“So the lesson would be more effective.” He frowned. “But if I’d known about the gun, I might have revised my plan.”
“By calling ahead?”
“No, by coming through an unlocked window and catching you in bed.”
She was ashamed of the images that sprang to mind. They were totally out of keeping with the situation. “Why are you dressed like that?”
“It’s camouflage.”
“I know what it is. Why are you wearing it?”
“Why does anybody?”
“And the face paint?”
“It’s dirt, not paint. The moon came out. I used what was available.” He unfolded his arms and lowered them to his sides. “Set the gun down.”
“Not yet.”
“You’re not going to shoot me.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
“I’m certain you won’t.”
“Oh? How’s that?”
He tipped his chin down toward the firearm. “The thumb safety’s on.”
She reacted by looking down at the pistol. The instant she did, he sprang forward, grabbed her wrist, and literally shook the gun out of her hand and into his waiting palm. She uttered a soft cry. As he released her wrist, he swore viciously.
Glaring at her, he pointed down to the pistol. “This particular model doesn’t even have a thumb safety.” He popped the clip out, then worked the slide. As a round was ejected, he cursed again. “It did, however, have a bullet in the chamber. You could have killed me.”
“Which would have served you right for scaring me half to death.”
“Yeah, well, you scared me, too.” He set the pistol and clip on the table. “Don’t touch those.” Going over to the sink, he turned on the faucet, bent over to wash the soil off his face, and ripped several paper towels from the holder.
“There’s a trash can in the cabinet under the sink,” she said.
He used the towels to dry his face and hands, then tossed them, and turned back to her. “You really shouldn’t have—”
Before he could finish, she interrupted. “Why didn’t you tell me you were in the supermarket that day?”
Chapter 9
Well, fuck.
He didn’t say it out loud. He didn’t say anything for fear of giving away more than she already knew.
“Do you deny it?” she asked.
“No.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought it might make you uncomfortable.”
“It made me uncomfortable learning it from someone other than you.”
“What difference would it have made if you’d known?”
“Exactly!” She jabbed her index finger toward him.
When she did that, her breasts moved beneath her nightgown, and that drew his eyes to them, which made her aware of something he’d been keenly aware of since she’d confronted him: She didn’t have many clothes on.
In fact, the nightie was it.
“Don’t leave until we’ve had this out.” She went into the bedroom and slammed the door behind her.
He ran his hand over his mouth and chin and around the back of his neck. He should have anticipated this. She was bound to find out sooner or later. He’d been busted. He had just as well face the music.
He opened the refrigerator and helped himself to a bottle of water, uncapped it, and chugged it.
When she came back into the kitchen, she was wearing a pair of Christmas-plaid pajama bottoms, a gray hoodie zipped up to her chin, and fuzzy slippers. A knight of the round table couldn’t have been better armored. She set her cell phone—decisively—on the table near the pistol. He supposed that both were to serve as warnings that he had better not get out of line.
“Want some water?” he asked.
“No.”
He placed his empty in the trash can. When he came back around, she looked ready to launch.
“I went to your uncle’s bar this evening.”
“I get the feeling you didn’t just stumble upon it.”
“No. I went there on a fact-finding mission.”
“Facts about me? Why didn’t you ask?”
“Because I didn’t want to be lied to.”
He figured he had that coming.
“I met Don,” she said. “He was very pleasant.”
“A job requirement.”
“We had an enlightening chat.”
“Don didn’t tell you that I was in the store that day, because he doesn’t know. You must’ve chatted with someone else.”
“Lois Miller.”
“Don’t know her.”
“Well, Lois knows you. You’re hard to mistake.”
He couldn’t account for the emphasis she placed on that, although she looked him up and down as she said it.
“You should remember her. Seventy-ish. You were right there with her. The whole time, she said. You, she, and another woman. Younger. Dressed for yoga. Is any of this jogging your memory?”
He ignored her sarcasm. “I remember.”
“So?”
“The older lady hovered. The younger one went into action. She helped you to lie back. I was there to