who can place him at the murder scene and he knows it.”
“Dammit, Denny, she might not be able to identify him,” Jack snapped.
“But he doesn’t know that, does he?”
“Denny’s right,” Karen spoke up. “The man will have to call my bluff because he has too much to lose not to.”
KAREN FELT Jack’s gaze shift to her again. She’d been aware of him across the table while she was giving her statement to Detective Kirkpatrick. Jack had been deathly quiet as if he had no interest in what was taking place.
She’d wondered what was keeping him here now that he’d put her and Detective Kirkpatrick together, especially after Denny had mentioned that Jack’s two-week “vacation” was actually probation. Wasn’t he jeopardizing his job by just being here?
“You think the killer has too much to lose?” Jack asked quietly. “What about you? Are you really willing to risk your life? If he shows, it will just be to kill you.”
She looked into his brown eyes, determined not to let him frighten her any more than she already was—which was considerable. But looking into his eyes had a danger all of its own. She felt as if she’d grabbed a frayed toaster cord. The heat of his expression warmed her to the core.
“My life is already at risk, Jack.” She certainly didn’t need him telling her how dangerous it was to put the ad in the paper. But what other recourse did she have?
Didn’t he see that she was only doing what she had to? She couldn’t hide indefinitely and she wasn’t one to wait for trouble to come to her. At least this new Karen wasn’t.
Why did it matter what he thought, anyway? Just because he hadn’t written her a speeding ticket, didn’t mean he was on her side. Especially now that she knew he was on probation. He couldn’t help her, even if he wanted to.
“Let’s just hope you see the killer before he sees you,” Jack said angrily. He turned to Denny. “It’s too dangerous. Too many things can go wrong. I don’t like it.”
Denny just stared at Jack for a long moment. “You don’t have to like it, Jack,” he said quietly. “It’s up to her.”
“Captain Baxter would disagree with you, Denny.”
Karen heard the threat, saw it harden Denny’s expression. “Denny’s right,” she said. “Once I put the ad in the paper, the police can’t stop me. They will have to protect me.” She looked to Denny for confirmation. He nodded.
Jack swung around to look at her, anger and disappointment in his eyes. Obviously she wasn’t the woman he’d thought she was.
But it was her own reaction that bothered her. She felt sick inside with a disappointment of her own. “I appreciate everything you’ve done to help me, Jack. But please don’t jeopardize your job or let me keep you from your vacation any longer.”
He nodded, his gaze saying more clearly than words that he was washing his hands of her. “Don’t worry, I’m going home to finish packing right now.”
IN THE LATE-AFTERNOON light behind the bar, Karen watched Jack pull away in his Jeep, feeling bereft and strangely alone.
Denny’s words drew her attention back to him. “I’ll put you up someplace safe,” he was saying beside her.
She stared at him for a long moment, wondering why he still looked so familiar. “No, thanks. I’ll find my own safe place.”
He looked as if she’d just turned him down for a date. “Karen—”
“Don’t worry,” she said, cutting him off. “I’ll keep in touch. Can I drop you anywhere?”
He held her gaze as if searching for something, then shook his head. “The editor said he could get your ad in tomorrow morning’s paper.”
She nodded, surer than ever that she knew him from somewhere.
As she climbed into her car, she realized she would have to find a place to stay for a few days at least until she saw whether the newspaper ad worked or not. She tried not to think past that. It had to work. She had to draw the killer out and get this over with.
Probably a motel would be her best bet. Something on the edge of town, out of the way. Or she could go to her mother’s. The place was like a fortress. But Karen knew there wasn’t any way she could keep her little problem from her mother if she did. Mostly, she didn’t want to worry her mother. Nor would her mother approve of the seedy mess her daughter found herself in. Pamela Sutton would never understand how a “nice” girl could get involved in something like this.
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