The Sheriff Gets His Lady

He slipped the knife from its sheath and scored the fancy white bedspread viciously. Not bothering with stealth any longer, he flipped on the bedroom light and opened her closet. Too many empty hangers. Looked to him like she’d split for good. Remembering all that luggage she’d had with her, he wondered. Maybe she hadn’t taken off with his money after all. Maybe she’d been planning from the start not to come back again. If she was on the run for some reason, she could be anywhere at all by now. He needed an address, a phone number. Something that would tell him where she’d gone.

Norman Smith was nothing if not thorough. He destroyed or damaged every inch of the apartment, pausing by the telephone and the blinking answering machine.

He listened and discarded the five messages from her friends and co-workers and concentrated on the memo pad beside the telephone. She’d written several messages on the top sheet of paper, but then she’d drawn stupid doodles over half of them. He couldn’t make out all the words. The hotel name was clear enough, but he already knew she wasn’t there any longer.

Bitterwater. What the hell was Bitterwater? At least it looked like Bitter something. A place? Or had she been drinking water that tasted bitter? He cursed again. Bitterwater could be one of those small Texas towns. There was a phone number below it with a Texas area code. Unfortunately, the phone number wasn’t legible beyond the first few digits.

There was a dollar amount. A hotel fee?

He’d find out. He was very good at puzzles. Haughty Ms. Diamond was about to learn that fact. And then she’d discover some of the other things he was good at.

Especially murder.

CHAPTER FOUR

SKY FACED the morning with a heavy heart. Rain beat a sympathetic tattoo against the windows. She had barely slept all night and it showed. Even a shower and makeup didn’t help. What little sleep she’d managed to get had been haunted by conflicting emotions. And Sheriff Beaufort was at the center of the storm.

The handsome sheriff had to be the most intriguing man she’d ever met. Why did he have to be her daughter’s adoptive father? She considered it luck that he hadn’t recognized her name. Even though adoption records were supposed to be sealed, there was always the chance that someone in his position had learned the truth somehow.

She cringed when she remembered the ridiculous story she’d made up for being in Darwin Crossing and her interest in Lauren. He hadn’t believed her, obviously. She should have told him the truth.

Only she hadn’t wanted to see the condemnation in those chocolate eyes when he learned she’d given up her only child at birth.

Watching Lauren and the sheriff interact yesterday, Sky had felt a pang of envy for their easy camaraderie. It reminded Sky of her relationship with her mother. Lauren had grown up happy and loved—without the poverty. Wasn’t that why Sky had come all this way? She’d wanted to know if she’d made the right choice all those years ago. She had.