Page 52 of Twin Jeopardy

“You are.”

“I’m never going to be able to sleep now,” he said.

“Me neither. What should we do instead?”

“We could play cards,” he said, his voice teasing.

Her arm snaked around his waist. “I have a better idea.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I’d rather show you. After all, they say actions speak louder than words.”

He rolled forward and pressed his body against hers. “Then I’m ready to hear everything you have to say.”

ONWEDNESDAY,Gage Walker stopped by theEagle Mountain Examineroffice. Tammy’s stomach gave a nervous shimmy when she spotted him standing in the doorway in his neat khaki uniform. “Hello, Gage,” she said. “Can I help you?”

“I’m dropping off the weekly sheriff’s report.” He held up a single sheet of paper. The report—a summary of the number and types of calls made by the department during the previous week—was one of the paper’s most popular features. People seemed to delight in reading about calls to chase bears out of people’s gardens or put cows back into pastures. They speculated on who might be behind the more serious entries, from drunk driving arrests to domestic violence calls. But the report was usually delivered by a civilian clerk or a duty officer, not the force’s second-in-command.

Gage approached Tammy’s desk and handed over the report. “Any more word from V?” he asked.

“No. She hasn’t contacted me.” It seemed easier to refer to V as female since that was how she thought of her since the attack.

“What about Vince? Has he heard anything?”

“I don’t think so.” She had never been a proficient liar, and she was sure Gage would see through the falsehood. She had tried to persuade Vince to tell the sheriff’s department about the late-night call from someone pretending to be Valerie, but he had refused, convinced they wouldn’t be able to do anything.

“Did you find any fingerprints or DNA on my car?” she asked, hoping to divert Gage’s attention.

“No. Not on Vince’s truck either.” He held up a finger. “But that’s not for the paper.”

“I know, Gage. I’m not writing about either incident.”

“I just want to be clear. Tell Vince to get in touch if he hears anything else from V.”

“I will.” She stood and walked with him to the door. “I guess I’ll see you at the Fourth of July festivities tomorrow?”

“I’m on duty in the morning,” he said. “In the afternoon, I’m working the Elks’ Fun Fair.”

“I’ll stop and say hello. Maybe get a picture for the paper.”

When she was sure he was gone, she went into the back room, where old issues of the paper were stored, and pulled out her phone. When Vince answered, she said, “Gage was just here. He was asking if I had heard anything from V.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him no. That wasn’t exactly a lie, since she didn’t call me. But then he asked if you had heard from her. I lied about that too.”

“It doesn’t matter. It was just a prank call. We haven’t heard from her again.”

“You’re working the Fun Fair tomorrow, right? So is Gage. He’ll probably ask you about V.”

“My parents will be with me. I’ll tell him I don’t want to talk about any of this with them there. He’ll respect that.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later, then.”

“I’m making fajitas for dinner.”

“Then I won’t be late.”

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