Page 47 of Twin Jeopardy

Declan stood. “I’ll talk to your neighbors and see if any of them noticed anyone hanging around who shouldn’t be in the area. Let us know if you think of anything else.”

Tammy walked with him to the door. As soon as he was gone, her mother started fussing. “We should go to the hospital,” she said. “You might need stitches.”

“I’ll be okay, Mom. I’m going to take a shower, then go to bed.” The fight had left her exhausted, and in no mood to talk to anyone. Not even Vince.

“I’m going to call Mitch and ask him to come over.”

“Mom, no. He’s probably with Elisabeth.”

“I don’t care. I’ll feel a lot safer with him here. She can come with him, if she likes.”

Tammy studied her mother’s placid expression. “You like her, don’t you?”

“I like that she makes your brother happy. That’s what I want most for both of you children.”

“Do you worry that she’s not right for him?”

“The most unlikely couples can make a good match,” her mother said. “As long as each partner has an equal stake in making things work. Otherwise, there’s going to be trouble ahead.”

Tammy retreated to her bathroom. If she let herself, those terrifying moments on the ground with her assailant would replay themselves over and over and in her mind. Instead, she thought about Vince. The two of them seemed equally matched. And they were both equally hesitant to be hurt. Did that bode well for their future or mean they were condemned to never get close enough to last?

THESEARCHANDrescue training Tuesday evening was mandatory for rookies like Vince, who were preparing for their SARTech II certification test. He took a seat at the end of a table, next to Grace Wilcox. Bethany turned to smile at him. “Hi, Vince,” she said.

“Hey.” The intensity with which she studied him unnerved him. He didn’t want to be unfriendly, but he didn’t want to encourage her attention either.

“Don’t you have anything better to do on a Tuesday night?” Grace Wilcox asked as Eldon slipped past them to settle on her other side.

“It never hurts to refresh my memory,” Eldon said. He picked up a pencil and slotted it behind one ear. “Plus, May is out of town at an art show, and there’s nothing good on TV. I might as well be here.”

Danny moved to the front of the room. “Let’s get started, everyone. Somebody dim the lights.” He hit the button for the first slide. “We’re going to start with some definitions.”

A loud creak from the door interrupted him. Everyone in the room turned to see Tammy slip inside. “Sorry I’m late,” she said, and took a seat at the back of the room. She had her head down, hair falling over one eye. Vince sat up straighter and tried to get a better look. Normally, he expected her to smile and maybe search the room for him, but she wasn’t doing that. Was something wrong?

“It’s okay,” Danny said. “Let’s get started with the first section.”

They took a break after the first hour, and Vince made his way toward Tammy. He stopped short when she turned to look at him. One eye was swollen shut, and her lips were puffy. “What happened to you?” he asked. At the sound of his voice, everyone who hadn’t already been looking their way turned toward them.

Tammy’s face reddened. “Somebody jumped me outside my house last night when I got home from the meeting,” she said. She put a hand on his arm. “I’m okay. Really.”

“Who was it?” Eldon asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “It was dark and I didn’t see a lot, and they never said anything. I fought them off, and they ran away. Apparently, none of the neighbors saw anyone suspicious in the area.” She put a hand to her face. “I know I look terrible.”

“You look fine.” Vince hesitated, then put an arm around her. “But I hate that you were hurt.” He leaned closer and spoke more softly into her ear. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to upset you,” she said. “You’ve got enough on your mind right now.”

“Not too much to care about what happens to you,” he said.

This made her smile, though she immediately winced, probably because her lip hurt.

“Are you thinking of joining search and rescue?” Bethany asked. She had moved up on Vince’s other side and was studying Tammy with that piercing way of hers.

Tammy looked grateful for the change of subject. “No. I told Danny I wanted to write more about the training you guys undergo, and he suggested I attend the class tonight.”

“It’s an overview of the general knowledge we need to have,” Danny said. “Though there’s a lot more that goes into wilderness rescues.”

“So I’m learning,” she said.

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