’ve been working on the book. If someone hurt her...”

Her mouth relaxed, but the nod she gave him was curt. “I’ll keep you informed as much as I can. However, if I determine someone was here, it’ll be a matter for the police. I don’t have jurisdiction in Natchez other than on the Trace and at the park service historical sites.”

He could probably get more information from the chief of police than from Ainsley anyway.

“I’ll make sure the doors are locked,” he said as she brushed past him. A light lilac scent took him back to a time when they weren’t on opposite sides of an argument that had destroyed their relationship. He’d been a fool to side with her dad back then, and he needed to make amends. “Ainsley...”

She stopped at the top of the basement stairs and looked toward him, her eyes questioning.

“I—”

“Ainsley! They’re leaving with Cora!” Rose called from the basement.

Now was not the time or place. “Be careful,” he said.

A flicker of annoyance crossed her face. “I’m always careful.”

Yeah, right. He’d almost said the words before he caught them. “Just thought I’d remind you. And let me know what the doctors say about Cora.”

“Sure.” Then she disappeared down the stairs.

After they left, Linc descended the steps into the basement to repair the door. After examining the damage, he scanned the basement for a hammer and nails and found what he needed in a red toolbox. After he didn’t readily see a board, Linc used the light on his phone to search the area. Was a piece of lumber sticking out under the steps leading upstairs? When he investigated, he stopped short. A puddle of water had accumulated on the floor behind the stairs.

Water didn’t just accumulate in a basement unless there was a leak somewhere ... or someone tracked it in. And, if someone had been in the basement, he would’ve had to come up the same steps they came down and he didn’t remember any water on the steps when they brought Cora down. But then again, he hadn’t been looking for any.

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