the bull with a shotgun this time. I just sent Terry on another call out near Butte Point.”
Noah cursed. Knowing Jackson’s temper as he did, his darn fool neighbor wasn’t making idle threats. The man had no patience left when it came to Henry’s bull. If Noah didn’t want the Hatfields and McCoys reenacted in his own backyard, he was going to have to do something about that blasted animal.
“Call Jackson back. Tell him to stay put until I get there. If he fires that shotgun I’ll arrest him for disturbing the peace. I’m on my way.”
He didn’t want to let Skylar Diamond go, but he had no valid reason to hold her.
“You’re free to go, Ms. Diamond, but stay away from Lauren. My daughter is engaged to be married this summer. The last thing she needs or wants is a career in modeling.”
Her composure slipped when he mentioned the engagement. He saw an instant of shock before she rallied, blanking her expression completely. Now why should she care one way or another? The phone rang again as she came to her feet. Noah rose, as well.
“Isn’t that for her to decide, Sheriff?”
“You don’t know when to quit, do you?” But she definitely had spunk, he’d give her that.
“This isn’t the middle ages, you know. Women do have choices.”
“Noah,” Marissa called out, “that was Henry’s wife. Henry went after the bull and Jackson. She said he took his rifle with him.”
“Damn!” He didn’t have time for this, but it looked like he’d have to make time. “I’m on my way.”
He grabbed his hat, closing the distance between him and the woman. Flecks of blue and green shimmered in her eyes as excitement warred with apprehension. While she flinched slightly, she didn’t back up or lower her gaze.
“Go back to New York, Ms. Diamond. You’ve overstayed your welcome in Darwin Crossing. If I find you around town again I’ll arrest you for loitering.”
Her lips parted. For just an instant, he had the strongest impulse to taste those lips. Then sanity reasserted itself and he put his hat on and strode out the door. He heard her address Marissa before the door swung shut.
“And I thought New Yorkers had a reputation for being cold.”
Noah sprinted for the gas station and his leaky truck. So she thought he was cold, did she? Well, cold was the one way Skylar Diamond definitely didn’t leave him.
* * *
THE MAN sometimes known as Norman Smith worked the locks, cursing under his breath until he got past the last one. He had a feeling this wild-goose chase wasn’t going to be any more productive than his search of her office had been. Coming to New York had been a mistake. She’d covered her tracks well.
He’d called her office, looking for her, but her well-trained staff refused to give him any information. He’d hoped she’d left a record of her plans somewhere in her office. Unfortunately, that hadn’t proved to be the case. Getting inside the well-protected building had taken time and ingenuity, but all he’d learned for his efforts was her home address.
He’d let the rising tide of his anger get the best of him. Probably, he shouldn’t have given vent to his frustration by tearing up her office. When she found out, it would just send her deeper into whatever hole she’d found for herself. But she had to know he’d be coming after her. Surely she wasn’t so stupid she’d think he didn’t want his money back.
She had good locks, he admitted as the last one gave. And the security in her building was pretty good, as well. Not as good as he was, of course, but she was going to pay for this inconvenience. He was going to hurt her—badly. He’d already started planning all the ways he would make her pay.
He slipped silently inside her dark apartment, listening hard. There was no sound. He used his tiny pen flash to lead him to her pristine, empty bedroom. Damn it! He wanted that computer case! He needed that computer case! If she thought she was going to take his money and walk away without consequence...
He slipped the knife from its sheath and scored the fancy white bedspread viciously. Not bothering with stealth any longer, he flipped on the bedroom light and opened her closet. Too many empty hangers. Looked to him like she’d split for good. Remembering all that luggage she’d had with her, he wondered. Maybe she hadn’t taken off with his money after all. Maybe she’d been planning from the start not to come back again. If she was on the run for some reason, she could be anywhere at all by now. He needed an address, a phone number. Something that would tell him where she’d gone.
Norman Smith was nothing if not thorough. He destroyed or damaged every inch of the apartment, pausing by the telephone and the blinking answering machine.
He listened and discarded the five messages from her friends and co-workers and concentrated on the memo pad beside the telephone. She’d written several messages on the top sheet of paper, but then she’d drawn stupid doodles over half of them. He couldn’t make out all the words. The hotel name was clear enough, but he already knew she wasn’t there any longer.
Bitterwater. What the hell was Bitterwater? At least it looked like Bitter something. A place? Or had she been drinking water that tasted bitter? He cursed again. Bitterwater could be one of those small Texas towns. There was a phone number below it with a Texas area code. Unfortunately, the phone number wasn’t legible beyond the first few digits.
There was a dollar amount. A hotel fee?
He’d find out. He was very good at puzzles. Haughty Ms. Diamond was about to learn that fact. And then she’d discover some of the other things he was good at.
Especially murder.
CHAPTER FOUR
SKY FACED the morning with a heavy heart. Rain beat a sympathetic tattoo against the windows. She had barely slept all night and it showed. Even a shower and makeup didn’t help. What little sleep she’d managed to get had been haunted by conflicting emotions. And Sheriff Beaufort was at the center of the storm.
The handsome sheriff had to be the most intriguing man she’d ever met. Why did he have to be her daughter’s adoptive father? She considered it luck that he hadn’t recognized her name. Even though adoption records were supposed to be sealed, there was always the chance that someone in his position had learned the truth somehow.
She cringed when she remembered the ridiculous story she’d made up for being in Darwin Crossing and her interest in Lauren. He hadn’t believed her, obviously. She should have told him the truth.
Only she hadn’t wanted to see the condemnation in those chocolate eyes when he learned she’d given up her only child at birth.
Watching Lauren and the sheriff interact yesterday, Sky had felt a pang of envy for their easy camaraderie. It reminded Sky of her relationship with her mother. Lauren had grown up happy and loved—without the poverty. Wasn’t that why Sky had come all this way? She’d wanted to know if she’d made the right choice all those years ago. She had.
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