Undercover Hunter(90)

                “Cool! Not all your photos should be from the top of the mountains.”

                Just then the phone line rang. He cursed it because it was for him and he was next on the rotation. But he couldn’t let her see that he didn’t want to answer, that she had become more important.

                Another friendly smile. “Excuse me.” He touched his headset and walked toward the console. “Crisis hotline, this is Calvin. What can I help you with tonight?”

                DeeJay moved toward the door, spoke a few words with Dory, then turned to wave at him. He had her, he thought as he waved back and continued to listen to the woman sobbing on the line. DeeJay would come to the ranch. He just had to make sure she didn’t bring the guy with her. Of course, if necessary he could deal with the man, too. In fact, it might make things cleaner. Folks would just think they had finished their job and left, rather than have her husband raise a ruckus. Yeah, that would work better.

                Gage opened the door, letting her exit ahead of him, and Dory locked it behind them.

                Later, when he was done with his call and they were waiting for the next, Dory remarked, “That was odd.”

                His attention pricked. “Why?”

                “I just can’t imagine why a travel writer would be interested in us.”

                He could. She had been summoned. But even as he thought that, a warning sounded in the back of his head. Maybe she had another motive. Maybe he should watch her carefully before he made his move. Spiders, after all, waited until their prey was truly tangled and even tired before they approached to sting it.

                Spiders were so smart, but he was smarter.

                * * *

                “I want everything you’ve got on Calvin Sweet,” DeeJay told Gage when they reached the corner and were about to part ways.

                “Why? Houston and Boston?”

                “That and an invitation to his ranch.”

                Gage shook his head a little. “There’s probably not much. He’s never been in trouble with the law, but I’ll see what I can get, starting with his job application. Really, do you think a serial killer would be working at a crisis hotline?”

                “Ted Bundy did. By all accounts, he was good at it, too.”

                She took some satisfaction from seeing his eyes widen. “Hell,” he muttered.

                “It’s a long shot, but right now it’s the only one we have. And I’m late meeting Cade at the diner. By now he’s probably wondering if I got myself abducted.”

                She was turning away when he touched her arm. “Good job of questioning,” he said.

                “It was only one remark. Wish I’d had time for more.” Then she marched down the street, remembering the young man with the dark hair and eyes. He seemed so nice. So inoffensive. Almost eager to please.

                He was at least worth looking into.

                * * *

                “I was starting to wonder,” Cade said when she slid into the booth he’d staked out.

                “I ran into Gage, and he showed me the hotline center. We’ll talk about it when we get out of here.”