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wall. Stepping over a pair of high heels, Sigmund walked toward the
window. He raised the blinds, squinted against the setting sun, and
twisted the ancient window s lock. He d already wrestled a few of his
mother s windows into submission and didn t plan to let this one
outwit him either. Wrapping his handkerchief around the handle,
Sigmund yanked. The window slid up with no complaints and then
stayed where he left it.
The gods are smiling on me, he drawled and eyed the screen.
Two token fasteners held it in place. Sigmund turned them and thus
completed the task of paving the way for later entry . . . if she re
membered to lock the back door and he couldn t finagle the lock
with one of his mom s old skeleton keys.
Sigmund lowered the window and blinds, then scrutinized the
room s every detail until the location of the bed and dresser and every
other piece of furniture were blazoned upon his mind. He paced
back toward the hallway and counted his steps as he went. Only
about fifteen feet separated the window from the hall. He then gazed
toward the kitchen and estimated the distance to be a mere twenty
feet.
The house was small. That was good. More conducive to a quick
entry, a quick job, and a quick exit.
106 » Debra White Smith
Sigmund stepped to the child s room and was stricken with the
smell of peanut butter. An open jar of the stuff sitting on her dresser
confirmed the scent. All manner of kiddy decorations claimed the
area, right down to the cat-covered comforter on the bed. He ab
sorbed the locale of her toy boxes and noted several items lying in
the middle of the floor.
He spotted a rag doll, much like the one they d placed in Kari s
arms before they buried her. Sigmund picked it up, stroked her hair,
and his face puckered into a frown that hurt. He remembered the
child tumbling over him while he tickled her and her sister. She d
been a good girl. Sigmund s fingers curled into the doll. Then, he
released it. She fell to her face on the floor.
Stay out of this room, he commanded. Just deal with the
mother and get her body out.
He nodded approval of the plan and turned back toward the
kitchen. The visit had been profitable and gave Sigmund exactly
what he was looking for: his bearings. When he entered the house
tonight, he didn t want to have to guess where anything was. Now,
he knew.
Once the couple left, Charli took Mr. Lavine s advice. Holding
Bonnie, she went straight back into the cool store to file a report. The
chilled air hit her like a blast of ice water as she veered straight toward
the manager s glassed-in office. Just as she was walking up, a lanky
man was exiting. His nametag read, Doug Brown, Manager.
No sooner had he politely inquired if he could help her than the
story spilled from Charli in a breathless gush. As his lined face hard
ened, he wasted no time calling the store security guard.
The second the fresh-faced guard stepped into her line of vision,
Charli recognized him as the blond officer who d served her coffee
yesterday morning. He d barely stopped when she said, Oh, it s
you, and didn t know whether to smile or frown.
TEXAS HEAT « 107
Yes. His grin reminded her of a shy schoolboy, but his blue eyes
held the observant edge of a man. Something wrong? he asked and
glanced toward the manager.
Brown began rolling up his shirtsleeves. Remember those two
idiots who were on the parking lot last night?
Yeah, Yarborough said.
Looks like they were at it again, and this time they were drink
ing.
Bonnie wiggled in Charli s arms and cried, I want down.
Charli released Bonnie, allowing her to stand close while holding
her hand. Straightening, she related her story to the officer, and he
nodded.
I ll keep a watch out for them and also alert the station. You got
their license plate number. If they re drinking and an officer can find
them he can haul them in for DWI. He pulled his cell phone from
his belt. I think Payton s back on again tonight. Nobody gets away
from that cat.
Thanks so much, Charli said and never imagined she d be
grateful to one of the officers who d held the key to her cell. But
then, she was eternally grateful for all Jack was doing, and he d been
her arresting officer.
All the way home, Charli checked and double-checked her
rearview mirror to make certain the men weren t following her.
Pulling into her driveway, she was confident she d shaken them for
good.
Nonetheless, she still planned to phone Jack and let him know
about the men as well as ask him about the lawyer. Before her trial
was over, the man would probably think she was a pest.
So let it be, she thought as she climbed from the car. Once it s all
over, I ll stay out of his way.
Getting the groceries in while dodging Bonnie was an ordeal, as
usual. By the time Charli set the final bag on her counter, Bonnie
108 » Debra White Smith
had spilled her Sprite, pulled the cats out of the utility room, and
accidentally let one of them outside. Charli traced down both kittens
and deposited them back into the utility room until she had every
thing under control. When closing the utility room s door, Charli
noticed the door leading to the garage was ajar.
Tilting her head, she walked to it and peered into her garage
so crowded with boxes and lawn paraphernalia, there was no room
for her car. When she saw nothing unusual in the mix, she closed
the door and turned the ancient lock. Charli eyed the skeleton
keyhole and put replace at the top of her to-do list next week.
She d lived in this house her whole childhood and had always
possessed a high sense of safety within the walls. But now Charli
didn t feel safe anywhere. She eyed the antique lock that had kept
her secure her whole life and gave herself a serious reality check.
The lock was the epitome of fragile and useless and would be no
good against a hard blow.
Thankfully, the kittens had been in the utility room while they
were gone and hadn t been able to slip out. Wondering if Bonnie had
opened the door again after Charli locked it, she called, Bonnie?
while walking back into the kitchen.
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