Page 45 of Twin Jeopardy

“I took an extra day after the conference. I went back to the casino, then spent hours driving around the area. I guess I thought I might spot her again, but if she didn’t want to be seen, there were a million places she could hide. I finally convinced myself that I must have been mistaken. I went back home and tried to forget about her. But I’ve always wondered.”

“If Valerie is alive, I have to think she would want to see us,” Vince said. “We’re her family.”

“I like to think that too, son. But we don’t know what she’s been through in the time she’s been apart from us.”

She isn’t alive, he wanted to say but didn’t. If it made his father feel better to believe his daughter wasn’t dead, Vince wasn’t going to dissuade him. But that kind of hope felt to Vince like a chain holding them all back. Valerie was dead. Until they accepted that, they could never move on.

MONDAY, TAMMYTRIEDto focus on work, but her mind continually drifted to thoughts of Vince, replaying the two amazing evenings they had spent together. She thought she had been head over heels for a man before. The giddy sensation of wanting to be with someone every minute wasn’t new. But things with Vince were different. More intense, yet less stressful. They connected in a way she hadn’t known was possible, and didn’t feel any pressure to hide the “weird” side of herself from him. She hadn’t realized how much she was holding back in other relationships until she got close to Vince.

“What are you grinning about?” Russ asked as he passed her desk that afternoon.

She immediately assumed a sober expression. “Nothing,” she said.

“What are you working on?” he asked.

She glanced at her computer screen, the cursor blinking on the beginning of an unwritten paragraph—the same position it had been in for the last half hour. She started to repeatNothingbut thought better of it. “I’m writing that piece about the women’s club rummage sale,” she said. “And I’m finishing up my next piece about search and rescue.”

“Don’t forget the planning commission meeting at six.”

She groaned. “Nothing ever happens at those meetings.”

“Then why are they having a meeting?” he asked.

“So they can table making a decision on land-use codes—the same thing they’ve done the last three meetings.”

“They can’t table a decision forever,” Russ said. “And when they reach a conclusion, our readers will want to know what it is.”

She sighed. Russ was right, of course. And she did have the meeting on her calendar. It was just that she would 100 percent have preferred to spend the evening with Vince.

But the meeting did give her an excuse to text him. Though they hadn’t made definite plans for tonight, she sensed that spending every night together was becoming a habit neither was in a hurry to break.

Can’t get together tonight, she typed.I’ve got to cover the planning commission meeting.

She pressed Send and waited, not exactly holding her breath but unable to look away from the screen.

The phone vibrated, and a small thrill raced through her as she read his reply.Too bad. Guess I’ll have to sit at home alone and think about my plans for next time we get together.

She started to type a reply asking for more specifics about what he had in mind but became aware of Russ watching her. “You’re grinning again,” he said.

She frowned and turned the phone so the screen was definitely out of Russ’s line of sight.Looking forward to seeing you again, she typed.TTYL.

The meeting that evening proved as boring as she had anticipated, though the commission did spring for pizza from Mo’s to feed themselves, Tammy and the two locals who showed up. At least she didn’t have to listen to them debate the exact definition ofagricultural useon an empty stomach.

By nine o’clock everyone in the room seemed to have had enough. The committee had agreed on some definitions and tabled other decisions until the following month. Tammy gathered her belongings and drove home. She debated dropping by to see Vince but decided instead to call him when she got in.

Her mind played out possible avenues for such a conversation as she climbed out of her car and headed up the walkway to her house.

Then something—or rather, someone—hit her with such force she was knocked off her feet. She didn’t even have time to scream before her attacker landed on top of her and began pummeling her.

Chapter Fifteen

For a moment Tammy couldn’t fight back or even breathe. She forced her eyes open, trying to see who was hitting her, but could make out only the shadowy outline of a figure dressed in dark clothing. Her attacker grabbed her hair and forced her head back, then rammed it into the dirt.

Pain rocketed through her and freed her from her momentary paralysis. She shoved against her assailant, then brought her knee up, hard, between the other person’s legs. The reaction wasn’t the one she had expected. Her attacker grunted, then laughed.

Whoever this was, Tammy realized they weren’t much bigger than her. Another shove pushed them off her. She kicked out again, this time connecting with the other person’s shin. She grabbed for any hold she could find and wrapped her hand around an ear and pulled hard.

This time her attacker screamed—a high-pitched wail of rage. They staggered up and began kicking at Tammy, who rolled away, then shoved to her knees.

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