Page 25 of Built Of Steel

Did he think it had been wired with a bomb or tracking device? This wasn’t a movie, this was small-town Vermont.

While the others were talking, Joe moved toward them. He pulled Lia into a side-armed hug and kissed the top of her head. “This wasn’t exactly the date I had planned.”

Lia managed a smile but she looked up at him so she could see his reaction. “Is someone trying to hurt you?”

He didn’t brush off her question like she’d feared he might. Instead he answered her seriously. “Not enough information to say. Could be someone is pissed at me for some reason. But there’s no evidence to go on at the moment. They wouldn’t have had to touch the car to slash the tires, so there won’t be fingerprints.”

Marcus came over. “Are all the guys you’ve been catching in jail? Anyone get out recently?”

Lia felt Joe’s sigh. “I’ll check. So much for vacation.”

The deputy turned his attention to Lia. “I’m sorry to meet you like this and to have to ask, but is there any chance someone was targeting you and not Joe?”

Joe’s arm stiffened around her, but she responded before he could. “I’m a retired surgeon from Atlanta. I don’t think I have anyone pissed enough at me to follow me across the country and slash tires.”

“What kind of surgeon?”

“Trauma, but I haven’t operated in three months. And yes, I’ve lost patients. Not many, but a few were too injured to save. As far as I know, none of the family members or friends are angry at me.”

Marcus nodded and looked around the area. “It was pretty risky to do this in broad daylight where anyone could see them. Anyone know your plans to come into town today?”

Joe shook his head. “It was supposed to be a spontaneous lunch date.”

Marcus’s mouth twisted. “That sucks. Sorry this was your introduction to Phail, Lia.”

She shrugged. “I’m just worried about Joe being a target for someone angry enough to do this.”

Joe leaned down and kissed her hair. “We don’t know I’m a target for anything.”

Graham joined the group. “Right. Because there’s such a lot of angry crime in Phail.” His sarcasm wasn’t lost on anyone.

The deputy turned to him. “What did you find?”

“Nothing. No wires cut, no damage to anything I can see. I think it was only the tires. Did you get the insurance when you rented it?”

Joe nodded and Graham grinned. “Good. Then we’ll take it back to Burlington and drop it off for them to fix. I’d also suggest you buy a vehicle instead of renting one. Then we can put some of our security features on it. Are you going to stick around enough for that to be feasible?”

Joe’s hand rested on Lia’s shoulder where he’d been drawing idle circles on her skin with his hand. He grinned down at her before turning back to Graham. “I am.”

Graham’s grin was fierce. “Are we finally talking you into joining us full time, Chevy?”

Lia perked up at that. She still didn’t have a clue what her own future held, but if Joe was here, she had a big incentive to find something locally that would hold her interest.

Aside from him. He held her interest just fine.

Chapter 9

Sticks and Stones

A few days later, Joe wanted to try the date thing again. After the tire-slashing incident, Manuel had fixed up a to-go lunch for them to take back to Midnight Lake. That night, Joe had researched available cars in the Burlington area and picked out one online.

It had taken an extra day for the car and insurance companies to get everything settled, so after a day’s pause, he and Graham had headed to Burlington to return the rental and pick up his new Chevy Bolt. With a name like Cheveyo, he had to be a Chevy guy.

The electric car had good pickup and maneuverability and made the drive back to Midnight Lake less frustrating. He’d almost invited Lia along, but if there was a target on his back, he didn’t want her in the car with him.

On the way to Burlington, he and Graham had tossed around a lot of theories, but nothing clicked. None of the people he’d tossed in jail had been released recently. There hadn’t been a single threat through the office or online. He could almost convince himself it had been a random crime.

Except that wasn’t generally the way things worked. Especially lately. Everyone at Midnight Lake had been exposed to danger recently and he doubted the trend was changing. Was it something about the team that had pissed someone off? Maybe Joe’s car had been the first one of theirs the vandal had seen.

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