Mountain Witness

“It’s beautiful,” Julie whispered, seemingly mesmerized as the light breeze teased the swing back and forth, the chains creaking in rhythm with the sound of cicadas.

“I reckon it is.” He cut the engine, admiring her profile. The lights from the yard sparkled on the honey-blond highlights in her brown hair. She had a small, pert nose and pale skin with a smattering of freckles across both cheeks. A lock of her hair hung forward and he barely resisted the urge to brush it back.

“Harmony Haven,” she whispered, as if testing the name on her tongue. “You said it’s a horse rescue?”

He waved toward the stable, the main doors sealed up for the night. “There are a couple dozen horses in there, another dozen or so out in the pasture. Ashley and Dillon run horse camps every summer and adopt out most of the herd. Then rescues trickle in throughout the year and they work on rehabilitating them, regaining their trust. A couple months from now this year’s first campers will arrive. There’s a bunkhouse farther out for the farmhands and a second bunkhouse for the campers.”

“Ashley and Dillon are married?”

He nodded. “Almost a year now.”

“Then who’s Harmony?”

Chris’s smiled faded. “Dillon’s baby sister. She loved horses even more than he does, which seems impossible.”

“Loved? Past tense?”

“She died a long time ago. Hang tight. I’ll help you down.”

Before she could ask him any more questions or dredge up memories of the past, he hopped down from the truck and hurried to the passenger side. Although his black four-by-four was suspended a lot higher than the average pickup, it wasn’t quite a monster truck. It was just high enough for his six-foot-two frame to be comfortable climbing in and out. But Julie was almost a foot shorter than him, which meant he’d had to lift her up into the truck back at the station. Something he’d realized he didn’t mind one bit. She sure was a pretty thing.

She’d just opened her door when he reached her. With a mumbled apology, he put his hands at her waist and lifted her down. As soon as her shoes touched the ground, she stepped back, forcing him to drop his hands. She seemed awkward, uncomfortable as she smoothed her blouse over her khaki pants.

“Why didn’t we go to a hotel?” She followed him as he led the way toward the front porch. “Why drive so far from town?”

He stopped with his boot on the bottom step. “There’s only one hotel in Destiny. Nelson would have looked for you there.”

Her brows shot up. “I didn’t know we were hiding from her.”

He smiled. “We’re hiding more from my boss than from your ADA. I’m on administrative leave, which means I’m not even supposed to talk to you.”

“But you want answers, like you said at the station.”

He nodded.

“You aren’t too good at following orders, are you?”

“Not when I’m shut out of a case where I had to kill a man.”

She swallowed and looked away.

“Look,” he said. “I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. For now, we’re just escaping the inquisition back there and getting a good night’s sleep. As a bonus, I ensure that Nelson doesn’t whisk you off to Nashville overnight.”

She stood on the first step, then moved up one more, making her almost eye level with him.

“You seem to think that if Kathy tells me to do something, I jump to do it. What gave you that impression?”

He shrugged. “I think it’s more that she drove three hours to come to your rescue. Allowing you to talk anymore to us would have pretty much defeated the purpose in her driving down here. Lawyers don’t want their clients to talk. Ever.”

He took the stairs two at a time and paused at the door.

When she joined him there, he added, “This place has the best security around. No one is going to sneak up on you while you’re here. You’re safe.”

Her lips parted in surprise.

He shook his head, exasperated. “Did you really think I was buying the picture that Nelson was painting? It’s as obvious as the day is long that you’re both hiding something, holding something back. And if you moved to Destiny just to hide from your husband, or little high school-type pranks, you wouldn’t still be scared.”

She stiffened. “What makes you think I’m scared?”

He glanced at her hands, which she was twisting together.

She jerked them apart, her face flushing again.

“I guess the real question is whether Nelson knows whatever secrets you’re hiding.”

Her expression went blank, as if she’d thrown up a wall. He’d been fishing, but now he knew for sure that she really was hiding something. What could she be hiding that even her ADA friend didn’t know about? And why?

She looked at the truck as if debating whether to demand that he take her back to town. Sensing that if he pushed her on it, if he argued to get her to stay, that she’d push back and demand to leave, he remained silent and waited.

“Your friends Dillon and Ashley—they know we’re here? You have keys to the house?”

In answer, he separated the keys on his key ring and held up one. “If Dillon is awake, he knows. The security system texted him our picture as soon as we turned down the private road to the farm.”

Her eyes widened.

“I’m sure they don’t mind,” he continued. “But I’ll call in the morning and explain the situation.”

“Okay, then. I’ll stay. Just for the night.”

He unlocked the door and waved her inside before she could change her mind.

Chapter Eight (#udd99f7bb-0952-5332-a390-b9521d9e9567)

Of all the reckless, crazy things that Julie had ever done, sneaking off with Detective Chris Downing was probably the most outrageous and stupid. She couldn’t believe that she’d had the gumption to tiptoe out of the conference room, pausing only briefly as he whispered to his SWAT team members, and then getting into his pickup truck.

When he’d handed her that tissue in the conference room to wipe her tears, it was as if they were co-conspirators, the two of them against the world. And she’d been just desperate enough to take the lifeline that he’d offered, tricking herself into believing that he was someone she could trust. He’d been what she’d needed most at that very moment—someone to lean on, someone who would keep her safe, be a friend, if only for one night.

She was such a fool.

They had a truce, more or less, but she knew the limits. The moment she got up tomorrow he’d probably barrage her with questions, and she wouldn’t have Kathy here to deflect them. She might as well have stayed at the police station.

As she followed him inside, he paused beside a beeping security alarm keypad and keyed in the security code, disabling it. After locking the door, he set the alarm again and waved his hand to encompass the large open room.

“This is it,” he said. “Dillon took down most of the walls to give it an open floor plan. As you can see, the kitchen is on the back left. Feel free to grab something if you’re thirsty or hungry.”

She nodded, noting the granite-topped island that separated the kitchen from the great room. A straight staircase was in front of them, with a small dark hallway opening behind it on the main floor. The room was an eclectic mix of masculine and feminine touches, with dark chunky wood furniture softened by pastel throws and pillows, and rugs scattered across the hardwood floor.