Page 61 of Wind Valley

But then he realized that something was relaxing—her barriers were breaking down. Maybe the steam was easing the fear that had kept her from talking freely about her experience with SS.

“I can see why you wouldn’t trust the system,” he said gently. “But if there’s another woman coming forward, wouldn’t that help your case?”

“Maybe. But the track record overall isn’t great. Verdicts get overturned. And I don’t have a lot of money for lawyers. I used up a chunk of my savings just getting to Firelight Ridge.”

“You could probably work something out with Molly Evans. She’s brilliant, and you know how things are in Firelight Ridge. There’s a lot of bartering going on. I think the Chilkoots pay her in moose meat.”

She smiled at that. “I suppose I could sharpen up my hunting skills, which at this point are zero.” Letting out a sigh, she tilted her head back. “Ugh, lawyers and courtrooms…I can just picture SS getting on the witness stand and telling a million lies about me, about how I led him on, or asked for him to chase me to Alaska or—” Abruptly, she shifted her position, creating a splash that drew a few looks from across the pool. “Wait. Isn’t there something about crossing state lines?”

“How do you mean?”

“If you cross state lines while committing a crime, that means the FBI can get involved. Otherwise it’s the local or the state police, or the sheriff.”

That sounded vaguely correct, though he’d never had a reason to look into it. “That makes sense, if more than one state is involved. But what crime was he committing?”

“I don’t know…harassment? Stalking? Breaking and entering our hotel room? There must be something!” Excitedly, she splashed her hands through the water. “One of my problems has been that SS is so connected to all the local law enforcement. But not the FBI, and not the police here in Alaska. You know something, Lachlan?”

“What?” Her change of mood made him almost dizzy.

“You were right about this place. I think I just had a breakthrough! SS made a big mistake coming to Alaska. It changes everything.” Then her face fell. “Shoot, I just realized that we have no proof that he was in our hotel room. Your hotel room,” she corrected.

“That’s not completely true.”

She glanced at him questioningly.

“I took a photo when I was looking through Sam’s binoculars, when you were hiding under your coat. My phone camera has great resolution, so I snapped a couple of shots blindly, in the general direction that I’d been pointing the binoculars. I haven’t even looked at the photos. They might show nothing, so don’t get your hopes up too much.”

“Too late.” Her eyes were sparkling as she paddled closed to him. “That was a genius move, Lachlan. What made you think of it?”

“I’m a scientist. I document everything.”

“How about you document this?” she said in a low sexy murmur as her hand swept across the front of his swim trunks.

He closed his eyes at the pleasure of her touch. She wasn’t trying to make him come, this was the wrong place for that. It was just a tease. A “let’s find another hotel room and dive under the covers” invitation.

As his eyes drifted open, something caught his eye on the wooden boardwalk that led back to the locker rooms. The continuous flow of people coming and going from the springs made it hard to single out one person. It was the colors that had caught his eye. Yellow and green, just like the beanie…

He sat bolt upright and peered through the floating steam. “Over on the boardwalk,” he said to Maura in a low voice. “At two o’clock. Is that who I think it is?”

She gave a quick intake of breath. “Shit. That’s him. What the hell? Do you think he followed us?”

“No one followed us. I made sure.” Then he swore. “Did he put a tracker on Sam’s car? Maybe it wasn’t your phone after all.”

“When would he have done that?”

He retraced their journey from the moment they’d landed in Blackbear. “If he was waiting at the airport, he could have spotted us there, followed us to the store where we got snacks, and planted the tracker there.”

“So he’s been following us all this time?” she whispered in horror. “How did he know we’d be in Blackbear?”

“The investigator? Maybe we weren’t as slick as we thought we were. Or maybe he figured you’d leave town once an investigator showed up, so he camped out at the Blackbear airport. It’s the only way out in the winter.”

They watched as the man on the boardwalk scanned the faces of the people in the small grotto hot tub closest to him. He wore swim trunks and a towel draped around his neck. And that beanie…he probably wasn’t used to Alaska temperatures.

Could they avoid being spotted if they stayed in this dark corner of the springs? It was possible, but the way SS was scrutinizing every bather in the place, unlikely. They had to slip past him somehow and race out of here while he was still searching the springs.

A group of Japanese travelers—about ten—who’d been floating near them made a move toward the stairs. Could he and Maura blend in with their group?

“Time for one more crazy ice hair style,” he told her. He gestured toward the heads bobbing toward the stairs. “Make it fast.”

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