Page 61 of Billionaire Protector

“I said I feel awful this is happening under my jurisdiction. We’re doing everything we can to catch the criminal, but I still feel like I’m letting everyone down.” Sarah gazed at the bucolic scene out the window, the postcard perfect world that always seemed just out of reach. Green fields stretched, dotted by majestic trees, jewel-colored flowers and soaring birds. Once again, she’d shared too much with Cole. He already thought she didn’t deserve the job – she didn’t need to give him more ammunition.

Yet a growing smile showed no ill will. “Could that be our motive?”

She tore her gaze away from blue skies and endless fields of green. “Could what be our motive?”

“You.”

She set her jaw, sharpened her gaze to a sliver. She’d known this was coming, yet it still stung like a wasp’s embrace. “Are you accusing me of something?”

“No.” Cole shook his head with genuine surprise. “I’m not implying you did it.”

He wasn’t? “I don’t understand.”

“I’m implying you’re themotive.” He leaned closer, lowered his voice. “Could someone be setting the fires to damage your reputation?”

“Damage my reputation?” A shiver traced her spine, frigid and burning and everything in between. “Who would do that? And why?”

Cole lifted a shoulder, pierced her with jade eyes. “You tell me.”

“I have no idea,” she said honestly. She’d had a difficult relationship with some residents as a child, but matters had calmed down with time’s passing. Most people respected her position, with one glaring exception now staring at her. “I can only think of one person who sees my every fault. Maybe you’re the criminal.”

He folded his arms, which molded the fabric to his chest, which outlined those luscious muscles, which make her think of…

He cleared his throat. “Is that so?”

“Absolutely.” She lifted her chin from luscious muscles. “However, then you’d lose your designation as the world’s biggest boy scout, so no. But do you really think someone is out to get me?”

“I don’t know. At this point, we should explore every angle.”

He was right, and she hated when he was right. She especially hated that he was right so often. “Okay, so let’s talk about it. Who might want to make me lo–”

“Hey Sherriff–” Scott knocked on the open door. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but it’s important. There’s been another incident.”

Sarah stood, rubbing the bridge of her nose, where a headache was forming. “Let me guess. Arson?”

Scott darted his gaze to Cole, then back again. He nodded. “In Richards Park. Someone destroyed the clock.”

The headache notched up several degrees. “Now who would want to destroy a clock?”

“Someone who’s really late to work?” Scott quipped. He grinned sheepishly at Sarah’s harsh look. “Sorry. But um, yeah, it was the clock. There wasn’t anything else to catch fire, so it just burned itself out. You can actually still see the time frozen on the face.”

Sarah put the files in a stack and grabbed her equipment. “Scott, you stay here in case another call comes in. Cole, you come with me.” She didn’t even realize what she’d done until she was walking next to a determined looking Cole. Why had she invited Cole instead of Scott, who’d been with the department longer than any of current officers? A second later she knew why. Even if he hadn’t been a cop for long, Cole was the best at his job. He’d just proven it by giving new direction to an investigation that had come to a standstill.

They didn’t speak as they entered the car, or for the first few minutes of the short drive. Yet she was ever aware of his looming presence and steady regard, as he watched her like a puzzle to be solved. Finally, he said lowly, “Sarah, do you have an alibi for every fire?”

She tightened her grip on the steering wheel until her palms burned. “I don’t like where this conversation is headed.”

“I’m not suggesting you’re a suspect,” he said mildly. “I just want to know if you have an alibi.”

Was this a trap to get her to incriminate herself? Had his suggestion before been a decoy? Intelligent eyes revealed nothing, yet refusing to answer would make him even more suspicious. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Most of the fires happened at night, and in such quiet places they weren’t discovered until hours later. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact times. There was the one that happened while we were at the diner.”

“But no one was actually with you when it occurred.”

She hardened, didn’t respond.

“So you don’t have a solid alibi for any of them?” he pressed. “Like one happening while you were at work or something?”

She reconsidered the times, shook her head. “I’d have to look back at the schedule to be sure, but no, probably not. That is, unless this one just occurred and wasn’t only recently discovered. We’ll have to see when we get there.” She shifted uncomfortably. “What’s this all about, if you’re not trying to prove my guilt?”

---