camelback sofa, embarrassed to the roots of her hair, wondering what he thought of her. He came back, went to the door, and locked it. Then he brought her a glass of water.
Sitting up a little straighter, she took it and sipped. But she nearly choked on it when he said, “So you wanna tell me what you were doing snooping around my cabin?”
“I wasn’t,” she lied.
“No?”
“No. It’s a ... a shortcut. To my uncle Marty and aunt Jen’s place. There’s a path through the woods. It forks in the middle. Left goes to my uncle and aunt’s place. Right goes farther, all around the west bank of the lake.”
“Uh-huh.” It was obvious he didn’t believe her.
“Look, I come out here all the time. My uncle Marty owns these cabins. I used to stay a couple of weeks in one of them every summer when I was a kid.”
“Should I assume that means you’ll be out here snooping often?”
“No!”
His mouth narrowed. “Do you have a key?”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous.” She sighed, sipped more water, set the glass down. “How did you know what to do?” she asked, partly to change the subject, and partly because she was curious.
“About the panic attack, you mean?” He shrugged. “It’s’ not the first time I’ve seen one.”
“Because you’re a cop?”
“Yeah. Partly that.”
They looked at each other for a moment. Then he took a cell phone from his pocket and dialed the chief’s mobile number as Holly recited it to him.
While he spoke to Chief Mallory, Holly looked around the cabin. There were a half dozen foam coffee cups around, most of them with coffee still in them. There were newspapers spread on the table, a T-shirt flung over the back of a chair, and she could see the unmade bed through the open bedroom door.
The man was messy.
She was uneasy. She disliked questioning her own senses. She disliked it more than just about anything she could think of. But for the life of her she couldn’t be sure of what she had actually seen, and what her mind had embellished.
“No,” he was saying on the phone. “It looks like Holly scared him off before he had time to take anything. Okay, sure. Thanks, Chief.” He hung up and turned to face her. “Chief says to wait here. He’ll be out in a few minutes to take a look around. Then he’ll take you home himself.”
She nodded. “I should have known better,” she muttered, half to herself. “Bad things always happen when I take the long way home.”
T HE CHIEF ARRIVED WITH ONE OF HIS OFFICERS right behind him. Bill Ramsey, the lanky blond one, and that was a good thing because it provided someone to sit with the still-shaken redhead while Vince and the chief took a look around. Though Vince really didn’t expect to find anything.
And he was right. There wasn’t much to find. One decent footprint in the soft ground underneath the rear window that probably belonged to Holly. It was too damned small to be a man’s. And there wasn’t anything else.
The chief glanced back at the cabin. “You working on anything that might make someone nervous, Detective?”
Vince shook his head slowly. “I told you, I’m here on vacation.”
“Right. And this library book connection... ?”
“It’s probably nothing.”
“Right,” the chief said. “And you say Holly didn’t actually see anything?”
Vince shook his head. “Does she ... um ... have a history of this sort of thing?”
“What sort of thing is that?”
Now the man sounded slightly defensive.
“Well, seeing things that aren’t there.”
“No. She’s honest as the day is long. But ... delicate.”
“Delicate in what way?”
The chief sent him a look that told him that was none of his business. “What I want to know is, what was Holly doin’ out here in the first place?”
“Don’t know. She never really said.”
The man was too sharp for Vince’s comfort, but he supposed he was going to have to tell him the truth sooner or later. He just hoped it would be later. He
Sitting up a little straighter, she took it and sipped. But she nearly choked on it when he said, “So you wanna tell me what you were doing snooping around my cabin?”
“I wasn’t,” she lied.
“No?”
“No. It’s a ... a shortcut. To my uncle Marty and aunt Jen’s place. There’s a path through the woods. It forks in the middle. Left goes to my uncle and aunt’s place. Right goes farther, all around the west bank of the lake.”
“Uh-huh.” It was obvious he didn’t believe her.
“Look, I come out here all the time. My uncle Marty owns these cabins. I used to stay a couple of weeks in one of them every summer when I was a kid.”
“Should I assume that means you’ll be out here snooping often?”
“No!”
His mouth narrowed. “Do you have a key?”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous.” She sighed, sipped more water, set the glass down. “How did you know what to do?” she asked, partly to change the subject, and partly because she was curious.
“About the panic attack, you mean?” He shrugged. “It’s’ not the first time I’ve seen one.”
“Because you’re a cop?”
“Yeah. Partly that.”
They looked at each other for a moment. Then he took a cell phone from his pocket and dialed the chief’s mobile number as Holly recited it to him.
While he spoke to Chief Mallory, Holly looked around the cabin. There were a half dozen foam coffee cups around, most of them with coffee still in them. There were newspapers spread on the table, a T-shirt flung over the back of a chair, and she could see the unmade bed through the open bedroom door.
The man was messy.
She was uneasy. She disliked questioning her own senses. She disliked it more than just about anything she could think of. But for the life of her she couldn’t be sure of what she had actually seen, and what her mind had embellished.
“No,” he was saying on the phone. “It looks like Holly scared him off before he had time to take anything. Okay, sure. Thanks, Chief.” He hung up and turned to face her. “Chief says to wait here. He’ll be out in a few minutes to take a look around. Then he’ll take you home himself.”
She nodded. “I should have known better,” she muttered, half to herself. “Bad things always happen when I take the long way home.”
T HE CHIEF ARRIVED WITH ONE OF HIS OFFICERS right behind him. Bill Ramsey, the lanky blond one, and that was a good thing because it provided someone to sit with the still-shaken redhead while Vince and the chief took a look around. Though Vince really didn’t expect to find anything.
And he was right. There wasn’t much to find. One decent footprint in the soft ground underneath the rear window that probably belonged to Holly. It was too damned small to be a man’s. And there wasn’t anything else.
The chief glanced back at the cabin. “You working on anything that might make someone nervous, Detective?”
Vince shook his head slowly. “I told you, I’m here on vacation.”
“Right. And this library book connection... ?”
“It’s probably nothing.”
“Right,” the chief said. “And you say Holly didn’t actually see anything?”
Vince shook his head. “Does she ... um ... have a history of this sort of thing?”
“What sort of thing is that?”
Now the man sounded slightly defensive.
“Well, seeing things that aren’t there.”
“No. She’s honest as the day is long. But ... delicate.”
“Delicate in what way?”
The chief sent him a look that told him that was none of his business. “What I want to know is, what was Holly doin’ out here in the first place?”
“Don’t know. She never really said.”
The man was too sharp for Vince’s comfort, but he supposed he was going to have to tell him the truth sooner or later. He just hoped it would be later. He
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