she could or couldn’t do yet.
“I really like spending time around her,” he admitted again. “She gives off this really low energy I find peaceful. The little teenage girl she was talking to today was very agitated, but the more upset the girl was, the lower Scarlet’s energy was and that helped to calm the girl. I like that a lot about her.”
“That’s what you do with us, isn’t it?” Lana guessed.
“Something like that,” he admitted, flashing a slight grin at her.
She wadded up a napkin and tossed it at him. He caught it out of the air, although he was watching Scarlet and Josefa, making certain he didn’t miss them leaving. He wanted to get out in front of them, just to make certain they could follow the two women home.
Scarlet had told him she lived some distance from town, and she did. The property she rented was out on its own private road. A single back road led to a highway, although he discovered two smaller dirt roads that also branched away from the house, hidden by orchards that could be used as escape routes. The owners had clearly used the property as an illegal grow for years but eventually, when things got hottest just before the marijuana industry was declared legal in some states, they had gotten out of the business.
The house was set back from the road by more than a mile, making it easy for the occupants to see anyone coming up on them. It was ideal for the previous owners, who could either take off or hide as much cash or evidence as possible inside the house before the cops got to the residence. The groves of fruit trees and nut trees made the long rows of enclosed warehouses nearly impossible to see until you were right up on them. Those had been the real cash cows, where the marijuana had been grown and processed.
He hadn’t done more than look around and was careful not to leave any shoe prints. He hadn’t gone into the house. Scarlet was very careful. Too careful. She had no cameras outside, which he found interesting since he thought she was very security conscious. She was bound to have more security inside. In any case, he was hoping to be invited in soon.
“They’re on the move,” Absinthe said abruptly the moment he saw the waiter come over with the check.
Scarlet gave the waiter cash while Lana repacked the picnic basket. She was careful because the basket was Alena’s and they were always careful with Alena’s things. Absinthe took the keys and the basket and went ahead to the Porsche, sliding in and waiting for Lana. She wanted to ensure that the women weren’t meeting with anyone else. Like him, she thought the entire setup was odd, no matter what she’d said playing devil’s advocate.
Absinthe spotted first Josefa’s car and then Scarlet’s drive past. Lana slid in and they were trailing after the women, allowing several cars to get in between. Josefa’s car had distinctive yellow rings on her taillights. That made it easier to spot several car lengths behind. There was nothing distinctive about Scarlet’s car. She disappeared into the lights of the others on the road. Still, Lana kept her in sight, just in case she turned off somewhere else.
After a few miles, it was very clear they were heading to Scarlet’s home. Absinthe didn’t want to take a chance that she would spot the Porsche following them. “We’d better break off and find somewhere to settle down above them to watch the house. Do you want to go on home? I can handle it from here.”
Lana frowned and tapped her fingers on her thigh for a moment. “Absinthe. She’s doing exactly what she said she was doing. Why is it you’re still watching her?”
He pulled the car to the side of the road, made a U-turn and parked and cut the lights. “I’ve got that feeling I get when something’s not right, Lana. Instead of getting better, it’s gotten worse. Something’s going on with Scarlet, and I need to know what that is.”
“Another man?”
Absinthe frowned. He wanted to say no. He didn’t think Scarlet wanted anything to do with another man. She was genuinely interested in him. He could tell easily when a woman was attracted, and she was. More, she was honest about it when quite a few women wouldn’t be. She wasn’t coy, she was very up-front, although reluctant. Still, he had a feeling a