same time.” She took the dishes to the sink. “I’d better leave now if I’m going to make my appointment.”
“I’ll walk you out to your car.”
“You don’t have to. As far as what she was going to do right after seeing me, I don’t know anything more. She was dressed casually, as though she might be going back home until she met her friends for lunch. What was she wearing when you saw her?”
“Jeans, boots and a blue blouse.”
“That’s what she had on for her appointment.” Caitlyn grabbed her purse on the counter. “I can tell you that what she was seeing me for wouldn’t have made her a target for a murderer.”
“People murder for all kinds of reasons. Any insight into Jane would be welcomed.” Ian followed Caitlyn from the kitchen. “Having been away from Longhorn for years makes me realize I don’t know the town like I used to. Considering your occupation, I’m thinking you do.” A woman had been discovered killed with no obvious reason in a town where murder was very rare. He opened the front door and let Caitlyn go outside first. “If that caller hassles you, please let me know.”
“I’ll help you any way I can. Just like old times.” She strolled beside him down the sidewalk toward her car. “But I won’t need your help. For all I know, the caller doesn’t even live in Longhorn.”
He gestured toward her Thunderbird. “When did you get this baby? I’m jealous.”
“Nine months ago, when my program was syndicated across the country. It’s my one extravagance. I live in a two-bedroom town house. Nothing fancy.”
He put his hand on the door handle and glanced at her. “And I’m sure you’re going to let a good friend like me drive it soon.”
She laughed. “Not until I see how good a driver you are now. When we were growing up, speed was all you thought about when you got behind the wheel.”
“I’m older and wiser now. Plus, I’ve taken a driving course to teach me the finer points of a high-speed chase.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
Ian smiled as he opened the driver’s-side door.
Caitlyn started to slip into her seat but halted halfway, her stare fixed on something in the car.
Ian looked in the same direction.
On the white leather driver’s seat lay a photo of Jane in the ditch, dead. Written across the top were the words Stop me!
Caitlyn couldn’t take her eyes off the same words she’d heard from the caller.
Stop me!
All the feelings of the morning began to overwhelm her, leaving her shivering despite the sunlight beating down on her shoulders.
A hand touched her arm. She gasped and jerked away, nearly falling on top of the picture of Jane.
Ian gripped her upper arm and kept her upright. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I wanted you to step away from your car. Besides the photograph, there may be other pieces of evidence left behind.”
She scanned the interior of her Thunderbird. “What?”
“Fingerprints. Maybe something else. This is clearly connected to Jane’s murder.”
Jane’s killer had not only called her show but had approached her car and placed the picture on her seat in the past forty-five minutes. Brazen. Another chill shimmied down her body. She would never again leave the top of the car down while not sitting in it. Longhorn had its crime, but generally it was a peaceful town.
“I have a client coming to my office in—” she checked her watch “—fifteen minutes. I try to always be on time, especially with this patient.”
“I’ll call the chief and have an officer stand guard while I take you to work. Do you know if any of the neighbors have security cameras that might show your car or the street?”
She shook her head. “However, there are a few older couples who are at home during the day. Someone might have seen the person.”
“I hope so.” Ian retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and walked a few steps away while talking to the police chief of Longhorn’s small force.
Could she be the next victim? Why would the killer call her at the station? Did he take Jane when she left Caitlyn’s office this morning? The desperate ring to his words replayed in her mind. Did he genuinely want help to stop him from murdering again or doing something even more sinister? She clasped her hands to keep them from shaking. She wanted to help others, but she didn’t have the answer for everyone. She’d found that out the hard way, especially six months ago with a patient, not long after syndication.
“An officer will be here shortly. We need to let our grandmothers know what happened.”
“I’ll go in and talk to them while you wait.”
As she left Ian, she quickly called her practice and told the receptionist she might be a few minutes late and to let Charles Thorne know. She hated not being there on time because Charles was one of her clients who was obsessive-compulsive. He detested change in any form. It would take half his session to calm him down.
Caitlyn entered her grandma’s house. “Granny, where are you?”
“In the den.”
She hurried toward the back of the house and found both ladies sitting near the desk as Emma hung up the phone. “Ian has to take me to work.” She paused, fortifying herself with a composing breath. “Because he needs to process my car for fingerprints.”
Before Caitlyn could explain why, Granny’s eyes grew huge and she asked, “Whatever for?”
“Someone left a photo on my front seat.”
Her grandmother pushed to her feet using the desk and chair to steady herself. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“It’s a photo of Jane’s body.”
Emma splayed her hand over her chest. “Oh, my! Why?”
This part she wished she didn’t have to tell the ladies, but it would come out eventually and Granny would be mad at her for not sharing it with her right away. “The words Stop me! were on the picture.”
Her grandmother collapsed onto the chair, her hand going to her mouth. Stunned into silence, she simply stared at Caitlyn.
“What’s my grandson doing about it?”
Caitlyn shifted her gaze to Emma. “Everything he can.”
“Tell him not to worry about taking us to church. We’ll continue to organize help for the Shephards from here.”
“Thanks, Emma. I’ll let
