Chapter 11
The smell of fresh coffee coaxed Eve out of her comfortable bed after a restless night. She’d tossed and turned, her brain unable to shut off and give her a moment’s peace. But if she couldn’t have peace, at least she could have caffeine.
Wrapping a plush robe over her pajamas, she padded out to the kitchen and found Reid hunched over his computer at the table, a steaming mug beside him.
His head snapped up, and he offered her a tight smile. Bags hung low under his eyes, and his shaggy hair stuck out as if he’d been recently pulled at the strands. “Morning. How’d you sleep?”
“Probably about as good as you.” She made a beeline for the coffee machine and poured a giant cup, inhaling her first sip before facing him.
He snorted out a humorless laugh. “So, like shit?”
She grinned, taking another hit of the liquid gold. Leaning against the counter, she cradled the warm mug in her hands. “Pretty much. What are you working on?”
“Research. I spoke with Madden and got the contact information of the witness. I left her a message, and she agreed to meet with us. Said if we got there before the crowd started rolling in, she’d have more time to talk but isn’t sure how much she has to say.”
Eve’s stomach revolted at the thought of diving into the muck surrounding her life, but this was what she’d asked for, and she wasn’t about to turn back now. “Okay. I’ll get ready and we can head over right away. The sooner we can speak with her, the better.”
“Agreed.” Reid took a sip from his mug then stood and placed it in the dishwasher. “You hungry? I can whip something up while you get dressed.”
“I don’t think I can eat.” She studied the navy-blue T-shirt sculpted across his torso and crisp, clean jeans and realization struck her upside the head. “We never stopped by your place yesterday. Where’d you get a change of clothes?”
“I had a duffel in my truck,” he said with a casual shrug. “Before I went to bed, I grabbed it. I keep a few essentials in there, but I’ll need to get more if I stay another night.”
She hid her face behind another sip. She’d be lying if she said the only thing that kept her awake the night before was fear. Knowing Reid was right across her hallway had her imagination getting the best of her more than once. If he stayed a few more nights, she might not survive.
“We can find time to stop by your place so you can get whatever you need,” she said. “Hopefully you won’t have to stay too much longer. I’m sure bunking in my guest room is the last thing you want.”
An unknown emotion skittered across his face before he tucked in his lips and sat back down, avoiding her gaze. “Not a big deal. I’ve slept in worse places. Even though it was a little disconcerting to wake up under a frilly comforter surrounded by a mound of fancy pillows.”
As much as she wished she could read what was really going on in his mind, she’d settle for the usual sarcasm that floated between them. “Not my fault you don’t usually sleep places with taste.”
His eyes widened before a sly grin lifted the corner of his mouth. “What would you know about the places I sleep?”
She rolled her eyes at the impish smile, his words a gentle reminder of why she couldn’t fall for a man like Reid.
He flirted with his fair share of women.
She didn’t want to think about the beds he fell into and the women who slept beside him.
“I wouldn’t and don’t need to. Give me ten minutes and I’ll be ready to leave. ”
Fifteen minutes later she sat beside him in his truck. A crispness in the air promised an early arrival of fall, and Eve was glad she’d decided to throw her favorite red flannel over her gray T-shirt. Today she yearned for comfort, even if that was her worn jeans and old sneakers.
She lost herself in her thoughts as they drove out of town.
Houses dotted the landscape, their expansive yards showing off gentle slopes, until all that lay before them was an empty country road and the wide-open blue sky.
Towering trees and thick brush clogged the side of the road, only allowing quick glimpses into what lay beyond.
A sign for the fairgrounds loomed ahead, and her insides coiled. Only five miles separated her from answers. As much as she was ready for those answers—whatever they may be—the idea of questioning someone about such a grisly act soured the coffee in her stomach.
Good thing she hadn’t taken Reid up on breakfast. Anything more substantial surely would have come right back up.
Reid shot her a quick glance before returning his focus to the road. “You doing okay?”
She could lie. Tell him she was fine and mentally preparing for what lay ahead. But what was the point? No matter the weird tension between them or the mounting attraction she couldn’t extinguish, Reid was still her friend. And right now, that’s what she needed most.
