Brink of Danger

by Christy Barritt

  Ansley’s roommate, Kit.

  Kit looked nervous with her quick movements and jerky gaze.

  What in the world was she doing here?

  “Kit?” Ansley muttered.

  Kit lurched away from the wall at the sound of her name. She held up a paper in her hands and waved it in the air. “Ansley! I was hoping to find you here.”

  “I had no idea you even knew I was here.” Ansley blinked with confusion. “Did I mention it this morning?”

  “Oh.” Kit’s shoulders drooped. “Sorry. Eleanor came into the bookstore this morning and told me. You know how she likes to run her mouth.”

  “Yes, I do.” Ansley’s hands went to her hips. “What’s going on?”

  Kit frowned and licked her lips, as if she was about to share bad news. “You might want to sit down for this.”

  Ryan’s jaw twitched. Was this about the zipline accident? If so, he was anxious to hear what the woman had to say.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “What’s this about?” Ansley asked as she sat beside Kit in Ryan’s office. Her mind raced with possibilities—most of them not good. She was thankful that Ryan remained in the doorway to his office, listening, with his arms crossed in cool assessment.

  “It’s about your zipline accident,” Kit said, her words coming out faster than usual.

  Ansley’s stomach dropped. “What’s going on?”

  Kit glanced nervously at Ryan and then back at Ansley. “There are two things. Maybe neither of them mean anything. But . . . here goes. Firstly, I went out with Wallace. We met for lunch. It wasn’t all that great. I probably won’t see him again, but—”

  “Kit . . .” Ryan said, obviously trying to prod her along.

  “Sorry. I found out that Wallace . . . likes to whittle.”

  Ansley exchanged a glance with Ryan.

  “Does he make little gnomes?” Ryan asked.

  “I don’t know. He showed me some pictures. It mostly looked like he liked to make these wizard figures that were long and skinny. Not my idea of a gnome.”

  Ansley shook her head. “No, that’s not a gnome. But Wallace would know how to tamper with that zipline. Those are two reasons why he might be a suspect.”

  Ryan nodded. “You’re right. We need to tell Luke that.”

  “Second, and, again, this may be nothing. But I had to show you, just in case. Believe me, I know you’re both busy, and I don’t want to waste your time.”

  “Let’s hear it.” Ansley pulled a leg beneath her in her chair, trying to maintain control of her thoughts.

  Kit swallowed hard, her hands flying in the air with every word. “The night before your zipline accident—it was a Sunday—the bookstore was closed. So I spent the day hiking and taking pictures.”

  Kit considered herself an amateur photographer, but the woman actually had some skills. Numerous pictures she’d taken were hanging in their apartment, and she’d captured the area with a professionalism that Ansley admired.

  “What are you getting at, Kit?” Some of the patience waned from Ryan’s voice.

  Kit held up a photo in her hands. “I just printed some of those photos. I was out near the gorge at sunset. The colors were beautiful that night, and, well . . . anyway, the zipline showed up in a few of my pictures.”

  Ansley swallowed hard, trying to remain patient. She knew Kit had something important to say and that her blabbering was only because she was nervous. Kit was the type who liked to stay below the radar.

  “As I was looking at one of the photos, I noticed something.” Kit put a picture down on the desk and leaned toward it.

  Ansley leaned forward as Ryan crossed the room for a better look.

  “If you look there beside the zipline platform, it almost looks like there’s a man there.” Kit pointed to the correct area of the photo.

  Ansley picked up the picture, desperate for a better look.

  Kit was right. It did look like someone was there.

  Her breath caught.

  Had Kit caught the killer on film?

  Ryan took the photo from her and held it closer, getting a better look. When he glanced up, he nodded. “You’re right. It does look like someone is there. Have you told Sheriff Wilder yet? This person could be responsible for the ‘accident.’”

  “No, I came right to you. I needed to know I wasn’t crazy.”

  “You’re not crazy.” Ryan’s voice rang with a professional nonchalance. “You have this in digital form also?”

  Kit nodded. “I do.”

  “He’ll want to see that,” Ryan continued. “Maybe he can enlarge it and make out more features.”

  “Sure, whatever you guys need. I was just afraid I was reading too much into this.”

  Ryan locked gazes with Kit. “I’m going to call Luke and see if he’s in the office. If he is, can you take it to him now?”

  “I’d be more than happy to.” Kit stood and glanced at Ansley with a frown full of remorse. “I sure hope they catch whoever is behind this.”

