She walked past both men and into the dim corridor, in an emotional turmoil she had no experience inhandling.
“UncleKurt?”Kennedy asked Walker in shock, watching Sam walkaway.
Walker shrugged. “I was raised to respect my elders. You probably ought to learn to talk to yours, as Sam said. She apparently thinks it isn’t herplace to explain what the whole damned town keeps hidden, but she’s leaving you holes wide enough to drive a Cadillac through. And chances are very good, when you start digging deep enough, we’ll get closer to what happened to Juan.” Walker opened the door but gave Kurt a moment to gather his thoughts and follow up thatstatement.
“What happened to Juan? It wasn’t cougars?” Kurt shovedthe door closedagain.
“He was shot in the back at close range and dragged up the hill for the cougar to maul,” Walker told him. “The fire conveniently wiped out any evidence we didn’t collectearlier.”
“As well as the cats,” Kurt said, running his hand through his hair. “They’ll be on the other side of the mountain by now. Damn, Juan’s death was a tragedy, but this...” He shookhis head as all the implications arose. “You’ll have this place covered in cops again. My mother just left forHawaii.”
“Expect the sheriff’s team in the morning. They were waiting for the autopsy before coming out with a warrant, not that there’s much left to search now, unless he was shot inside. Maybe it’s a good thing your guests bailed.” Walker hauled the door open again and this time,he limped out afterSam.
He shouldn’t feel sympathy for the poor rich guy, but Kurt had lived too long in his protected bubble. Hillvale was about to rip it wide open. He didn’t want Sam caught up in the fight any more than shedid.
She was waiting for him on the lodge porch, hugging herself as he’d seen her do earlier this evening. Walker wrapped his arm around her waist and ledher toward his car. “Your place ormine?”
She threw him a haunted look. “If your place is a thousand miles from here, let’s go. Otherwise, mine will have todo.”
“Other than a room at the lodge and the apartment in Baskerville, I have a place in LA, but it will be tough to make it back to work tomorrow.” He helped her into his official vehicle and started theengine.
She snortedin what he hoped was humor. “There is that. So, do I stay here or moveon?”
“Why don’t you hit me with that in the morning? Right now, I have better things on my mind.” Like the smoking hot woman he should be keeping his hands off of until she knew where she was going and how. He refused to believe Sam was as unbalanced as his late wife hadbeen.
“On yourmind, or elsewhere?” sheasked with a laugh. “I’m all for mindless right now. Any more Hillvale and I’d have to pack the car and drive far, faraway.”
“It’s intense at the moment, but the town is usually pretty laidback and friendly. There’s something to be said about you stirring the hornets, but it’s in the hornets’ nature to be stirred. You either let the bugs drive you out or you find cold water and douse them.”He steered through the quiet town, keeping his eyesopen.
“Water,” she murmured, not offering explanation. “There could be something inthat.”
“Water rights are complex out here,” he warned. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t count onit.”
As they drove up Cemetery Road, Walker could see all the lights on in Cass’s place. Beside him, Sam tensed. “You need to see what’s happening?”heasked.
“I do—and I don’t.” She crossed her arms and rubbed her elbows. “How comfortable are you with one of them heading over as soon as we pull in the drive and goupstairs?”
“If you’re asking if I want to keep our sleeping together on the down low, it doesn’t matter to me. You’re not my case anymore, and Cass isn’t stupid. This comes down to how much you want the town to knowaboutyou.”
She slanted him a look that probably would have curled his toes if he wasn’t concentrating on theroad.
“I like a man who makes a stand. Let’s go to my place and see if the Lucys are crazy enough to disturb us.” She unbuckled the instant he pulled up herdrive.
She was as eager as he. Walker laughed softly. “We could hang a tie on thedoor.”
“Did that everwork for you?” She opened the door and climbed out before he could come around and get her. Her urgency excitedhis.
“The tie worked for me, when I bothered to use it.” He loped after her, ready to carry her up the stairs if that got them to bed any faster. “Mostly, I stuck a chair under the knob because the chicks got off on manly-mancrap.”
“I have a feeling neither chair nor tiewill work with Lucys.” She laughed in a low throaty voice that raised his pulse a few morenotches.
The marmalade cat strolled out of the bushes to check themout.
“Even Emma doesn’t want to be near Cass tonight. Smart cat.” Walker enjoyed the sway of Sam’s hips under his hand as they followed the cat toward the stairs. It meowed and waited forthem.
Sam’s haste abruptly haltedat the foot of the stairs. “What’s this?” Giving evidence of the wariness she’d learned these last few days, she didn’t touch the object that had raised hercuriosity.
Walker leaned around her, removed his flashlight, and turned on the beam. He relaxed and chuckled. “That’s one of Daisy’s sculptures. She calls themlamassuand I think they’re supposed to be protectivespirits.”
He picked up the palm-sized collection of wired rocks and crystals to show her. “Yours almost looks like abutterfly.”
She smiled in delight and took it from him. “How does she do this? I’d never be able to get all those stones to hang together long enough to wrap them with the wire. Look, it even has some tiny blue stones glued to the head. Foreyes?”
They hurried up the stairs tothe apartment. Sam handed him the statuette so she could dig her keys from her purse. Stopping at the top of the stairs to scratch Emma’s head, she jerked back, as if startled. “Mr. Black? What are you doinghere?”
“Xavier?” Walker pushed past to see the rental agent slumped in the wicker porch chair, unresponsive. He flashed his light at the visitor and his gut froze. “Go get Cass,” heordered curtly. “I’ll call for anambulance.”
Although Xavier Black looked past the need for ahospital.
