“Sheriff Emmett Howler. I’m lookin’ for Joshua Cain. I need to talk to him about the fire last night.” Along with the cowboy hat, he had a belly that hung over his belt and a thick Texas accent.
“I’m sorry, Josh is in town. I’m not sure what time he’ll be back.”
“You’re Tory Ford?”
“That’s right.”
“Got your name from Bill Wheeler. You’re Cain’s housekeeper, I guess.”
The way he was looking at her, as if he knew some dirty little secret, she felt the need to set him straight. “I do his cleaning, his laundry, prepare his meals. I live in that double-wide over there.” She pointed to the trailer. “What can I do for you, Sheriff?”
“How long you been workin’ for Cain?”
“Going on two weeks.”
“You seen any sign of anyone suspicious hangin’ around, someone who oughtn’t to be here?”
“No. I haven’t seen anyone.”
“Where you from, Miss Ford?”
“It’s Mrs. I was married. My husband was killed in a car accident several years ago.”
“I see. The way you talk, don’t sound like you’re from around these parts. So where y’all from?”
The question made her stomach burn. She heard the sound of a truck pulling in, said a silent thank you when Josh climbed out and started striding toward them.
“There’s Josh now.” She stepped back as he walked up on the porch. “The sheriff’s here about the fire. He wants to talk to you.” Josh must have read her worry. His gaze zeroed in on Emmett Howler.
“What can I do for you, Sheriff?”
“If you two will excuse me,” Tory said, “I need to get back to my cooking.” Before the sheriff could object, she slipped into the house and closed the door, then took a place next to the window so she could watch the men and hear their conversation without being seen.
She had a hunch Josh knew she was there. He seemed to have a sixth sense about whatever was happening around him. She thought maybe it was his military training.
“Too bad about the fire,” the sheriff said. “Prob’ly got the barn insured, right?”
“I’ve got a little insurance, enough to cover about eighty percent of the building and what was inside.”
“Lucky you didn’t lose any horses.”
“I’m grateful for that.”
Howler tipped his head toward the door. “Woman’s only been workin’ here a while. Any chance she set the fire? You know what they say about a woman scorned.”
A muscle in Josh’s cheek subtly tightened. The beard shadow was back. He only seemed to shave every few days. Tory wished it didn’t make him look even sexier.
“She’s my employee,” Josh said. “Other than that, I don’t have a relationship with the lady. As far as the barn goes, if it hadn’t been for Tory’s help, I wouldn’t have gotten all the horses out.”
The sheriff pondered that. “Any idea who mighta’ done it?”
“You might check out a kid named Randy Stevens. Worked for me a few days. Stole a five-gallon can of gas and I fired him for it. He wasn’t happy about it.”
“Randy Stevens? Jim Stevens’s boy? Good kid. I doubt he’d do anything like that.”
“Probably not,” Josh said. “I just thought I should mention it.”
“Good way to ruin a kid’s reputation, accusing him falsely of somethin’ like that.”
Josh’s jaw went tight. “I didn’t accuse him. I thought you’d want to know. If there isn’t anything else, I need to get back to work.”
It was beginning to get dark, a wall of clouds rolling over the flat green lands in the distance. Fading sunlight glinted on the surface of a distant pond.
The sheriff sauntered away, walked out from under the covered porch. “I’ll let you know what we come up with,” Howler said. “You might want to keep an eye out, though. Sounds like you could have an enemy somewheres about.”
Josh made no reply, just stood watching as the sheriff walked to his white, blue-trimmed, extended cab patrol pickup, hefted himself inside, started the engine, and drove away.
Tory opened the door and walked out on the porch.
“You okay?” Josh asked.
“You showed up at just the right time. I’d rather the sheriff didn’t start digging around, stirring things up.”
“Howler’s a real dumbass. The chance of him finding the arsonist is none to minus zero.”
She chuckled. “You think it might have been this kid, Randy?”
“I don’t know. Wheeler called while I was in town. The accelerant was gasoline. Randy Stevens stole a five-gallon can of gas and I fired him for it. Maybe he figured using it to burn down the barn was payback. Howler’s not going to check it out, which leaves it to me. Randy may be young, but if he committed arson, he’s dangerous. He needs to be in jail.”
“I don’t want to wish him bad luck, but I hope they catch whoever’s responsible.”
“Yeah. Speaking of which, I talked to Cole and Noah, brought them up to speed. You got a photo of your ex?”
“I had pictures of him on my cell phone. I threw it away when I left Phoenix. I couldn’t stand to look at him. Plus I didn’t want him to be able to track me. Of course he managed to find me anyway. Since then, I’ve been using a disposable.”
“Smart girl.”
“No photos, but we could use your computer, search the Internet for a picture. I just . . . I don’t want to leave any traces he might be able to follow.”
“We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. In the meantime, how about a general description? What’s he look like? Short? Tall? Fat? Thin? Any tattoos, identifying marks?”
“Damon’s good-looking. About six-one, thick black hair, olive complexion, nice build. Not like you, but nice.”
Josh’s mouth edged up.
“He’s smart and he’s charming. That’s how he sucks you in. He finds out what interests you and makes it seem like the two of you have a lot in common.”
“All right, that helps. Anything else?”
“He’s diabolical. He isn’t just bad, he’s evil. He killed a stray dog I was feeding when we lived in Phoenix because I said something he didn’t like. That’s when I started making plans to leave. In Houston, he murdered my neighbor’s kitten. He’s a psychopath and he’s terrifying.”
“Hey, take it easy. The guy’s not coming near you, okay?”
She realized her hands were balled into fists and forced herself to relax. “Sorry. I don’t like to think about him.”
“You don’t have to. So far there’s no reason to believe he did it. But just to be safe, Cole and Noah will be checking the perimeter several times a day. I’ll be keeping an eye out around here. He shows up, we’ll be ready.” He flashed a wide, reassuring smile. “All you need to think about is making the perfect meatloaf, okay?”
Josh didn’t smile that often, but when he did, it was devastating. Tory felt hot all the way to her toes. “Okay.”
Josh left to unload the supplies he’d brought back from town and Tory went in to check on Ivy and finish supper. If Damon had burned down the barn, if he had followed her to Iron Springs, Josh would deal with him. His promise made Tory feel safer.
And it scared her to death.
Chapter Ten
Damon slowed the rental car as he drove past the house. It was dark, a layer of clouds hiding the moon. There were no lights on, nothing to disturb the blackness. At this late hour, Lisa would be sleeping. He hadn’t planned to take things this far, but the little redheaded bitch who belonged to him had eluded him long enough.
He’d found her in Houston without much trouble, but it had taken him months to find her in Carlsbad—even with the help of his overpaid detective. After the way she’d hurt him that night, left him bound and humiliated on the floor of her apartment, she could run to the ends of the earth and he would still find her. He wouldn’t give up until he did.
More than a month had passed since then. It infuriated him that she’d been able to hide from him so long. Worse yet, this time she had completely disappeared and even his pricey investigator had no idea where to look for her.
A problem Damon planned to remedy tonight.