  “Me too,” Ansley said, her voice croaking out.

  Maybe this was their best lead yet.

  Two hours later, Ansley nearly felt beside herself. She wanted to know if Luke had discovered anything based on that photo. She knew she needed to go home, but she wasn’t quite ready for that. Mostly, she wanted to stay busy, but she knew her body wouldn’t cooperate when it came to doing anything too physically exerting.

  She’d barely been able to put her shirt on this morning without bending over in pain.

  Finally, she decided to call it a night. Ansley grabbed her purse and stepped into the hallway. Before she could knock on Ryan’s door, Murphy appeared.

  “Hey, Ansley,” he said, leaning against the wall like a self-proclaimed Casanova. “You want to grab dinner?”

  “No, I’m okay. But thank you.”

  He stepped closer. “You look like you could use a distraction.”

  “Depends on how you define distraction.”

  His grin widened. “I could think of some good distractions.”

  Her cheeks warmed. “I’m not that girl anymore, Murphy.”

  He reached for her waist. “What kind of girl are you? I have some ideas.”

  She pushed him away. “I mean it, Murphy. I’m different.”

  He stared at her a moment and then took a step back, raising his hands. “Okay, I see how you are. You go for the jerks all the time. Then a nice guy comes around, and you want nothing to do with him.”

  “I didn’t say that.” She shrugged, desperate to keep the peace and not be a troublemaker here at the station.

  “You don’t have to.” He shook his head and took a step back. “See you around, Ansley. But thanks for nothing.”

  Ansley’s heart pounded in her ears as she watched him leave. What did that mean? What did he ever do for her?

  With tight muscles, she knocked on Ryan’s door. She wanted to let him know she was leaving. It seemed like a good idea, considering everything that had happened around here lately.

  “Come in,” he called.

  Ansley opened the door just enough to stick her head inside. “I’m getting out of here. I just wanted to let you know.”

  “How did it go?” Ryan looked up from his desk and the paperwork he’d been pouring over.

  “I’m making headway, but there are a lot of files to organize.”

  “I know. Thanks for your help. You going home?”

  Ansley shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know yet.”

  “Need a ride? I’m assuming you’re not driving because of the pain killers.”

  She hadn’t taken any this morning, but she didn’t tell Ryan that. “I walked here. I should be okay.”

  Ryan stood and grabbed his jacket. “It’s not a problem.”

  Realization hit Ansley. She’d been reading too much into this, hadn’t she? She was usually so good at being the skeptic. Why hadn’t she seen the writing on the wall earlier?

  “Why are you being
so nice and attentive?” Ansley asked. It was clear the man wasn’t interested in her, nor were they friends. “Luke made you promise to keep an eye on me, didn’t he?”

  Ryan shrugged, his expression unreadable. “Maybe.”

  “I should have known.” Any of this attention Ryan had given her? It wasn’t out of the goodness of his heart. It was because her brother still thought she was a kid. A bitter laugh lodged in her throat. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  Ryan’s gaze remained unapologetic. “It’s only until we know if you’re a target or not.”

  She crossed her arms. She wanted to argue, but Ryan’s words were another dose of reality. Target. He still thought this might be about Ansley. Obviously, Luke did also.

  Instead of getting angry, she just needed to find answers. Once the killer was caught, all of this would be behind them. Ryan could continue on with his new job. Ansley would figure out what she’d do next.

  Answers, she reminded herself.

  “What’s up with Thickie?” Ansley asked as they began to walk outside together. “What did he say? I’m sure you’ve talked to Luke.”

  “He claims he’s innocent,” Ryan said. “But he was home alone on Sunday, so he has no alibi.”

  “What about his deck? How does that fit into this hypothesis you have?”

  “There were a couple pieces that almost look like someone took an axe to them, weakening the posts just enough to make them dangerous if anyone put any weight on the deck.”

  Her stomach churned as she noticed a pattern. “Kind of like the zipline?”

  Ryan nodded. “Yeah, kind of like the zipline.”

  Ansley shook her head as they stepped outside. A wave of lightheadedness played with her balance. “I just don’t understand all of this.”

  “None of us do. But it’s still early. More information will come out as Luke digs deeper into this.”

  Her thoughts raced. She desperately wanted answers, but they seemed so hard to come by. Maybe her brother would be more forthcoming. “Where’s Luke now? Maybe I should go talk to him.”

