she removed the stick at the bottom of the door, then opened the sliders.
“Come here, buddy,” she murmured as she stooped to pick him up. If he was injured, she had to nurse him back to health. She lifted her hand and stroked his fur. “It’s okay, bud, you can stay with me tonight.”
Just before she scooped him into her arms, she sensed someone approaching from behind her. Then something hard struck her head. Pain splintered her skull. The world tilted and spun. Stars danced in front of her eyes.
Then the world went black.
Chapter Nine
Liam couldn’t shake the premonition that Peyton was in trouble as he parked at Sondra Evans’s town house in the hills of Pine Ridge. The townhomes looked fairly new and well-kept and boasted a walking trail around the man-made lake which attracted residents to the development.
Jacob had sent him background information on the woman. The thirty-four-year-old University of North Carolina graduate worked as a sales rep for a pharmaceutical company where she’d met Barry Inman, who had trained her on the job.
The lawns were well maintained, the brick fronts all consistent. He found Sondra’s unit, hurried to the door and rang the bell. A minute later, he heard her voice from inside.
“Our neighborhood has a no-soliciting policy,” she said curtly.
Liam glanced down at his slacks and button-down shirt. He hadn’t realized he looked like a salesman. “I’m not selling anything,” he said, then flashed his badge. “My name is Special Agent Liam Maverick. I need to talk to you.”
A minute passed, and he thought she was going to decline, but she opened the door. “You’re a federal agent? What is this about?”
Liam gestured toward the entryway. “Ma’am, can I come in? I’m not sure you want to discuss this on your doorstep.”
A debate warred in her eyes. Should she let him in or risk the consequences of not cooperating? She relented and stepped outside, then led him through the foyer to a den with leather furniture.
She gestured toward the wing chair and he sat, then waited on her to do the same. “What’s this about?”
“We recently located Barry Inman and brought him in for questioning regarding the Whistler Hospital fire five years ago.”
She swallowed and glanced down at her manicured hands. “I saw the news. You think he set the fire because of that lawsuit.”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
She lifted her head and looked at him. “I don’t know how I can help.”
Liam adopted a casual position. “You worked with Mr. Inman, correct?”
She gave a little nod. “Barry trained me at the pharmaceutical company.”
“How would you describe your relationship?”
She shifted and crossed her legs. “We were business colleagues. Barry taught me a lot about the business, and I was grateful for that.”
Liam arched a brow. “Grateful enough to sleep with him?”
Anger flashed across her face. “If you’re implying Barry pressured me or there was sexual harassment involved, you’re way off base.”
Liam raised a brow. She was certainly defensive of the man. “Then enlighten me. I know you had an affair. Were you in love with him?”
Her breath hissed out. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
Liam leaned forward. “It’s my business because his wife died under suspicious circumstances, and he’s a suspect in an arson/homicide investigation.”
“It was just one night,” she said in a low voice. “He was upset because he’d lost a big client and we were working late. We had too much to drink.” She shrugged. “It just happened. You understand?”
“But you wanted it to happen again?”
She jiggled her leg up and down. “I was attracted to Barry, and he was a nice man. But he was married, and he loved his wife.”
“How did you feel about his rejection?”
She cut her eyes away from him. “It wasn’t a rejection. We both agreed it was a mistake. He wanted to preserve his marriage, and we decided it wouldn’t happen again.”
But she wanted more. He sensed it the way she looked down at her hands, in the way her voice quivered.
A strained silence fell between them. He hoped she would fill it, but she seemed to clam up completely.
“Did you see or talk to Barry the night his wife died?”
She shook her head a little too vigorously.
“How about the night of the fire? Where were you?”
“I’d just flown back home after a business trip. I went straight home and to bed.”
“Alone or were you seeing Barry?”
Her mouth worked as she struggled with her reply. “Alone. I told you we broke it off.”