Page 12 of I'm Watching You

‘Yes. I’ve also put a call in to Michelle Franklin over at Hayden House.’ The shelter was in the east end of the county. ‘They’ve got two beds.’

‘We’ve got six people here now.’ Lindsay mentally went through the list of residents. ‘Greenlands to Riverside. Tracy and Cindy to Hayden House. Call the Y and see if they have a bed for Barbara.’

‘I’ll take care of it.’

‘I’ll contact the women at work and tell them what’s happening. The last thing they need is to hear about this on the news.’

Ruby shook her head. ‘What a mess.’

‘Yeah.’

Lindsay called each of the women, did her best to downplay the situation, and promised to transfer their goods to the new shelters so they wouldn’t have to return to Sanctuary. Ruby would pick the Greenland boys up at school and take them directly to Riverside.

By the time she hung up the phone, Lindsay’s head was really pounding. She needed caffeine.

At the kitchen sink, she rinsed out stale coffee from the coffeemaker carafe, refilled it with tap water, and dumped it in the machine’s reservoir. She tossed out the old grounds, scooped fresh into the metal filter, and switched the machine on.

A flicker of movement caught her eye. She turned in time to see Zack step through the front door, a cell phone cradled under his chin. He’d loosened his tie. Thick stubble covered his chin, as if he’d been up all night. His gun rested on his narrow hip.

He spoke into his cell. ‘Ayden, you and Warwick need to see this. Yeah, well, tell him his vacation is over.’

The deep timbre of Zack’s voice swirled around Lindsay, raking over her frayed nerves. Just having him close made her nervous.

Zack had a strong profile and Lindsay found herself liking his hair short. It suited him. Unexpected desire flickered to life. A part of her still wanted Zack. Probably always would. Damn. Her fickle libido was the last thing she needed to deal with right now.

‘I need to talk to the shelter director first,’ he added.

She turned back to the hissing coffeepot, in a sudden rush to have something to do. She pulled the half-full carafe out. Hot coffee dripped down on the machine’s burner as she quickly poured a cup, then replaced the pot. Coffee spilled over the edge of the burner.

She grabbed a handful of paper towels and started to mop up the mess. ‘Damn.’

Footsteps sounded behind her. ‘Patience never was your specialty,’ Zack said.

Lindsay ignored the greater meaning behind his words and swallowed a tart retort. ‘No, I guess not.’Be nice,she thought. Turning, she held up a mug. ‘You want a cup?’

‘That would be great.’

She filled a cup with black coffee and handed it to him. He thanked her. The forced civility didn’t fit them. Their relationship had never been lukewarm. When they fought, laughed, or made love the intensity could have shaken the rafters. And she’d been proud of that. She’d never figured that that same intensity would also rip them apart.

Lindsay nodded toward her office door. ‘We can talk in my office.’

Tension snapping at her, she headed past him, down the center hallway to her office. Her office, like every other room in the shelter, served many purposes. The public health nurse used her desk when she visited, residents used the space for private meetings, and donations were usually left there before they were sorted.

Stacks of papers covered her desk but she could, at any given moment, find anything she needed.

Lindsay removed a donated clothes bag from a chair and set it behind her desk. She motioned for Zack to sit as she took her chair behind the desk. Here she felt safe.

Zack took a seat and flipped open his notebook.

‘Are you going to tell me who was murdered?’

In no rush, Zack sipped his coffee and then set it on the edge of her desk before settling his gaze on her. ‘You had any trouble here at the shelter lately?’

That was so Zack to answer a question with a question. ‘Not lately. You know about Pam Rogers, the woman who revealed the shelter location to her husband. He picked her up and later he killed her.’

‘Nine months ago, right before I joined homicide. I read the file.’

‘Since then, we’ve had no trouble.’

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