“Vanessa was an adult when she showed up here in St. Dennis.”

“Maybe having a daughter in her twenties was cramping Maggie’s style. Who knows what goes through that woman’s mind?” He shook his head. “I for one don’t want to know.”

Mia was thinking that Beck very much did want to know, but she figured it wasn’t her place to point that out. Instead, she said, “So where to now?” as they headed back into town.

“It’s late afternoon. Just drop me off at the station,” he replied. “Are you staying at Sinclair’s Cove again tonight?”

“No.” She shook her head. “But it would probably make sense if I did until the case is solved. I think when I get home tonight I’ll pack enough things for a few days.”

She turned on to Kelly’s Point Drive.

“Just pull into the lot and take off, why don’t you? Get a jump on the traffic,” he suggested. “And maybe by the time you get here in the morning, we’ll know what Lisa and Duncan have been up to all day.”

“If you’re sure…” She stopped in front of the door.

“Positive. Go on home.” He gave her arm a quick squeeze, then opened the door and got out. He leaned into the car and added, “I was in the army.”

“Delta Force,” she said softly.

Beck smiled and said, “Get a good night’s sleep.”

“Will do.” She waved and he slammed the door.

Looking forward to a night in her own bed, Mia headed for the highway, the Bay Bridge, and home.

22

He knelt in the shadow of a hydrangea that badly needed a good pruning, though its overgrown state was perfect for hiding him from the road. Not that he expected anyone to come by. This was, after all, the middle of nowhere.

At least, that was how it seemed. He couldn’t believe his luck when he first saw the house. He’d never have expected someone like Mia to live in a place like this. For one thing, it was probably the ugliest bungalow he’d ever seen. For another, it was pretty isolated. The road wasn’t even paved, for Christ’s sake. Who lived on dirt roads these days?

It was enough to make a man believe in fate.

He laid the small leather case upon the ground and took out a small implement with a very sharp cutting blade. He crouched lower to better see the basement window, and began to cut along the outside edge of the glass. With luck, he’d be able to force it to fall on the outside in one unbroken piece, neatly and quietly.

As he painstakingly ran the blade along the perimeter, he reflected on just how lucky a man he was. He couldn’t believe his good fortune to have been passing the gas station at just the moment when the pretty FBI agent was filling up her car at the tank. He’d pulled in to the parking lot across the street, and watched to see in which direction she’d drive off. When he realized she was headed for the Bay Bridge, he thought, what the hell, he’d follow her and see where she was going. He figured she was going home, and knowing where she lived and how to get there could only be a good thing as far as he was concerned. Just that afternoon Mia Shields had moved to the top of his to-do list.

He’d followed her carefully and from a distance, and there were only a few hairy moments when he’d thought he’d lost her. He’d had to be particularly cautious once she turned off the highway, because any car traveling too close would surely be noticed. When she made that last left turn onto this narrow unmarked road, he’d gone straight, figuring she’d spot him immediately, though he was fairly certain she wouldn’t recognize the car he was driving. Better to wait, he’d told himself, give her time to get to where-ever she was going, then take a spin down that lane and see what was what.

He’d waited five minutes, then followed the dirt road past the lone house on the corner, the only one before the woods began to close in on both sides of the road. Then came a clearing, and several hundred feet down on the right sat this little house. From the edge of the woods he could see that the lights were on, and as he drove by-without slowing, without even looking just in case she happened to glance out the window-he saw her shiny black Lexus there in the drive. He kept going until he came to a second clearing, then pulled off the road. He sat for a few minutes, debating what to do. He was tired-after all, he’d been a very busy man today. But this was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Lucky for him, he still had all his equipment in the trunk.

He got out of the car and walked down the road, taking care to stick to the woods, in the event another car should come by. He looked overhead and made a wish on the first star he saw winking down at him.

Another good sign, he thought to himself. I guess this was meant to be.

He paused at the spot where the woods ended and he studied the house. Surely the doors would all be locked, and the windows on the first floor as well. He’d just have to find another way in. He kept to the deepest shadows and stood parallel to the porch. He could see her moving about in the kitchen, so he sat on a tree stump for a while, just watching her. After about twenty minutes, she disappeared, and moments later, he saw the lights on the second floor go on.

Ah, her bedroom, he thought, and licked his lips. He continued to stare, but she didn’t reappear.

He walked back to the car and opened the trunk, and took out a small bag. After checking its contents, he walked back to the house and went through the shadows directly to the basement window.

This would be the best place, he told himself, noting that her car was parked in such a way that even if someone were to drive past, even if they could see through the leafy hydrangea, he’d still be hidden from view.

Perfect.

And there’d be no better place to keep her for a few days, he was thinking, except that she’d be missed and someone would come looking for her. Damn. He’d have loved to play house here for a while.

For once, the water pressure in the shower was fairly decent, and Mia turned it to the maximum setting. She’d have to remember to mention the inconsistent pressure to Connor the next time they spoke. He might want to look into that. Of course, for him, it might not be an issue. For her, having the pressure dip while she had a head full of shampoo was pretty annoying.

She finished rinsing, turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower. She towel dried her hair, then dried off the rest of her. She wrapped up in her favorite robe, then turned on the hair dryer. Sitting on the edge of the small stool, she turned her head upside down and brushed her hair until it was almost dry. When she finished, she turned off the dryer and went into the bedroom. She’d gone three steps when she heard the footfalls on the steps.

She froze where she stood. Her gun was in her bag, on the opposite side of the room. She’d never make it in time.

“Mia?” A voice called from the top of the stairs.

“Damn you!” she shrieked. “Damn it, Connor, that’s the second time you did that to me. Would you please announce yourself before you come up the steps all stealthy-like and scare the living shit out of me!”

“I called to you a couple of times,” he told her from the other side of the door, “but I guess you didn’t hear me. I was halfway up the steps when you turned the dryer off.”

“Well, go on back down, give me a minute to get dressed.”

“Hey, I’m sorry. Really.” She heard him retreat, taking the steps two at a time. “I’ll be in the kitchen, making dinner. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

“Not really. But it had better be a pretty damned fine dinner to make up for the scare you just gave me.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“And Connor…”

“Yeah?”

“We have this new invention here. You’ve been out of the country, so you may have missed it. We use it to communicate with other people.” She opened the door and yelled, “It’s called a telephone.”