Imminent Danger

Jesse stepped aside to allow them entry into his home. “Please, come in.”

As he closed the front door, Keller helped the young woman to the sofa. She sank down on the cushion and Keller sat beside her. Jesse sat in a chair facing them, waiting patiently, knowing Keller would tell him only what he needed to know.

“Sheriff Wilder, this is…”

“Cecilia, Cecilia Webster.” Her voice was low and soft, and he knew instantly that the name was a lie. It fell uneasily from her lips, as if she were testing the sound of it.

“Nice to meet you both. I assume you had no trouble finding the place.” Jesse said.

“No problems,” Keller replied, offering no information on how long they’d been driving or how far they’d come.

“Have you ever been to Montana before, Ms. Webster?” Jesse asked.

“No. It’s never been particularly high on my list of places I wanted to go.”

“But now we’re here, and that’s that,” Keller said flatly.

“Would you like something to drink? Something to eat, perhaps?” Jesse offered.

“No, thanks,” Keller replied.

An uncomfortable silence fell among them. Keller looked at Jesse and nodded toward the door. “Why don’t you walk me out? You can get Ms. Webster’s things from the car. I need to get back on the road.”

Keller stood. “Cecilia, I’ll be in touch.”

She nodded, appearing to grow smaller as she wrapped her arms around herself and sank deeper into the sofa cushions.

Jesse followed Keller outside. The older man said nothing until they reached the car. “We thought the investigation she’s involved with would only take a couple of weeks, but it’s taking longer. For the last month we’ve had her in dozens of motel rooms. But mentally she hasn’t been handling it real well, so we decided she needed something more permanent.” He opened the trunk and withdrew a large suitcase and a smaller, overnight bag.

“Why not the Witness Protection Program?” Jesse asked.

“Because the people she will be testifying against could possibly have access to information from the Witness Protection Program. We couldn’t take the risk. We decided to go outside the system to try to find her a safe haven.”

Jesse was definitely intrigued. “But why me?” It was a question that had plagued him since the initial phone call from Sanford.

For the first time a ghost of a smile lifted the corners of Keller’s mouth. “Mustang, Montana, isn’t exactly a well-known metropolis. I don’t know of anyone who even knows Mustang exists.”

“I wouldn’t say that to the citizens that call Mustang home,” Jesse said dryly.

Keller closed the trunk, then looked at Jesse once again. “We chose you for several reasons. The town is small, your record is excellent and you have no family.”

Jesse almost smiled. Keller obviously didn’t know about small-town living where everyone considered everyone else family of sorts.

“We also know you have no close personal relationships, no wife, no girlfriend.”

The smile that almost made it to Jesse’s lips instantly dissipated as he wondered how deeply they’d delved into his private life.

“Besides,” Keller continued, “Sanford said you owed him and you wouldn’t tell us no.”

Bob Sanford had been his mentor when Jesse had gone to the police academy. Without Bob’s personal interest and patience, Jesse would not have made it through the grueling training.

“So, is there anything specific I need to know?” Jesse asked.

“Just go about your business as usual. As much as possible, try not to break from your normal routine. Tell anyone who asks that she’s your girlfriend, come to stay for a brief visit. Basically your job is that of glorified baby-sitter.” Keller walked around to the driver’s door and opened it. “We aren’t expecting any problems. There are only three of us who know her actual location. Still, you shouldn’t forget that she is at the center of an investigation that puts her life at risk.

“She’s a material witness that’s vital to the investigation. Trust nobody, and make sure she doesn’t, either.” Keller slid behind the wheel and started the engine. “I’m sure everything will be fine. She’s a long way from the bad guys here.”

Dozens of questions whirled in Jesse’s mind. “How do I get in touch with you if I need to?”

“You don’t.” Keller slammed the car door and pulled away from the curb.

Jesse watched the car until it disappeared from his sight, then he turned and eyed the neat, threebedroom ranch-style house he called home. For the next week or two he would share his home with a blind material witness whose life was in danger. How could a blind woman be a witness to anything?

Questions spun through his mind, but Jesse knew he could expect no answers. Keller had told him what he absolutely needed to know—nothing more, nothing less.

When he walked inside, Cecilia was sitting exactly where they had left her, the dark glasses still perched over her eyes.

He wondered about her blindness. How long had she been blind? Had she been blind since birth or had she enjoyed the wonder of sight only to lose it through some tragedy?

Some place deep inside him, a grievous memory stirred to the surface, but he mentally shoved it away as he had done countless times in the past.

“Sheriff Wilder?” There was a slight panic in her voice.

“Yes, it’s me,” he answered hurriedly and set down the two suitcases. “But you’d better call me Jesse. According to Keller, I’m supposed to tell everyone that you’re my girlfriend.”

“Lucky you,” she said, an underlying bitterness scoring her words.

Jesse shifted from one foot to the other, unsure what to do next. “Can I get you something to drink? Are you hungry?” He’d asked before, but she hadn’t replied.

“No, I’m fine for now.” She lay the cane next to her and entwined her fingers in her lap. “If I’m going to play the part of your girlfriend, then I guess we should come up with some background story.”

Jesse once again sat in the chair facing her. He’d never before realized how he depended on seeing a person’s eyes to assess their character. He found the dark glasses rather disconcerting.

“Since you’ve never been to Mustang before, we would have to have met someplace else.” He frowned thoughtfully. “A couple months ago I took a week’s vacation and went camping. We could tell people I met you then.”

She frowned, her nose wrinkling. “I don’t know anything about camping. Besides, who would believe I was out in the wilderness setting up a tent?”

She had a point. “Well, then maybe we could have met in a café as I was driving home,” he offered.

“And what was I doing there? Serving coffee? Short-order cook?”

Unexpected irritation surged in Jesse. “Lady, you’ve got to help me out here,” he said.

Her cheeks pinkened and she tugged off the glasses, exposing beautiful large green eyes fringed with dark, thick lashes. “I apologize. Perhaps I’m more tired than I realized. Would it be possible to show me to my room and we can discuss the details of everything a little bit later?”

Jesse instantly regretted snapping at her. Without the glasses, he could see bruiselike dark circles beneath her eyes. That, coupled with her pale complexion, gave her the appearance of sheer exhaustion. “Of course. Let me get your bags into the room, then I’ll come back for you.”

“I appreciate it.”