“I wish I could tell you to keep driving. To ignore the signs to turn up ahead and go somewhere far away. Somewhere safe and serene, like the trail I took Suzy to yesterday that’s just up ahead.
Maybe a little cabin in the woods surrounded with wildflowers.
Anywhere but to a dusty old fairground and the place a young woman died. ”
“You can tell me to do anything you want,” Reid said, his voice low and tender. “This is your call.”
She chewed her bottom lip, hating the unrest tormenting her insides. “If I left town, I’d be a coward.”
A low growl rumbled from Reid, and he guided the truck to the side of the road, parking before turning on his hazard lights.
“What are you doing?” she asked, frowning.
Shifting to face her, he extended his arm to rest on the back of her seat.
His fingers dangled down and brushed against the top of her shoulder.
“You’re no coward. You are strong and fierce and smart as hell.
There’s no one way to play this. If you want to get out of town, hell, I’ll take you to a beach for the week and let someone else deal with this.
Because this shouldn’t be on your shoulders, none of it.
All you have to do is listen to your gut. Follow your instincts.”
An image of relaxing on a beach next to Reid heated her from the inside out. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a horrible idea. Too bad she had responsibilities she couldn’t ignore, people who depended on her.
“What’s that look for?”
Not wanting to admit she liked the idea of him in a bathing suit, she tilted her head and studied him. “Would you wear that cowboy hat on the beach?”
Grinning, he tipped the front of the cream-colored hat that was like another limb. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Then scratch that. Nobody wants to see a cowboy in the ocean. We better stick around here.”
All hints of amusement left his face, and his kind brown eyes bored into hers. As if challenging her to be truthful. “You sure?”
She nodded, even if she wasn’t sure of anything. “Yeah. I’ll get through this.”
He flashed a small smile and tapped his fist lightly against her shoulder before shifting back in his seat. “Yes, you will, and I’ll be right beside you while you do.”
Nerves tightened her gut as he glided back onto the road then made the turn toward the fairgrounds. Ready or not, it was time to go to the rodeo.
A sense of déjà vu warped Reid’s reality. Only yesterday he’d trekked the same path past the same shut-down vendors, around the same grandstands, toward the mini campground that housed the rodeo workers.
The memory made him gingerly touch his side, the stitches causing a slight irritation under his shirt.
But today the stakes were even higher.
Eve walked beside him, her arms crossed over her chest as if blocking out any external force. He hated that she was feeling anxiety and fear and hoped they could get enough answers today to give her a little peace of mind.
The gravel pathway melted into a narrow, dusty trail that wound back under the trees. A few people stood outside their trailers, but most of the temporary homes were quiet, the owners either inside getting ready or already starting their day elsewhere.
“Do you know where we’re going?” Eve asked, bouncing her gaze around the area.
Yellow tape still wove around the perimeter of the crime scene where he and Madden had spoken with the sheriff’s deputies yesterday. He pointed to the camper across the way. “There. The woman’s name is Sarah Campbell.”
He led the way across the small patch of grass and stopped in front of the narrow door. “Ready?”
Standing beside him, Eve nodded.
He fisted his hand and tapped on the flimsy barrier.
The door cracked open to reveal a twentysomething woman with tanned skin and wide eyes. Her dark hair was swept into a low ponytail. She half hid behind the frame. “Hello?”
“Mornin’, Ms. Campbell,” Reid said, touching the brim of his hat. “We spoke earlier. I’m Reid Sommers, and this is Eve Tilly.”
Eve gave a small wave. “Hi.”
Sarah swallowed hard and darted her gaze around them as if afraid of what others would think of her speaking with them. “Hello. Like I said, I’m not sure how I can help, but I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“We appreciate that,” Eve said. “Would you be more comfortable speaking inside?”
Sarah’s pinched expression told Reid she wouldn’t be comfortable anywhere, but she took a step backward in silent invitation.
He waited for Eve to enter before stepping inside. A small counter and mini fridge took up one wall of the trailer with a table jutting out the other side that divided the space in half. Browns and avocado greens gave a ’70s vibe, but everything was clean and tidy.
