Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
Austin watched as the SUV remained near the entrance.
Beside him, Nora angled the side mirror a fraction more. “I can see part of the plate. Seven, two . . . maybe a three.” She leaned closer, trying to catch another character before the vehicle shifted position. “The last letter might be K.”
Austin repeated the characters silently, locking them into his memory. Three digits and a possible letter weren’t much, but they were more than he’d had thirty seconds ago.
The SUV suddenly dropped back. Before Nora could get a clearer look, the driver cut hard across the parking lot and accelerated toward the exit, tires squealing as the vehicle shot through the turn.
Austin watched the gray SUV peel away. Every instinct told him to follow, but instinct wasn’t the only thing he had to consider.
There was also Nora’s safety to keep in mind.
Nora twisted to keep the exit in view. “Should we follow?”
“No.” Austin kept watching the road where the SUV had vanished. Chasing an unknown driver without backup would have been reckless under the best circumstances, and he wasn’t willing to do it with Nora beside him.
She turned back toward him. “You’re an FBI agent.”
“I’m an FBI agent on bereavement leave, driving my personal vehicle with no backup.” Austin glanced at her before returning his attention to the exit. “And I have a civilian in the passenger seat.”
“That sounds less impressive.” Nora tried for her usual dry tone, but her fingers remained wrapped tightly around her seat belt.
“It’s supposed to.” Austin put his vehicle in Park and drew in a deep breath.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Nora finally released the breath she seemed to have been holding. Her gaze remained fixed on the road where the gray vehicle had disappeared. “So that actually just happened.”
“Yeah, unfortunately, it did.” Austin felt no satisfaction in having his suspicions confirmed.
She rubbed her palms against her scrubs before looking at him. “Do you think they knew who we were?”
“I think they knew where we’d been.” Austin nodded toward the road behind them. “Either somebody was watching Southern Heritage Records, or someone inside knew enough to alert them after we started asking questions.”
“That’s not better.”
“No, it’s not.” Austin pulled out his phone and entered the partial plate before the details could blur.
Nora watched his fingers move across the screen. “Can you do anything with that?”
“Maybe.” Austin added the vehicle’s color, approximate year, and the direction it had taken. “I can give it to Luke and Knoxville police, but three characters and a guess at a fourth could produce a long list.”
“But it’s something.” The quiet insistence in Nora’s voice made it sound as if she needed that to be true.
He supposed, right now, everyone just needed something—some kind of lead that gave the hope of finding answers.
Nora leaned back against the seat and folded her arms tightly across her chest, trying to hide the trembling in her hands.
They had walked into Southern Heritage Records asking about unexplained money, old bookings, missing children, and men who were now dead. Less than an hour later, someone had followed them.
Maybe the timing was coincidental. But the SUV had crossed a solid white line to stay behind them, followed them to the fire station, then cut through the parking lot to make certain they noticed it. Even after everything with Jacob, Nora didn’t believe in that many coincidences.
She looked at Austin. He’d lost his father only yesterday, yet somehow he had pushed that grief aside to follow Jeff’s final trail—and now that trail had led directly to her.
“I think Dad found something,” Austin said. “And now somebody knows we’re looking for it too.”
“That’s comforting.”
“I’m full of reassurance today.”
The faintest smile touched Nora’s mouth. For a moment, breathing came a little easier.
Austin shifted into Reverse. “I’m taking you home.”
Nora turned toward him. “I left my car at Shelby’s.”
“You can get it later.”
She planted one hand against the center console. The last thing she needed was someone else making decisions for her.
“Until I know whether they were following me or you,” Austin said, “you’re not driving back alone.”
Nora prepared to remind him she could take care of herself. But accepting his help didn’t make her less capable. Maybe she needed to stop mistaking trust for weakness.
She settled back against the seat. “Fine.”
Austin’s expression shifted, almost as if her easy agreement worried him. He’d probably expected a fight. Under normal circumstances, she might have given him one.
He pulled out of the parking space and headed toward Fog Lake. No gray SUV appeared behind them.
It didn’t need to.
Whoever had followed them hadn’t needed to do anything else. The message had already been delivered.
Someone knew where Austin and Nora had been—and this person could reach them again. Next time, the message they sent might be more than just a threat.