Page 10 of Dark Terror
“Ready to go home, Cricket?” he said.
At hearing his name, the dog glanced up at him and barked. Then he headed down the sidewalk. “He seems to know where he’s going.” She hoped her idea worked.
“We’ll see.”
At the corner Cricket took a left, trotted purposely ahead for two more blocks, then crossed the street. Halfway down the next block, they came to a row house, and the dog walked up to the door and looked back at them as if waiting for them to open it.
“Seems like we found where he lives.” Gabe glanced at her. “Good thinking, Cara. You might have saved us days of trying to identify her.” He pushed the doorbell.
As they waited to see if anyone answered, she tried not to make too much of the warm feeling that flowed through her at his praise. She hoped identifying the poor woman meant that he wouldn’t need her anymore, and he would move on with his investigation. The sooner the better because she was liking him too much.
“Doesn’t appear anyone’s home,” Gabe said after a minute. “I’ll have to do some research to find out who lives here. What time do you need to be at work?”
“I’m already late. Mrs. Kastrop’s going to yell at me, but what else is new?” She turned to go back down the steps. Movement at the end of the block, on the other side of the street, caught her attention.
“Gabe,” she whispered. “He’s watching us.” Why was she whispering? Because that’s what you did when you were scared.
“Same man?” he asked without glancing around.
“Yes, to our right, at the corner on the other side of the street.”
“Don’t look at him.” He pulled out his phone and called someone, giving the man’s location while side-eyeing where she’d seen him.
“He’s gone. Seeing him twice this morning, doesn’t that mean he really is watching me?” She lifted her gaze to Gabe’s, wishing he could deny it, say it was just a coincidence. But she knew he couldn’t, not now.
“Come on. Let’s get you to work,” he said, ignoring her question. He put his hand on her back as they descended the steps, and his touch helped calm her racing heart. The man, whoever he was, wouldn’t attempt anything as long as Gabe was with her.
“How long have you worked at the library?” he asked as they walked.
“A little over a year.” She stole a glance at him. Although he’d asked her a question, his gaze was alert, his eyes scanning their surroundings. Another reason she felt safe with him. Even though she’d only met him last night, she believed he was a good cop.
“And is Mrs. Kastrop always in a pissy mood?”
She laughed. “You noticed that, did you? Yes, what you see is what you get.” Unfortunately. Cara loved her job. There was nothing better than being surrounded by books all day. Their smell, their covers, the pages that took one to other worlds made her happy. And book readers were the best. The only shadow marring her pleasure in being the best librarian possible was Mrs. Kastrop. But then what job was perfect?
A patrol car pulled to a stop next to them, and Gabe walked over to it. “Hey, Masuka. Any sign of our man?”
Cara stayed on the sidewalk, but she could hear their conversation. Cricket tried to follow Gabe into the street, and she pulled his leash back and picked him up.
“No, not a sign of him,” the officer said. “If he lives nearby, he could have slipped home. Not much of a description, so if he changes clothes, might be hard to spot him.”
Gabe rested his hand on the roof. “We don’t even know if he is our suspect, but she’s seen him twice now this morning. I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Roger, that,” the officer said, then glanced over at her and nodded.
“Come here, Cara.” Gabe waved a hand at her. When she reached them, he put a hand on her shoulder. “Cara, this is Hakari Masuka. Officer Masuka, Cara Jenner. We’re going to be keeping an eye on her for a while.” He gave the officer her home address, then said, “She works at the library, so include that location in your drive-bys.”
“I’ll pass the information around. Nice to meet you, ma’am,” the officer said.
After he drove away, Gabe put his hand on her back again and guided her to the sidewalk. “We’ll find him, Cara.”
She prayed that was true. “Do you think the man I saw is the murderer?”
“No way of knowing at this point.”
She glanced down at the dog she still held, the reason she was in this mess. Maybe Mrs. Kastrop was right and she did stick her nose in where it didn’t belong. If her brother were still alive, she’d go to him. Of course, if he was, she’d still be living in Denver and wouldn’t have seen a woman get killed. She missed David so much, and tears stung her eyes as the never-ending ache in her heart made itself known.
After his death, Lisa had moved back to Dallas where her family lived, and Cara had been left alone in a city she’d grown to hate. Her parents had been killed by a drunk driver in Denver, and her brother had given his life in service to the city. She’d come back to the place she’d spent her early years. Back to Dark Falls where she had happy memories of her family.
