Page 69 of Double Take

Lainie bit her lip, murmured another apology, and walked toward the front door. James stepped into the half bath before she could see him, not wanting her to know he’d overheard a lot of what she’d said. And the truth was, he needed a minute to compose himself. His heart thundered and tears burned behind his eyes. How he longed for his father to show him forgiveness and grace.

He counted to ten, then walked out to see Lainie by the door, hugging his mother. “...be back. Thank you for a wonderful time.”

“I’m praying for you, my dear.” She turned from Lainie and walked over to hug James. “And you, my son. I’ll admit it hurts my heart to let you walk out that door.”

“I know, Mom.” He braced himself for the coming verbal onslaught.

“Be careful and keep our Lainie safe” was all she said, and James frowned. That was it? No begging him to stay? Warning him of the dangers of his job? She smiled, patted his cheek, and walked into the den. One day soon, he was going to have to ask her to explain the change.

“James? You okay?” Lainie asked.

He shook his head. “Okay. Confused, but okay.”

He opened the door to usher her out. Dixon stepped out of the barn and waved, his gaze concerned, but he didn’t try to stop them.

Once Lainie was buckled into her seat, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, her hand going to her necklace.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

As was her habit, her fingers rolled the key back and forth, like if she did it long enough, she’d have the answers to the universe. “That someone deliberately bombed my home, not caring if he hurt the person staying there. Because I believe he knew Savannah was there.”

“Yeah.” James settled behind the wheel, and she opened her eyes just in time to catch the wince he tried to hide but, judging from her expression, failed.

“I’m sorry about all this, James.”

“I don’t know why you’re apologizing. None of this is your fault.” He cranked the Jeep and aimed it down the long drive.

“Not directly, no, but I’ve sure done something to cause all this drama. You should be at home resting and healing. And Savannah could have been killed for what? All of our planning and subterfuge was for nothing because we didn’t know that he would—or even could—actually track my phone.”

“That’s on me. I should have considered this guy was more skilled, more savvy than I did. He’s escalating.”

“Why didn’t he kill me in the hospital?” she asked, her voice low. “He certainly had the opportunity. He could have smothered me or injected me with something or ... whatever.”

James shuddered at the images her words evoked.

“But he didn’t,” she said. “He left me a stupid, cryptic message and walked away.”

“Maybe he was interrupted before he had the chance.”

She continued to twist the key between her fingers and her frown deepened the lines in her forehead. “Maybe, but he still left the note. ‘Cheers, love,’” she whispered. “He said that, then pulled the trigger that night. Who would know that but Adam?” A shudder rippled through her, and James was tempted to pull over and just hold her.

Anyone who had access to her statement in the police file would know that. The thought left him mighty uncomfortable. No need to mention that to Lainie just yet, but it was something he and Cole needed to think about. He cleared his throat, made a left onto the road that would take them to her neighborhood, and checked the mirrors. So far, no one had followed them. “You said he used that phrase a lot?”

“Fairly regularly. Usually when he was in a good mood. Which says a lot about his frame of mind when he was trying to kill me. Don’t thinkthatescaped me.”

James almost wished the man was still alive so he could have the pleasure of pounding on him a few times before throwing him in prison. “I’m sorry.”

“I am too.”

James’ phone rang and he answered it via Bluetooth. “Cross here.”

“Uh, yeah, this is Otis Wheeler. Lainie Jackson left this number?”

“Hold on a second, she’s right here.”

He nodded to Lainie, who leaned forward. “Hey, Otis, I’m here. What did you find out?”

“I checked my records and I never did an autopsy on an Adam Williams.” He verified the birthdate and said, “I checked with Lydia, the part-timer, and he’s not one of hers either.”

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