My Deadly Valentine - By Valerie Hansen & Lynette Eason Page 0,27
was on edge, so she must be close to panic. If keeping him in sight would help her cope, he wasn’t going to deny her that comfort.
“Okay, but turn off the inside lights so you’re not silhouetted in the doorway. The darker it is, the better.”
“Gotcha.”
Slowly stepping onto the porch, he crouched, prepared for an attack. None came. His eyes adjusted to the dimness. The neighborhood was so quiet it was spooky. Half the houses were dark and the rest showed light only in one or two windows, probably because the occupants were watching television.
Jace straightened. Took one step, then another. He looked down. A rough-edged rock the size of a softball lay near the edge of the wooden decking. He flicked on his flashlight and directed it at the outside of the half-open door.
“What are you doing?” Rachel asked. “I thought you wanted me to be in the dark.”
“I did. I do. But come around and look at that mark on the porch. I think I know what happened.”
“You do? What?”
“I think he managed to place the envelope on your porch between the time you got home and I got to the surveillance equipment and turned it on. Then, all he had to do was wait for dark and throw a rock at your door to get you to open it.”
Jace saw her shiver and wrap her arms around herself. “You know what that means?”
“Yes,” he said soberly. “It means he’s a lot smarter than we’ve given him credit for. And he was very, very close to both of us.”
ELEVEN
Rachel wasn’t sure she would ever feel safe again, no matter where she was or who was looking out for her. The past week was a blur, partly because she hadn’t slept well and partly because every time she dozed off her dreams were filled with a sense of impending doom.
Not only that, her father had confronted Pastor Logan and the sheriff, found out what was going on, and had insisted that he be included in the rotating surveillance team. Although he would not have been her first choice to keep watch, she had to admit that his presence was allowing the other men to get some much needed rest.
While Pastor Logan and her father took turns keeping watch in the Duggins house, Jace slept on Rachel’s sofa, well chaperoned by the others via the camera system. At this point, she was far less worried about her reputation than she was about surviving. And she trusted Jace implicitly. The only problem might be unfounded gossip, and, the way she saw it, that was the least of her worries.
The sheriff’s office had failed to trace the threatening call, and the labs in both Arkansas and Illinois had provided no additional clues. However, since the arrival of the black-edged Valentine, Rachel’s life had been fairly uneventful. She’d spent quiet days with Eloise in the card store, had eaten most of her meals out, and had welcomed Jace to his place on her sofa each evening.
She was getting pretty comfortable about his continued presence, she noticed, not at all sure whether or not that was a good thing. Eloise, of course, was privy to all the details, including the temporary arrangements for live-in protection, and had vowed to keep Rachel’s secret for as long as was necessary.
“I think you should do like Becky Malloy and learn to shoot,” Eloise remarked as soon as she and Rachel had finished with their most recent customer and were alone in the shop.
“I’d probably get nervous and shoot myself in the foot,” Rachel said, smiling. “Besides, how often would I need to defend myself?”
“I don’t know. Once is too often if you ask me. If this situation wasn’t serious, I doubt that Harlan would be patrolling your street so often or that that nice young deputy would be sleeping on your couch.”
“Hush. You’ll start gossip.”
“No need to worry. There’s plenty going around already. I’ll sure be glad when I can spill the beans and tell everybody that Pastor Malloy and your dad are watching over you while that man is sleeping in your house. Otherwise, you’ll never live it down.”
“I know. I wish there were some other way to handle the situation, but Jace is afraid to leave me alone.”
“Well, the whole plan strikes me as foolish,” Eloise said. “There must be some other way to catch whoever is harassing you.” As she spoke, she was straightening the card racks.