Dead Ringer. Sharon Dunn

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СКАЧАТЬ have rental forms for you to fill out. The lease is month-to-month.” She stood, twisting the knob. “Does that sound good to you, Detective Hawkins?”

      Obviously, her name choice indicated she wanted the relationship to be about business. It would be nice though if she would call him by his first name. “I did a little digging into your robbery.”

      “I did some work, too. I wrote out a description of what was taken. There wasn’t anything else missing from the room besides the jewelry and the fishing rod.” She stepped out on the porch and stood three feet from him. “What did you find out?”

      “Couple down the road had a laptop and money taken a few weeks ago.”

      She crossed her arms. The breeze stirred the wispy hair around her face. She gazed at him with wide, round eyes—blue eyes, just like the other victims.

      “I don’t know if this is important or not, but I wasn’t supposed to be home the night of the robbery. I delayed a fly fishing clinic because of the storm. It rains a lot in May.”

      “Who would have known you were gone?”

      Lucy let out a gust of air. “Everyone.”

      He chuckled. “Oh, I forgot, small town.”

      She stepped away from him and stared out at the forest that surrounded her property. “What made you want to leave the city? I’m sure work in Spokane was more exciting.”

      He chose his answer with care, not wanting to reveal more than he had to. “Change of pace.” He pressed on a weak floorboard with his foot. “So, the robber might have been surprised when you came down those stairs?”

      “I hadn’t told anyone other than the clients that I decided to cancel.”

      He hadn’t seen any sign of forced entry. “Your doors were unlocked?”

      “I never had a reason to lock them…until now. I’m looking into getting a security latch for the window, too.”

      Eli recalled the layout of Lucy’s house. “The thief could have entered from either door?”

      Lucy shaded her eyes from the sun as she stepped farther out on the porch. “He probably entered from this side, the back side. There is a road beyond that forest where he could have parked his car.”

      “So he entered by the door that led into the kitchen and left by the bedroom window.” If he had come up on the front side, neighbors might have seen his car. There had been some premeditation to the whole thing. Somehow, it just didn’t feel like some kid wandering the neighborhood looking for unlocked doors.

      One of the teenage students, a girl with hunched shoulders and chubby cheeks, peeked around to the back side of the house. “Miss Kimbol, Tyler got his line snagged on a bush.”

      “I’ll be there, Marnie.” She turned toward Eli after jumping off the porch. “Rent is due on the first, and there is a three-hundred-dollar deposit.”

      She disappeared around the corner of the house.

      Eli leaned against a porch post. That had gone better than he had hoped. She hadn’t been warm, but she hadn’t been hostile, either. He’d have to find a way to change that. It would be easier to protect her if she trusted him.

      Solving her robbery and recovering the stolen items would go a long way toward rebuilding her confidence in the police. Finding out why her trust had been broken in the first place would help even more.

      Shortly after a parent came for the last student, Lucy heard Nelson’s truck pull up and she bounded out onto the porch. Even before she had made her way to the truck, Lucy heard Eli’s tenor voice behind her.

      “I could help out. I worked construction during college.”

      She whirled around to face him. Eli’s hands hung at his sides. He squared his shoulders like a soldier waiting inspection.

      Why was he being so nice? “I know I said I didn’t like the police. Believe me, I have my reasons. Are you offering to do repairs to prove to me that cops are okay?” If that was why he wanted to help, he would want to hear the whole story and she had no desire to revisit that part of her past. “Don’t feel like you have to be the police ambassador for Mountain Springs.”

      Eli’s shoulders slumped. “I’m just trying to be a good neighbor.” He offered her a megawatt smile. “I won’t take no for an answer.”

      She tilted her head skyward. Partly to show exasperation and partly so she didn’t have to look at him. There was something puppy-dog cute about him that she didn’t want to give in to. “Don’t you have moving in to do, Mr. Hawkins?”

      He held his hands up, palms to the sky. “All done.”

      Eli had a certain charm, but something about him didn’t ring true. What kind of a person gets moved into a place in less than an hour? He must have brought the stuff with him, which meant he had intended to move in regardless of what the rental looked like. Suspicion sparked in her heart. She took a step back.

      As if he had read her mind, he said, “The move was kind of fast. I heard at the last minute that I had the job. So I just threw everything in my car and drove from Washington.”

      She hadn’t thought her apprehension was noticeable. He sure was good at reading her signals. While Eli wasn’t at the top of her list for renters, she had been grateful when he’d shown up. Since the robbery, she’d been jumpy, uncomfortable in her own home. Having a close neighbor might make her feel safer. Now she wasn’t so sure if Eli was the right choice.

      Nelson got out of the truck and ambled toward Eli and Lucy. Nelson was one of those men who showed up well groomed even for something like fixing a porch. He’d gelled his hair. His jeans and work shirt looked pressed. When they had known each other in high school, Lucy had joked that he was the kind of guy who dressed up to go to the Laundromat.

      Eli held out a hand. “I’m Eli Hawkins. Lucy’s new renter.”

      Nelson nodded. “Nelson Thane. I am an old friend of Lucy’s.”

      Lucy placed a hand on Nelson’s shoulder. “We lost touch when Nelson got a job out of state after high school graduation.”

      “I missed Mountain Springs and the people.” Nelson lifted some boards out of the back of his truck. “So now I’m back, teaching English to high school students.”

      Eli lifted a can of stain from the back of the truck. “I’d love to give you a hand.”

      Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but before she could say anything, Nelson responded. “Jump in. The more hands, the faster it goes. Right, Lucy?”

      Eli offered Lucy a victorious lift of his eyebrow in response to her scowl.

      Talk about pushy. Lucy pressed her lips together, but resisted rolling her eyes. “You’re probably right,” she relented.

      They moved the supplies to the back of the house and started by tearing up floorboards. Eli worked at an impressive pace, stopping only when Lucy offered him a drink of water.

      Sweat СКАЧАТЬ