Page 15 of Salvation

He was a fifty-something farmer type, unremarkable except for the pale, thin scar that stretched an inch straight up from his upper lip on the right side. It gave him a built-in smile, though his eyes never matched that look. They were a strange, pale gray and very angry. Ominous, almost, like a storm coming over the horizon.

The way he posed the question suggested an agenda she didn’t even want to guess at, so she had shot back a curt answer before walking away. “Why does it matter? My cousin is dead.”

A lie, because she’d been sure Sarah was alive, but suddenly, it seemed better not to share that with this man.

“It matters,” he’d growled as she walked away. “Believe me, it matters.”

Creepdidn’t begin to describe the guy.

She’d hoped he was just passing through Black River, but he rented a cabin and settled in. Asking questions and doing the weirdest things, like stopping by her cousin’s burned-out house and kicking through the ashes. He’d spent a lot of time out by the charred remains of the Voss lumber mill, too, doing who knows what. She’d done her best to avoid him. But then he’d stopped by the wildlife shelter, asking about the injured bear.

“Can I see him?” She remembered hearing his scratchy voice in the lobby one day when she was in the back, checking on the bear.

Thank God for Cynthia putting her foot down. “This isn’t a hospital and certainly not a circus. No visits.”

“That bear’s dangerous, you know,” the man went on as if he hadn’t heard. “Ought to be put down.”

When Anna heard that, she stood abruptly to block the view to the cage. And not a moment too soon, because the man’s piercing eyes had appeared at the glass window in the door separating the public part of the wildlife center from the back.

“Best thing for everyone would be to put a silver bullet in his head right now.”

A silver bullet?

His tone said he wasn’t kidding, and she’d just about marched out of the back room to give him a piece of her mind.

Lucky thing Cynthia had kept her cool. “Sadly, we don’t think that will be necessary. He’s likely to die any day now. Sorry, but we’re closing now. Let me show you to the door.”

That had been the only time he’d entered the wildlife center, but Anna had seen him parked outside a number of times. He’d left her a note, too.

If you hear anything more about your cousin or those Voss brothers, let me know.He’d left an out-of-state cell phone number and signed it Emmett LeBlanc.

She’d taken a match to the note and vowed to be careful what she said about Sarah from then on. Maybe it wasn’t smart to insist Sarah was alive. Not if creeps like Emmett LeBlanc were interested.

The thing was, he seemed interested in everybody. Not just Sarah and the bear, but everybody in the town. He’d been asking about Jessica Macks, too — another woman who hadn’t been seen since the arson attacks. The waitress at the town diner said he’d claimed to be a crime novelist looking for inspiration, but Anna didn’t believe that one bit.

And anyway, that was months back and hundreds of miles away in Montana. This was Arizona. Sarah shot a glance across the street. She’d probably just been imagining things. That hadn’t been Emmett. It couldn’t be.

“Is everything okay?” Sarah asked, looking worried.

“Fine. Great.” She turned back to her cousin and hugged her again. “I’m so glad I found you.”

Todd and Soren had disappeared inside the saloon, and when Sarah led her in their direction, Anna’s nerves jumped up and down in glee. But at the last second, Sarah waved her through another door to the café on the right.

“Quarter Moon Café,” Anna murmured, reading the old-fashioned carved sign swinging over the door.

“Soren made it,” Sarah gushed in the same tone she’d always enthused about the man she loved.

“It’s nice you guys got back together,” Anna said. Her cousin had been gutted by the breakup, but apparently things had worked out after all. “I’m so happy for you.”

The sweet scent of berries and vanilla and fresh fruit hit her the second she stepped inside. The dark-haired woman behind the counter held Sarah’s baby high and made his arm wave.

“See? I told you Mommy was coming back,” she cooed.

Sarah beamed a mile wide and held her arms out. “Thanks, Jessica.”

“Anything for my little Teddy Bear,” the woman said, kissing him.

“Jessica, this is Anna. Anna, meet Jessica,” her cousin said.

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