Seeking Evil (Looking Into The Mind Of A Killer Series) (27 page)

“
Wait. Ed, just for a minute.
”

He glanced in the rearview mirror
,
and seeing
Anna's
indecision
,
pulled over to the side of the road.

Ed’s worried
gaze slipped to his Bev.

“
Anna, what is it?
”
her sister asked.

Anna
couldn
’
t answer.
She
got out of the car
.
C
atching
her
breath was hard.

Bev quickly followed on
Anna's
heels
while
Ed c
ame
at a slower pace. H
e suspected
Anna
needed a heart-to-
heart with Bev.

“
Sis, what
’
s wrong? You
’
re not regretting selling the house or the store are you?
”

Anna
closed
her
eyes and turned to them
,
her
mind made up.
“
No. It
’
s not the house or the business. I have to go back to D.C.
”

Bev
guessed
exactly what
she
had planned.
“
For John. You love him
,
don
’
t you
?
”
Anna
nodded and
Bev
smiled at
her
.
“
Then do it. Don
’
t let this chance at happiness go, Anna. You don
’
t know how many more you
’
ll have.
”

“
Yes, that
’
s true.
”
Anna
gave her
sister
a hug.
“
Thank you.
”

In typical Bev humility
,
she asked,
“
What for?
”

“
For not letting me go crazy. For letting me. For everything, Bev. For everything.
”

*
*
*
*
*

When
Anna
reached the outskirts of D.C., suddenly
she
wasn
’
t so sure. What if John had taken
her
advice and moved on with his life.

It had been several weeks since
she
’
d told him to leave.

There was only one way to find out and
she
had come this far.
She
couldn
’
t turn back now.

She
grabbed
her
cell phone and dialed
John's
office extension. It wasn
’
t John who answered, but his partner.

“
Rick, its Anna Sorenson. Is John there?
”
The silence following
her
question could not have been less encouraging or more frightening.

When
she
couldn
’
t stand the awkwardness any longer, Rick
finally
answered.
“
Anna, I really don
’
t know how to tell you this, but he
’
s no longer working for the Bureau.
”

Anna
almost dropped the phone.
“
What?
”
She
couldn
’
t believe
it
.
“
What do you mean?
”

“
He resigned his position shortly after you left town.
”

Anna's
pulse
thudded a crazy beat.
No. Please no
.
She
was
too late. The pain of that thought was crippling.
She
closed
her
eyes and knew
she
’d do whatever
she
had to
do to
find him and beg his forgiveness.
“
Where is he, Rick
?
I need to talk to him. Please.
”
Anna
wondered if he would be as good at keeping his partner
’
s secrets as John had been with Aaron
’
s.

Rick weighed his answer for an eternity
,
forcing
Anna
to guess.
“
Is h
e
at the cabin?
”

The long heavy sigh did little to encourage
her
.
“
He left D.C. He
’
s selling the house and cabin.
”

Anna's
heart plummeted at those words.

“
Please, I have to tell him how I feel about him.
”

Rick didn
’
t seem all that moved by
her
plea.

“
I don't blame you for not trusting me, but
I love him, Rick. I
’
ve made a terrible mistake because I was so scared.
”

Rick
laughed in amusement
.
“
Al
l
right, you had me with I love him. I
’
m a sucker for a good romance. I
’
ll tell you where he
’
s at under one, no
,
two conditions.
”

“
Anything. Just tell me.
”

“
First, you
’
d better share all the details of this story with me when you find him
because he won't
, and second, you
’
d better not tell him I told you how to find him.
”

Anna had
started to cry, but
she
laughed just the same.
“
I think he
’
ll figure out the last one.
”

“
Probably. He is the best damn detective I know.
”

“
Yes.
”

“
He
’
s decided to become a cowboy.
”

Nothing prepared
Anna
for this revelation.
“
I beg your pardon
?
”
she
managed at last.

“
He
’
s moved to
Montana
and bought a spread up there. Near Big Sky. You can
’
t miss it. He
’
s just outside a little hole-in-the-wall town called Freemont.
”

John had moved to
Montana
.
“
Thank you! I
’
ll tell you all about it the second I know he
’
ll forgive me.
”

Rick was quick to reassure.
“
Oh, he
’
ll forgive you. He
’
s crazy about you.
”

Anna
could only hope
Rick knew his partner’s secrets and
that John
was still crazy about her
.

*
*
*
*
*

If he could have pictured his life a little more than a year ago
,
at the end of Aaron
’
s
,
and the loss of his child and Anna, he would never have imagined
himself
living on a ranch in
Montana
. Never believed this type of peace would
ever
exist for him again.

Of course, he
’
d need both the money from the sale of house and the cabin just to pay for the place, but it was worth it.

There was something therapeutic about wide-open spaces
, nothing, or no one for miles around.
Not knowing wha
t
your
future plans were beyond fixing the fence in the east pasture. He
’
d figure
the rest
out in time.

Here at the foothills of the
Rockies
, the temperature had already dropped to below freezing at night. Snow was soon to follow according to the locals and he welcomed it.
He welcomed
being snowed in
, just him and
this rugged paradise.

In the time he
’
d been here, the only visitor he
’
d had was the real estate agent who
’
d sold him the place
,
and then
only because he needed his final signature
on some
paperwork
.

He'd bought the house on first sight. It
was old and in need of lots of care and hard work, but it had a good roof and it was warm. He had the whole winter to fix what was needed
on the inside
.

The
east pasture
fence had been flattened by the weight of last year
’
s snow. The previous owner hadn
’
t wanted to mess with it since he was selling out.

John
had
spent the day digging
holes for the
fence and setting
the posts
. It was almost dark when he
returned home
, exhausted and at peace with the world and himself
.

Out front of the house on the gravel drive, a small rental car
was
parked. John slowed the truck
’
s speed. The past was always close at hand, no matter how hard he fought against it. He
gave himself a mental
shake
. He was
no longer part of
that
life.

He parked the truck
and noticed there was no one
inside the car. Fear pricked along the base of his spine. John reached for the shotgun he carried behind the seat of the truck to keep the coyotes
and bears
at a distance.

First, a dog bark
ed
.
Then he saw her
and his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach
. She sat swinging on his rickety old porch swing
, dog at her feet
. Anna.
Anna!

He couldn
’
t move for a long time. Couldn
’
t draw in air. He forced back the tiniest bit of hope
, got out of the truck,
and took the steps two at a time
until he stood
in front of her.

She didn
’
t seem nearly as rattled by
his
presence as he was by hers.

“
John.
”
Her smile was sweet.
Infectious.
Reminding him of the old Anna.
Before the darkness took over her life.

H
is lips twitched,
and
he couldn't fight it. Co
uldn't stop himself from grinning back at her.
“
Anna. This is a surprise.
”

She got to her feet and came to him.
“
Really?
”
Her arms circled his neck. He drew her close.
S
etting a little bit more of the hope free.

“
Really. What brings you to
Montana
?
”