Page 69 of Crosshairs

“Vague memory of him from school. He was a couple of years ahead of us.”

“He’s a good guy.” Linc pulled into Cora’s drive and parked near the back door.

“This won’t take a minute,” she said as they piled out of his Tahoe.

“Toss me the keys to the station wagon, and I’ll crank it up and let it run in case you need it.”

“Thanks, but you’ll need the garage opener too.”

He followed Ainsley to the kitchen and waited while she found the remote. Outside, he walked to the large stand-alone building that had at one time held a carriage on one side and stabledhorses on the other. The door creaked up and he smiled at the 1991 Mercury Colony Park station wagon sitting inside. Someone washed and waxed it regularly because it looked practically brand-new.

After unlocking it, he slid across the leather seat. While it didn’t smell brand-new, it had that luxurious leather smell. When he turned the key, the motor instantly turned over. It only had fifty thousand miles on it, and someone kept the car in good running shape. J.R., maybe? If it was J.R., then he had a better relationship with Cora than he had with his daughter. They were almost like strangers to each other.

Had Linc been so blind all those years ago when he aligned himself with J.R. that he couldn’t see they both had their own interests at heart and not Ainsley’s? Linc, because he feared losing her, and J.R. because he arrogantly thought he knew what was best for his daughter?

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While the sketch was printing, Ainsley walked to her aunt’s bedroom and checked the safe. The dial was no longer set at twenty-six, the number Linc had left it on. As she suspected, her dad had been here and opened the safe.

Why couldn’t he trust her enough to be honest with her? And why did she care? Because every child wanted their father’s approval, even as adults. Maybe that was why she had so much trouble trusting God.

Her lips tugged upward in a wry grin. Gran would have an answer to that.

“Honey, never compare God to your dad. He has frailties and weaknesses. I should know—I raisedhim. God will always be there for you, and he’ll never give up on you.”

Ainsley wished she could grab ahold of that. A scent tickled her nose and she lifted her head, sniffing the air. If there was one talent she had, it was picking up scents. Lavender.She turned to the closet. Why was the door ajar? It hadn’t been when she left this morning.

She crossed to the closet and checked Cora’s clothes. The lavender scent filled the enclosure. It was a scent she would always associate with her aunt. Her grandmother on the other hand preferred the clean fragrance of lily of the valley and bergamot.

Ainsley picked up another scent, heavier, like musk. A man’sscent. She tried to remember how her father had smelled at the hospital. She didn’t think it was the scent she smelled now. Too heavy for her dad. She rocked back on her feet. Had someone been here other than her dad, or was she, like he said, seeing a crime everywhere she looked? If only she could get him out of her head.

Realizing she no longer heard the printer, Ainsley closed the closet door and hurried back to the library. Four sheets were in the tray. That should be enough for Rocky Springs. She frowned and sniffed the air again. The heavier scent from the closet had followed her to the library. Not as strong, but definitely there. She still didn’t think it was her dad’s cologne, but neither could she rule it out. Shaking her head, she walked to the kitchen. She would ask him point-blank about it later today.

Ainsley paused at the kitchen door. She couldn’t shake the feeling of someone’s presence in the house ... it just didn’t feel empty. She pulled her gun and backtracked, checking the first floor. Nothing unusual. At the foot of the steps going up to the bedrooms, her phone chimed an incoming text. Linc asking if she was ready to leave.

“Be there in a sec,”she texted back. Did she want to tell him what she was doing? She wasn’t sure she trusted him not to make fun of her ... but if her instincts were right, she might need his help.“Clearing the house.”

He texted back.“Why?”

“Vibes.”If he didn’t understand that, there was no need to say anything else.

The back door opened and footsteps came toward her.

“Ainsley?” Linc called.

“At the stairs going to the second floor,” she called back, surprised at how pleased she was that he’d showed up. He might not be able to use a gun, but he wasn’t afraid to cover her back. She hoped one day he could get past what happened with Blake.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

She paused at the landing and turned to him. “I don’t know. Nothing I can explain, but either someone is in the house or they were here right before we arrived.”

“I’ll go with you,” he said and climbed to the landing.

Ainsley nodded, and they cleared each bedroom one by one. By the last room, she questioned why she’d felt the need to check out the house. “Guess you think I’m crazy, like my dad does.”

He cocked his head. “Investigators have to go by their gut instincts.”

“Thanks, but as you can see, no one is here.”

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