returned to his line of thought. “Whoever did this was lashing out at me. He probably acted first on impulse, breaking the window and scratching my hood, then decided to try to make it appear like an accident. He either pulled the branch down or found it in the woods and arranged it to try to fool us.”
“Jack, I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean for you to become a target. This could be expensive.”
He shrugged. “I’ve got insurance. It’ll just cost me the deductible, and the car’s still drivable.”
Those were deep scratches, though. And the rock had been thrown with force. Whoever had done this carried a lot of anger.
Yet until now, he reminded himself, there’d been no indication that Casey was the stalker’s primary concern. He’d been heard or seen near two tenants’ cabins, not her house.
Usually, perpetrators stuck to a pattern. This guy’s unpredictability and his hostility made the hairs stand up on Jack’s neck.
He checked his watch. A quarter to nine. “I’ll tell you what,” he said. “Let me come to church with you. If whoever did this is fixated on you, he knows you’ll be there and he may show up. I might get a gut feeling about somebody.” People revealed more than they realized through their body language.
Casey released a long breath. “What about your flight?”
“I can still make it. Just let me pack my bag. I’ll caravan behind you to town, and afterwards I can head directly for Nashville.” He’d have to push the speed limit, but he hadn’t seen a sign of any state troopers on his way north.
She hugged herself. “I guess that makes sense.”
Don’t overwhelm me with enthusiasm. Well, what had he expected? “We might be a few minutes late. I’ll need to photograph the car before we leave, so don’t touch anything.” He always packed a couple of disposable cameras. In his line of work, they came in handy.
“You’re treating it like a crime scene.”
“You got that right.”
Casey regarded the car unhappily. “I wish this guy would just leave us alone. We’d be so much happier.”
“If only bad guys thought that way!” Jack teased.
She gave him a reluctant smile. “You’d better get started. I can pack your gear for you, if you like.”
“That would help.”
After he finished snapping shots, stowing his suitcase and collecting the rock in a plastic bag as a precaution, it was clear they would be late for church. Too bad. Jack would have liked to watch people arriving. It might have helped him spot the guilty party, if he were there.
As he followed Casey’s car into town, he realized that for once he belonged in a church, because he had a very appropriate assignment: to catch a sinner.
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