Howd you find me? She turned away from him and started to gather her supplies, which she stuffed into a metal toolbox.
It wasnt easy. In fact, itd been downright hard. Clayton tipped his head to the stained-glass panel. Not many people do the kind of work you do, so I kept calling churches and other places that have this sort of thing.
And hed finally located her through a supplier who was billing a minister in the small town of Sadlers Falls for repairs to an antique stained-glass window. Lenoras area of expertise.
I called the minister, Clayton explained. And I posed as someone interested in a getting a referral for some stained-glass repairs needed on a house Im restoring. He told me about this woman hed just hired, but I didnt know it was you until I saw you just now. He paused. Youre using a fake name.
Yes. After what happened, I thought it was the safe thing to do.
Probably. But Clayton still needed answers that he hadnt been able to get from anyone else.
She glanced at the scar on his forehead. It had faded considerably since his surgery three months earlier, but it was a reminder of just how close hed come to dying.
Ive been looking for updates about the shooting, she said, but the marshals still havent found the person that hired the gunman who put a bullet in you.
Thats true. Not from lack of trying, though. The investigation had been a priority for his foster brothers. And now for Clayton. But I thought youd be able to help with that.
Lenora quickly shook her head. I cant. I have no idea whos behind this.
Im not sure I believe that.
The pulse in her throat jumped, but before she could repeat her denial, Clayton walked closer, his cowboy boots thudding on the scarred hardwood floors of the old church.
Lenora backed up, and she pulled the sides of the coat closer, hugging it against her body. Youre accusing me of lying.
Yeah, he readily admitted, and he held out his phone so she could see the video that hed loaded. The diner where I was shot doesnt have a security camera, but there were plenty of them on the Marshals building across the street.
And thanks to one of those cameras, he could show her the footage of them sitting down in the booth directly in front of the window.
I understand we sat in that particular spot so I could watch for the black truck that I thought had been following you, he explained.
She nodded but didnt say anything. Lenora just watched. There was no audio, but it was clear that Lenora and he were talking in the diner. Clayton waited until the feed got to the first stopping point, then paused the video. He zoomed into his expression.
I dont need a body-language expert to tell me that Im surprised there. Shocked, actually. He dipped his head down slightly, forcing eye contact. What did you say to me to put that look on my face?
She didnt glance away this time. He was watching her closely. It seemed as if she was having a serious debate with herselfa debate that didnt turn out well for Clayton, because he saw the exact moment when she decided to lie.
I cant remember specifically what I said, but we were talking about the break-ins at the place where I used to live.
He didnt doubt that had come up in conversationClayton had read the reports of both break-insbut since hed already known about them before Lenora showed up at his office that morning, there probably wasnt much she could have told him that would have shocked him.
So why was she lying?
This was one area where Harlan hadnt been able to help. His brother had been in the office the morning of the visit, but he hadnt been privy to what Lenora and he had discussed. Too bad. Because Clayton had the feeling that it was more than important, and he wasnt letting her out of his sight until he had answers.
Clayton hit Play on the video, and they watched in silence. Well, verbal silence anyway. Lenora was glancing at him from the corner of her eye. He was doing the same, trying to remember anything and everything about her. She certainly didnt feel like a stranger. And her scent...
That was familiar,
too.
Maybe it was his imagination, but that scent seemed to trigger other things. Like the memory of her taste. But that couldnt have happened. According to every report hed read, the first time he met Lenora and her friend Jill was when theyd been placed in his protective custody. He wouldnt have kissed a woman on the job.
Maybe afterward.
After Jill had been murdered. After her shooter had been arrested and put behind bars. Yeah, he could maybe see it happening then, if Lenora had landed in his arms so he could comfort her.
But had they done that?
And if so, why hadnt Lenora admitted it?
He heard the slight shiver of her breath and looked down at the screen. Their recorded conversation was over, and both had noticed the approaching black truck. Though it was damn hard to watch, Clayton did. And he saw the impact of the bullet as it slammed into his head.
Lenora turned away, or rather started to do that, but Clayton caught her arm, keeping her in place. Watch, he insisted.