In His Sights. Carol Steward

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СКАЧАТЬ embrace. “I’m a little on edge tonight, I guess. I was just looking through old yearbooks.”

      “Need a few laughs, huh?”

      She pressed her lips together and nodded. Slowly, she added, “I wish it were just that. No, I was looking for someone who has been on our missing alumni list.”

      Edgar touched her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

      Dee shrugged. “Nothing, really. Did you get my message about the ideas Steff and I came up with?”

      Edgar looked puzzled. “Did you leave it at the office?”

      She didn’t want to appear needy or weak. “Yes, but we don’t need to discuss it tonight. We can go through it Monday,” she said stubbornly backing away.

      “Whatever it is, it’s upset you.” His dark eyes sought hers. “Dee, what happened?”

      Between thinking of him, the phone call, and the suspicion that someone had followed her into the library, she felt frazzled and confused. “I’ll be fine,” she stammered. “It’s nothing I need to bother you with. We’ll discuss the ideas Monday.”

      “Edgar,” a young woman called out. “I can’t find anything on the existence of…” The young woman’s voice sounded familiar. Then again, so did the caller from earlier. Dee turned, surprised to see his younger sister, Christiana. She felt like she really was losing it tonight.

      “Last-minute homework,” Edgar said with a shake of his head.

      Christiana saw Dee and smiled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were talking with Miss Owens.”

      Relieved it wasn’t the woman in the dark sweatshirt, Dee answered, “Hello Christiana. What are you working on?”

      “Where Magnolia Falls got its name.”

      Dee forced a laugh when she really wanted to cry tears of relief. “If you find out, let me know. I’ve always wondered that, too.” They spent a few minutes surmising how the founders had come up with the ill-fitting name for a town with no falls. Dee felt the emptiness in her stomach. “I’d better call it a night. It was good to see both of you.”

      Edgar must have read her mind, for he grabbed her wrist as she rushed past. “Dee,” he said. He suddenly turned to Christiana. “Honey, go get your books. We’re going to run out of time to take you to Julia’s house if we don’t get going.”

      Dee tried to ignore the warmth of Edgar’s hand gently holding hers. Before she’d been hired, she’d briefly daydreamed of him holding her hand, sharing dreams, laughing together. But that had quickly come to an end. Edgar was all business. They hadn’t had a personal conversation since they’d begun working together.

      Christiana glanced at her watch. “We have an hour.”

      “Then why don’t we go to Burt’s for pizza. Dee, we’d love for you to join us, wouldn’t we, Christiana?”

      “Of course. I’d like to talk to you more about public relations. I saw you on the news the other night. You make it look so easy. Do you think the police know who the killer is?”

      “Later, Christiana,” Edgar reminded her, tapping his watch.

      Dee took a deep breath and waited for Christiana to get out of earshot. “I appreciate the invitation, but I should get home.”

      “What I want to say is that you shouldn’t be walking around campus at night by yourself. You’re putting yourself in great danger. Everyone wants to know what you know, Dee. And apparently, they think we at the college know everything that’s going on. You should be more careful.”

      She couldn’t hide her surprise. “Don’t pretend to be concerned for me, Edgar. You couldn’t even stand to stay through the press conference.”

      “What?” he exclaimed as he spotted Christiana. “I don’t want to talk about this in front of my sister, but we need to clear this up.”

      “That can be done on Monday,” she said. Right now, she wanted to get to her car and go home where she could relax.

      Dee was about to leave herself, when Edgar gave her one of his to-die-for smiles. “And who is walking out now?”

      FIVE

      Edgar realized he shouldn’t have been so blunt with Dee about the danger of her walking outside alone, but she shouldn’t be running around at night, not after all that had been happening. “I’m sorry, Dee.”

      “Thank you, but…” she began, then turned away. “I’ve had a long day, and I’m sorry I snapped at you. It’s not really you I’m upset with.”

      “Wait for us so we can walk you to your car,” Edgar said. “Christiana, are you ready?”

      Christiana sent him a puzzled look. “As soon as I check these out.” While his sister waited in line to check out her books, Edgar led Dee to a far corner, so they could talk quietly.

      “I’m not sure what is really going on Dee, but something has clearly been bothering you since the press conference. At least now I know what I did to upset you.”

      She looked at Christiana, then back at Edgar. “You hired me to spin the damage, but then you couldn’t stand to stay and listen. Why couldn’t you have put up a united front for the press, or at least be supportive?”

      “You’re a professional, you’ve never seemed like the type to want someone to hold your hand while you did your job. I knew what you had to report—and I trusted you to do that without watching over you.”

      He was right. And it annoyed her even more. She took a step closer and tilted her head toward his. “I’ve never had to spin the attempted murder of my friends, either,” she whispered through tight lips. “Not to mention I still think the attacks on my sister a few weeks ago and the vandalism at my own carriage house are related to this mess somehow. But I’m supposed to make the school look good, so I did my best. One friendly face would have helped. But you’re right, I am a professional, and I will take care of business. Alone.”

      He’d never realized that Dee was struggling with this. Edgar wanted more than ever to take this beautiful woman into his arms and protect her. At the reunion, he was sure they’d made a personal connection. But he never mixed business with pleasure. “It’s complicated, but it had nothing to do with how you’re handling the job, Dee. I’m sorry if I gave you that impression.” He briefly touched her arm, then let his hand drop to his side. Dee was still angry, but whether it was at him or something else, he wasn’t sure. “So, before Christiana gets back here, what’s happened tonight? And don’t tell me that it’s nothing.” He placed a finger on her chin and turned her to face him.

      He could see moisture in her eyes as she blinked, trying to hide her reaction. “It’s probably just my imagination,” she said hesitantly, until he leveled her with a look of reproach.

      “Don’t lie.”

      She turned her head, forcing his hand away. “Steff and I spent the entire afternoon coming up with ideas on how to pull in the alumni to help recruiting. I was waiting for you to return my call when СКАЧАТЬ