Page 71 of Shadow of Deceit
She shrugged. “It’s not easy finding someone you want to spend the rest of your life with.”
“Or keeping them,” he said in a whisper that sent all of his pain at losing Cara into the space and filling the cab with tension.
“I’m sorry that you had to go through losing your fiancée.” Mia lifted the camera to the window and peered through the viewfinder. “No one should have to experience such a tragedy.”
He didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to talk about it. Especially as the inky darkness broken only by his headlights seemed to shout out to protect her from future danger.
He turned into Evergreen’s driveway. No lights from Russ or his deputies or even Sierra. Either they’d finished processing the murder scene or they’d gone home to return in the light of day. In any event, Ryan hoped they’d found a lead to move this investigation forward.
“Did you see that?” Mia leaned forward.
“What?”
She pointed toward the resort office. “Over there. A light flashed in the window.” She rubbed her eyes and stared in that direction. “There it is again. Like a flashlight.”
He slowed the truck and followed the line of her finger. “There. I see it. You think someone broke in?”
“Verna could be working late.”
“With a flashlight? Not likely.” He flipped off the headlights and watched the beam cutting through the office. “This could be related to the threats.”
Mia sat forward and kept the camera trained on the office. The lens whirred out. “This camera’s got a great zoom, but I still can’t make out who’s in there.”
“Let’s get closer.” He turned off the engine. “I’ll coast down the hill. Don’t want to draw attention.”
With the engine dead, chirping crickets filled the void as did the crunching of tires over gravel. He let inertia pull the truck closer, and near the store, he swung the wheel hard to the left taking them as close to the building as he dared.
He applied the brakes and faced Mia. “See anything?”
“We’re not at the right angle.” She grabbed the door handle.
“I’ll go check.” He reached up to flip off the dome light. “You wait here.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m coming with you.” She eased out of the truck before he could stop her, bringing the camera in case she could capture a photo of the intruder.
Ryan joined her near the front bumper. “I don’t want you to get hurt. Can you humor me and at least stay behind me?”
“Yes.” She fell into place.
Grateful for her easy acquiescence, he led the way. They crept to the long narrow porch running the length of the office and small convenience store. He signaled for her to stay put while he went to take a closer look. Surprisingly she didn’t argue but sat on the porch.
With silent footfalls, he closed the distance to the window and slowly rose up to glance inside.What in the world?
Someone was in the office all right, but it wasn’t Verna as Mia suggested. A man, flashlight in one gloved hand, pry bar in the other, was trying to break into the file cabinet. Ryan couldn’t make out clear details, but he could see enough to determine that the bulky, tall male, didn’t appear to be armed.
What should they do? The break-in had to be related to the fire, maybe even Mia’s bracelet, and the murder. No way they could let the guy get away.
Ryan eased back from the window and joined Mia, her eyes wide.
“A man’s breaking into the file cabinet,” he whispered. “We need to call Russ.”
“Russ? No. It’ll take too long for him to get here. This guy could take off before that.”
“We’ll sit right here. If he tries to leave before Russ arrives, we’ll think of something.”
Thankfully, Mia nodded, and Ryan made the call then settled on the bottom porch step next to Mia to wait.
Time ticked by in slow increments, palpable tension enveloping them.
