Conceal, Protect - By Carol Ericson Page 0,7
break-in?
“That could be your explanation right there. Are you sure you had the bottle there?”
“Positive.”
He believed her. All the bottles in the medicine cabinet were lined up, labels outward.
When they returned to the living room, she perched on a stool at the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room, and he sat on the arm of an overstuffed chair.
“At least they didn’t stick around. I don’t get it....” She pursed her lips and dropped her gaze to her hands folded on the counter.
“You don’t get what?” Would she open up to him about the break-in in D.C.? It would go a long way to proving to his superiors in Prospero that she knew nothing about her roommate’s secret life.
She shook her head. “Buck Ridge used to be such a safe community. My friend was just telling me about the jump in crime since the ski resort took off.”
“The price you pay for prosperity.” He shrugged. Noelle Dupree didn’t open up to just anybody. He’d have to become somebody.
Her long black ponytail swung over her shoulder as she tilted her head at him. “How did you know where I lived?”
“Despite the popularity of the ski resort, Buck Ridge is still a small town. Someone noticed us in the parking lot and told me your name and that you had a ranch out this way. When I saw the name of the ranch from the road, I pulled in to see how you...the truck was doing.”
“Really?” She gripped the edge of the tiled island. “That’s kind of scary when you think about it.”
“That’s a small town for you. It was the same where I grew up.” He waited for the questions, but they never materialized on her lips. She didn’t want to dig too deeply into his life in case he required the same from her.
She hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. “I forgot I still have groceries in the car.”
“And your headlights are still on. You don’t need a dead battery on top of everything else.” He reached around her and swept the keys to the truck from the counter and dangled them in front of her. “You turn your lights off, and I’ll get the groceries for you.”
“Deal.” She snatched the keys from his hand. “You have the advantage over me, you know.”
“Huh?” Had he blown his cover already?
“You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”
“J.D.” He left it at that. Two could play at that game.
He carried in all the groceries and parked on a stool while Noelle put away the items. He studied her face, tight with worry.
“Do you have any idea who could’ve broken into your place? Any local druggies? How’s the teenage population around here? Is there much of a problem with narcotics?”
She lined up some cans on a shelf in the pantry and turned them all so the labels faced outward, just like the bottles in the medicine cabinet. “I have no idea.”
He expelled a long breath, his chest and his hopes deflating. She had no intention of confiding in him. “Do you want to call the cops?”
Her blue eyes darkened as they darted around the room. “I suppose I should.”
“If these are druggies, I’m sure the local cops would want to know. Maybe they’ve hit other people. Maybe there’s a pattern and the cops already have some suspects.”
“Are you a cop?”
“No.” He tugged on his longish hair. “Do I look like a cop?”
“No, but you sound like one.”
He said with a shrug, “Just common sense.”
She called the local sheriff while J.D. checked the outside of the house with a flashlight. If Zendaris’s guys had broken in, they wouldn’t leave any evidence behind, but a thief looking for a quick fix just might. But would a junkie have left the house in such good order?
He trailed the beam from his flashlight along the window ledges and ground surrounding the house. He couldn’t see much in the dark. He’d have to look around tomorrow. He definitely planned to be here tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.
The sheriff’s squad car pulled through the broken gates of Noelle’s ranch. J.D. added those gates to his growing list of items that needed fixing.
The sheriff stepped out of his car and aimed his flashlight at J.D. “You the fellow with Noelle Dupree?”
Noelle had left the front door open and now edged onto the porch, folding her jacket around her body. “Hey, Sheriff Greavy. This is J.D. He came by just after I