“Do you have a picture of Robert?” Griff asked.
“I’m afraid not.”
“You didn’t take photographs of the two of you together?” Griff sounded surprised.
“We did, but the night he tied me up, he confiscated my phone. After I escaped, I bought burner ones hoping he couldn’t track me down. And when I looked up his old profile on Meet Your Mate, he’d removed it.”
“How about a sketch? Can you draw one?”
“I’m not a very good artist.”
“Jacob’s wife, Cora, is. If you can describe him for her, she can draw a composite.”
Ginny hesitated. “I don’t want to involve anyone else, Griff. He might hurt them.”
“Trust me, we’ll take precautions. I’d never do anything to jeopardize Jacob’s family.”
Trust had not been part of her vocabulary for years. But Griff sounded so sincere that she relented.
“I’ll call Jacob and make the arrangements. We could meet here.”
“He knows I’m staying at the inn,” Ginny pointed out.
“True. Then we’ll go to Liam’s,” Griff said. “He lives out of town in the mountains. He can come here and see if Robert left prints.”
“The police already have his prints,” Ginny said. “And I know it’s him. He left a clear message for me.”
A tense second passed, then Griff phoned his brother while she found a small broom in the closet and swept up the rose petals. She cleaned the bathroom as well, then glanced at herself in the mirror. The bruise looked stark on her cheek, her eyes glassy with fear.
Hating the fact that she looked like a victim, she retrieved her purse and dabbed powder on her cheeks to cover the bruise. She finger-combed the tangles from her hair, then found Griff waiting in the entry of the room.
“We’re meeting in half an hour at Liam’s. Are you ready to go?”
No. She’d never be ready. She’d have to hash over her story again. Face the sympathetic faces, the condemning looks. Tell them she’d gotten her sister killed.
Hatred for Robert mounted inside her. Still, if he’d killed Joy Norris, he might kill again—before he got to her. She couldn’t take the chance on not cooperating.
She riffled through her suitcase, snagged a snow cap and scarf as a disguise, then followed Griff outside to his truck. She scanned the area, and so did he, but no one seemed to be lurking around. Although Robert could be hiding in the trees behind the inn. Or in one of the cars parked on the street.
She buckled her seat belt and kept an eye out as Griff pulled onto the road leading out of town. He repeatedly checked his rearview mirror. A black sedan seemed to be following them through town as they veered to the road winding toward the mountain. But Griff sped into a side street, and the car moved on.
Tension coiled inside her as he wound up the mountain road. The sharp drop-offs, ridges and switchbacks reminded her she was living on the edge.
“Tell me about Jacob’s wife,” Ginny said.
Griff cleared his throat. “Her name is Cora. She was married to another man a few years ago and delivered a baby girl, but that baby was kidnapped during the hospital fire that killed my father.”
Ginny released a soft gasp. “That’s horrible.”
“It was,” he said with a sigh. “Anyway, Cora’s marriage fell apart after the kidnapping, but she never gave up looking for her daughter. A few months ago, my brother reopened the case and found her little girl, so she and Cora were reunited.”
“And now she’s married to your brother?”
“Yep. And expecting a baby.”
At least Cora’s nightmare had ended. Although Ginny couldn’t imagine losing a child and all the years Cora had missed with her. Memories she could never get back.
A strained silence fell between them as he drove, and he seemed deep in thought. Or maybe he was just concentrating on the road.
When they finally reached the turnoff for his brother Liam’s mountain home, she realized it was isolated. The two-story log house sat at the top of a hill with a spectacular view of the mountain ridges and river. Jacob’s squad car was already parked in the graveled drive.
Anxiety tightened her belly as she and Griff walked up to the house. Trees swayed in the wind, the backdrop of the mountain so scenic that her heart gave another pang. Tess would have loved it. She would have painted it with wildflowers dotting the mountains and the front yard in soft shades of colors like a watercolor palette.
Griff’s brother Liam greeted them at the door and introduced himself, then Jacob introduced his wife, Cora. She was pretty and kind looking. When she laid a hand on her pregnant belly, the joy on her face was undeniable.
“Griff explained the situation. I’m sorry for what you’ve been through,” Liam said. “I’m already talking with analysts at the Bureau to see if we can track down Bouldercrest.”
The agent’s direct approach was comforting. Cora gestured for her to sit on the leather sofa by the fire and offered her hot tea. Ginny accepted, grateful for the warmth to alleviate the chill that had become a permanent part of her.
“I’m so sorry for everything that’s happened to you,” Cora said softly. “I can’t imagine.”
“And I can’t imagine how you suffered when your little girl was missing.”
Cora smiled. “We are a pair, aren’t we?”
“We are.” Ginny relaxed and sipped the tea. They’d both suffered in their own way, but Cora was strong and had survived.
She would survive, too. Keeping Robert from hurting another woman was key to that survival.
* * *
HE HAD BEEN watching her for days. Mitzi was friendly. Pretty. Talked to everyone and treated each customer like a friend.
He’d seen Ginny—Reese—with her in that café. Wondered what she’d told the other woman. If she’d warned her about men like him.
Laughter sounded in his throat as he lifted the lighter and flicked it. The short flame that burst to life made his body jump with excitement. Night had fallen. Ginny had found her presents.
He’d seen her with that same man again. The firefighter.
If she thought she could hook up with some other man, she was wrong. She had to be taught another lesson.
That if she didn’t come back to him, he’d just keep killing.
Let her think about that tonight when she heard about poor Mitzi.
Chapter Fourteen