“Because it’s hard to fire accurately from a moving vehicle,” Shane argued. “That truck was speeding so fast it almost turned over when it skidded around the corner.”
“Meaning, you believe I’m in real danger?”
He rolled his eyes as he drawled, “Well, yeah.”
“Opinion noted,” Jamie Lynn said. She pointed toward the street. “Looks like the cavalry is here. If I get to know these officers any better, I’m going to have to start baking them cookies.”
Facing her, Shane grasped her upper arms. “Will you at least try to look scared, the way you did when you came running to me, so they’ll take you seriously?”
“I wasn’t running to you. I was running from the other guy.”
He was taken aback when she set Ulysses on the ground at her feet, straightened and held out her hands. Tremors in her fingers gave her away. She put on a good act, but beneath the unruffled exterior she was still plenty terrified.
Shane wasn’t sure whether to be glad she was wary or sorry for her. Either way, at least he knew that inside, where it really counted, she wasn’t nearly as hard-boiled as she pretended to be.
* * *
This police officer was new to her. At least Jamie Lynn thought he was. Except for Sheriff Allgood, who was considerably older, the men’s faces were beginning to look alike to her. So was their skepticism. Bidding this particular officer goodbye, she sighed, shook her head and made a face at Shane. “That went about as well as I’d figured it would.”
“At least he took your statement.”
“Yes, and promised to send someone to look for drops of blood in the hall. Do you think he will?”
“I have my doubts.”
“Then we should try.”
Shane didn’t seem particularly happy about the prospect of turning amateur CSI. “My success will be iffy, at best. The problem is collecting a sample without contaminating it.”
He looked to Sadie, the motel’s owner, a rotund, motherly-looking woman he’d known since childhood. “Do you have a plastic sandwich bag that’s never been opened?”
“Sure do. If you can prove who’s been harassing my guests, I’ll give you anything you ask for.”
“The bag will be enough,” Shane replied. “Just be sure the seal at the top is closed, just the way it came out of the box.”
“Gotcha. Hang on. Be right back.”
“How will that help?” Jamie asked. Confused, she was glad Shane had taken charge because she was clearly in over her head in this instance.
“Coming from the factory, it should be sanitary enough to store a clean sample. Providing we locate one, that is.”
Sadie breezed back to the counter and produced the plastic bag he’d asked for. “Here you go. Need a flashlight?”
“That would be helpful, yes.” Shane turned to Jamie and pointed to her dog. “Carry him. We don’t want him spoiling the evidence.”
“Right.” Although she did as told, she hesitated inside the motel lobby.
“You have to come with me,” Shane reminded her. “Otherwise I may search all night and not even be looking in the right place.”
“I understand. It’s just that...”
When he turned his full attention to her, she felt the effect of his inner strength as well as saw his determination.
“I’m licensed to carry a concealed weapon,” Shane told her. “We won’t be walking into this unarmed, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“It had occurred to me.” Holding her wiggling dog closer, she said, “Okay. Let’s go.”
As anticipated, the hallway was cloaked in shadow. The setting sun shone on a few tiny sections of it, throwing the rest into darkness by comparison. Taking her place at Shane’s shoulder, she pointed. “My room is just past that big potted plant. If there is any blood, it has to be on the other side.”
“When you ran, did he follow?”
“I—I don’t think so.” She dropped back one step, no more. There was something terribly comforting about being with Shane Colton in spite of his rigid conclusions about her brother. She supposed, under the same circumstances, she wouldn’t be very open to stirring things up, either.
That sensible conclusion helped settle her mind a bit, although her body continued to tremble.
Ulysses’s growl vibrated against her chest and tingled her fingers.
She touched Shane’s shoulder. “Wait. Stop.”
“What’s wrong?”
“The dog is growling again. He did the same thing just before I was grabbed.”
Flashlight in one hand, Shane slipped a .38 automatic from a holster inside his belt and stood ready. “Get behind me. Against the wall.”