“We can sit at the table,” Sarah said, sliding onto the mud-colored bench cushion. “Can I get you anything? Water? Tea?”
Reid pressed his hand to the small of Eve’s back and ushered her in the seat opposite Sarah then sat beside her.
“We’re fine,” Eve said. “Thank you for speaking with us. I’m sure it can’t be easy.”
Sarah wrapped her arms around her chest and moved her fingertips along her biceps, as if chasing away a chill. “It doesn’t seem real. Dana was so young. So full of life. I still can’t believe she’s gone.”
“You told the authorities you saw a man leave Dana’s trailer the night before she was found,” Reid said. “Did you know who he was?”
She shook her head. “No. I’d never seen him before, but he has to be the same guy who’d been bothering her.”
“What do you mean by bothering?” Eve asked.
“A guy asked Dana out a few months ago. She said no, she’d just gotten out of a long relationship and wasn’t interested in dating, but he didn’t take her rejection well.”
Reid tightened his jaw, hating that this predator had been on the loose for so long. “Did he get aggressive? Ever hurt her?”
Sarah scraped the tip of her fingernail against a groove on the laminate table. “Things escalated. At first, she laughed it off, but he kept showing up, kept asking. Over the last few weeks, he got angrier. He’d show up unexpectedly and try and intimidate her.”
“Did she ever speak with the police?” Reid asked.
“No,” Sarah said, shaking her head. “We’re never in one place too long, and she hoped eventually he’d stop. And it’s not like he overtly threatened her or laid hands on her. She didn’t think it was something anyone would take seriously.”
“Harassment and stalking are serious crimes,” Eve said, her voice clipped and tight. “It’s emotional and mental abuse. I hate that your friend didn’t feel as though anyone would help her.”
Tears filled Sarah’s eyes. “Me, too.”
“Did you ever meet this guy?” Reid asked. “Did she ever tell you his name?”
Again, she shook her head. “He always seemed to appear when no one else was around. When she was alone with the horses or coming home from a competition. She’d mention him in passing but didn’t want to linger over the topic. Almost as though discussing him gave him more attention than he deserved.”
Eve tilted her head to the side, eyes narrowed. “You said he’d appear when she’d get home. Did she have a home base or was she mainly on the road while traveling from rodeo to rodeo?”
“Always on the road, but that might just be because he didn’t start pestering her until a couple months ago. We’ve been traveling ever since. We both live in Nashville, and there’s been no time in between competitions for visits back there.”
Disappointment pressed down on Reid’s lungs, but he latched onto a piece of information. “Do you remember where you were when he first asked out Dana?”
Sarah scratched the spot on the table with more intention. “Denver. I remember because he said something crude about taking her higher in the mile-high city.”
Eve cringed. “Classy.”
Sarah sighed. “That’s what we said. We laughed over what an idiot he sounded like—made some smart-ass comments about how if he was going to follow the rodeo around, he should get a job as a rodeo clown. I guess the joke’s on us, though. He got what he wanted in the end.”
Eve reached over the table and rested her hand on top of Sarah’s. “Are you sure it was the same man?”
“Yes,” she said, staring Eve straight in the eye.
“Dana mentioned his long, bushy beard and this creepy look in his eyes. She said he always had on a dirty cowboy hat and worn jean jacket. The man who walked out of her trailer was an exact match. I should have known then something was off. Should have charged inside and asked what happened. But I was in a hurry, running late for the last barrel race of the night. Maybe if I’d stayed…
” Sobs stole her voice and she hung her head, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands.
“You couldn’t have saved her,” Reid said, not knowing if that was true but understanding this woman had done nothing wrong.
There was no reason for her to carry around guilt for the rest of her life over the actions of a bad man.
“And you’re helping now. Helping to get justice for your friend and doing what you can to make sure this doesn’t happen to another woman. ”
Sarah stared blankly back at him as if she didn’t quite believe him. “I hope you’re right.”
So did he, because if the man she’d described got away with murder once, he’d stop at nothing to do it again. And this time, his sights were set on the one woman who meant more to him than any woman ever had.
Eve.