Daniel looked down at Jim and frowned. “Go away.”
But Alex tilted her head. “Give me your card. I may wish to talk with you.”
Again smug, Jim gave her a card. “Any time, Miss Tremaine.”
Alex flinched as if he’d struck her. “Fallon. My name is Alex Fallon.”
“Any time, Miss Fallon.” Jim gave Daniel a salute and was gone.
Something had changed and Daniel didn’t like it. “I’m going to the station, too. Can I carry your bag?”
The way she searched his face made Daniel uncomfortable. “No thank you.” She started up the stairs, leaving him to follow.
He could see her hunch one shoulder from the weight of her bag, but it didn’t seem to affect the sway of her slim hips as she hurried. Daniel thought her bag was a far safer thing on which to focus. He caught up to her easily. “You’re about to topple over. What are you carrying in here? Bricks?”
“A gun and lots of bullets. If you must know.”
She started up the stairs again, but Daniel grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him. “Excuse me?”
Her whiskey eyes were cool. “You said I might be in danger. I took you seriously. I have a child to protect.”
Her stepsister’s daughter. Hope. “How did you buy a gun? You’re not a resident.”
“I am now. You want to see my new driver’s license?”
“You got a driver’s license? How did you do that? You don’t live here.”
“I do now. You want to see my rental contract?”
Bowled over, he blinked. “You rented an apartment?”
“A house.” She really was staying a while.
“In Dutton?”
She nodded. “I’m not leaving until Bailey’s found, and Hope can’t live in a hotel.”
“I see. Are we still meeting at seven?”
“That was my plan. Now if you don’t mind, I still have a lot to do before then.” She’d run up a few more stairs before he called her name.
“Alex.” He waited until she stopped and turned again.
“Yes, Agent Vartanian? What is it?”
He ignored the ice in her voice. “Alex. You can’t take a gun into the police station. Even in Dutton. It’s a government building.”
Her shoulders sagged and her frosty expression melted away, leaving exhaustion and vulnerability in its place. She was afraid and doing her damndest to hide it. “I forgot. I should have come here first. I wanted to get my driver’s license before the DMV closed. But I can’t leave a gun in the car. Somebody might steal it.” A ghost of a smile flitted across her unpainted lips, tugging at his heart. “Even in Dutton.”
“You look tired. I’m going to see the sheriff. I’ll ask him about Bailey. Go back to your house and get some sleep. I’ll meet you at seven in front of the GBI building.” He eyed her satchel. “And for God’s sake, make sure the safety is on on that thing and you put it in a lockbox so Hope can’t get to it.”
“I bought a lockbox.” She lifted her chin, a gesture he was coming to anticipate. “I’ve coded enough children in the ER who’ve played with guns. I won’t put my niece in any more danger. Please call me if Loomis refuses to file Bailey as a missing person.”
“He won’t refuse,” Daniel said grimly, “but give me your cell phone number anyway.” She did, and he committed it to memory as she started back down the stairs, her steps weary. When she got to the street she looked back up at him.
“Seven o’clock, Agent Vartanian.”
Somehow the way she said it made it seem more like a threat than the confirmation of a meeting. “Seven o’clock. And don’t forget to change your suit.”
Dutton, Monday, January 29, 4:55 p.m.
Mack pulled the earpiece from his ear. How the plot thickened, he thought as he watched Daniel Vartanian watch Alexandra Tremaine drive away. Oh, wait. Alex Fallon. She’d changed her name.
It had been a surprise to hear she’d come back. That was one of the good things about a small town. No sooner had she stepped into Delia Anderson’s real estate office than the word began to spread. Alexandra Tremaine is back. The sister who lived.
Her stepsister Bailey Crighton was missing. He had a good idea where Bailey might have been taken. And why. But that was not his business at the moment. Should it become important, he’d act. Until then, he’d watch and listen.
Alex Tremaine was back. And Daniel Vartanian was interested. This, too, he’d watch. It could be useful later. He smiled. What a kick-off that would have been, to kill the identical twin and leave her in the same exact place. I wish I’d thought of it. But he’d kicked it off with a target of his own choosing. She’d deserved everything she got, but Alex Tremaine would have been a most excellent first victim. Now it was too late.
For a first victim. His brows lifted as he considered it. But what about his last? It would make quite the grand finale. It would complete the circle. He’d consider it.
For now, he had work to do. Another lovely with whom to deal. He already had her picked out. Very soon the cops would find another body in a ditch and the pillars of the community would find another skeleton dumped on their doorstep. He had it on good authority that they’d all been practically pissing themselves all day. Who would break? Who would tell? Who would tear their idyllic little world asunder?
He chuckled, just picturing it. Pretty soon the first two he’d targeted would get their letters. He was starting to enjoy himself.
Chapter Five
Dutton, Monday, January 29, 5:35 p.m.
This is really nice!” Meredith explored the bungalow with a delighted smile.
Hope sat at the table. Alex took the red Play-Doh under her nails as a good sign.
“It is nice,” Alex agreed. “And there’s a park not even a block away with a carousel.”
Meredith looked impressed. “A real carousel? With horses?”
“With horses. It’s been there since I was a kid.” Alex sat on the arm of the sofa. “This place was here then, too. I’d pass by when I was walking home from school.”
Meredith sat next to Hope, but her eyes stayed on Alex’s face. “You sound wistful.”
“I was, then. I always thought this was like a dollhouse and the people that lived here were so lucky. They could go on the carousel any time they chose.”
“And you couldn’t?”
“No. We didn’t have money for things like that after my dad died. Mama had trouble scraping enough together for us to eat.”
“Until she moved in with Craig.”
Alex winced and slammed the door in her mind before the first scream took hold. “I’m going to change and run out for some groceries. Then I’m going out again.”
Meredith frowned. “Why?”
“I’m going to search. I’ve got to try, Mer, because nobody else cares enough to.”
Not entirely true. Daniel Vartanian had offered to help. We’ll see how helpful he is.
“I’ve got to go back to Cincinnati tomorrow night, Alex.”
“I know. That’s why I’m trying to get all this done now. I’ll be back later and you can show me all the wonderful games you and Hope play so I can take over tomorrow.”
Alex went into the bedroom, closed the door, and took the gun from the satchel. It was still in its box, and willing her hands to steady, Alex took it out and looked it over again. She loaded the magazine like the store owner had shown her and set the safety with care. She’d need a bigger purse, because she intended to keep the gun with her. It would do her no good locked in its lockbox when she was elsewhere. For now, the satchel would have to do.
“My God, Alex.” Alex whipped around in time to see a furious Meredith close the bedroom door with a hard snap. “What the fucking hell is that?” Meredith hissed.