Trail of Lies by Margaret Daley

“I’m fine. I don’t need your help.”
    One eyebrow arched. “You don’t? I should have let you fall then?”
    Yes. You should have stayed inside, she wanted to shout at him. What if they’re watching? What if they think there’s something between us? Those questions tumbled through her mind. She funneled her trembling fingers through her hair.
    His nostrils flared at the sight of her shaking hands. He seized them and moved closer. “I can protect you, Melora. What are you afraid of? What do you know?”
    She wanted to believe he could protect her and Kaitlyn—the rest of the people she cared about, but Axle had been so capable of taking care of himself, even had a bodyguard who protected him. And someone had gotten to him. Murdered him. “I’m fine. Good day, Ranger Riley.”
    She pivoted toward her car, fumbled in her purse for her keys and then slipped behind the steering wheel. When she switched on her engine, Daniel knocked on her window and motioned for her to roll it down. She wanted to press her foot on the accelerator and speed out of the parking lot, but his hand was on the door handle.
    She pressed the button. The window slid down, and she got a whiff of his clean lime scent. “I don’t want to be late.”
    â€œJust in case you lost my card, here’s another one with my home and cell numbers on the back. Call me any time of the day if you need me or want to talk.” He offered the card to her.
    She snatched it and started to roll the window back up but paused. “I do have a question for you. What happened to Axle’s bodyguard, Gordon Johnson? When Axle disappeared, he did, too. I never heard from him or saw him again. I mentioned that to the sheriff. They looked for him, but I never heard about him.”
    â€œYou think Gordon Johnson killed your husband?”
    â€œIt’s a possibility. Or…” She shuddered at the other likelihood—that another man was dead besides Axle.
    He cocked one corner of his mouth upward, but his eyes remained cold. “Are you throwing me a bone so I won’t bother you anymore?”
    â€œI kind of think of you as a pit bull. I don’t see you getting swayed by a mere bone. But you deal with that bit of information any way you want. I hadn’t thought about Gordon in a while. I figured he left town when the man he was supposed to guard disappeared.”
    He straightened and tipped his cowboy hat. “Good day, Melora. I’ll be speaking to you soon.”
    She rolled the window up and pulled out of the parking space with Daniel watching her drive away. The youngman across the street still leaned against the building, scanning the street, his arms and legs crossed while he smoked a cigarette. As she turned into the flow of traffic, the young man grinned. A grin that reached into her chest and squeezed her heart in terror.
    Â 
    Later that evening Melora stood in the entrance to Axle’s office, surveying the territory that he’d made clear she wasn’t to disturb. Was the information in here somewhere? She looked right after the first break-in but found nothing. Although those first intruders had told her that Axle was dead, she hadn’t done anything to the office in case the men had been wrong. For months after that, she’d imagined Axle showing up one day, wanting to reclaim everything.
    Now she needed to do something with the office. Box up the items. Get them out of her house. Erase Axle’s presence from her life.
    â€œMommy, where are you?”
    Melora backed into the hallway. “I’m here in your daddy’s office.”
    Kaitlyn’s footsteps pattered on the tile as she ran from the kitchen and across the wide foyer. She skidded to a stop, frowning. “I can’t find Patches. I’ve looked everywhere.”
    â€œAll his hiding places?”
    Her daughter nodded.
    â€œMaybe he’s still outside.” They had