  Ryan’s jaw flexed as he stepped toward his SUV. “He’s trying to find Roadkill Ronnie.”

  “Luke still hasn’t talked to him?” Ansley would have figured that to be one of his first priorities.

  “No one has seen him.”

  “Roadkill Ronnie likes to be seen.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “I guess that makes Roadkill Ronnie the number one suspect. Why else would he have disappeared?”

  “I can’t speak for Luke. I only know Roadkill Ronnie is a person of interest.”

  Ansley shook her head, still trying to process everything and wanting to learn any and everything Ryan would tell her. “What about that photo?”

  “Apparently, Luke was out when Kit came in. He’s going to look at it first thing when he gets back.”

  “And Wallace?”

  “Wallace apparently has a rock-solid alibi for the evening before the zipline’s grand opening. He went to visit his parents an hour from here. They can verify he was there all night. They had a big get-together.”

  Ansley let out a long breath. She needed to get out of here. She was too tired to argue. “Look, I know you’re not going to let me walk home by myself. So how about a ride?”

  “If you insist.” Ryan opened the passenger side door for her.

  “I didn’t insist—for the record.” Ansley pointed a finger at him.

  “Are you sure? Because that’s what I heard.” A small, teasing smile curled his lips.

  “Then you’re hearing things.”

  He placed a hand on the small of her back and nudged her inside. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  Ansley still felt hesitant, but she nodded. She would choose her battles, and this wouldn’t be one of them. Especially right now while she felt so tired and achy.

  “Okay then. Let’s hit the road.”

  Ryan was grateful Ansley hadn’t given him a hard time about going with her. He’d fully expected it. He knew she was a strong, independent woman.

  But she’d handled Luke’s request with grace.

  She was quiet as they drove, perhaps processing everything she’d just learned. It was a lot for anyone to comprehend. He pulled up to the curb in front of her apartment and put his SUV in Park.

  This was his next battle, and he braced himself for a potential fight.

  “I’d like to check out your place before I leave,” he told her.

  “I’d expect nothing less.”

  Ryan hadn’t anticipated her compliance, but he didn’t argue. He was glad Ansley hadn’t made this harder than it needed to be. It was already a tough situation, no matter how a person looked at it.

  Silently, they walked inside Ansley’s place. Ryan glanced around, looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Nothing seemed blatantly wrong or out of place. Nothing raised any red flags.

  Then why did he feel tense?

  Ansley lifted her hands before slapping them back down to her side. “Everything look good?”

  “You tell me—does everything look good?” She knew this place a lot better than he did. Ryan could look for trouble, but she could look for anything out of place.

  She shrugged, her gaze scanning the room around her. “As far as I can tell.”

  “Could you look more closely?”

  “Sure.”

  He stayed behind Ansley as she moved through each of the rooms. She said nothing—except for some sassy commentary—but something changed when she opened the door to her bedroom.

  “What is it?” Ryan stepped closer to Ansley in case trouble was near.

  “My makeup has been rearranged,” she muttered, pointing to her dresser.

  His gaze went to the miniature city of cosmetics there. “These?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, those.”

  “Could Kit have borrowed something?”

  “Kit doesn’t wear makeup, so I doubt it.”

  He glanced around. “Anything else?”

  Ansley swallowed hard before rolling her shoulders back. “Let me see.”

  She opened her drawers. Closed them.

  Looked under her bed. Behind her curtains.

  The only other place for her to look was her closet. She opened the door and gasped.

  A dead opossum hung from a rod there, a noose around its neck.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Ansley stood in the doorway of Ryan’s home—his parents’ home, actually, until he found a place of his own—and let out a long breath. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw that opossum. Dead. Hanging in her closet.

  What kind of message was someone trying to send to her?

  She wasn’t sure. Yet the undertones had gotten through loud and clear: someone dangerous had Ansley in his sights.

  Ryan had acted quickly. He directed her out of the room, reminding her not to touch anything. Then he called Luke, who was tied up with another case. Luke was going to send a deputy out.

  Meanwhile, Ansley had called Kit to tell her and to ask her to stay away for a few hours. Horrified, Kit had agreed.

  Ryan brought Ansley here and had promised her dinner. She knew he only wanted to get her away from her apartment. Another part of her had to admit that she was curious to see where he was staying, to find out more about this man—someone she figured would be married by now. He was the guy every girl had longed to date. He’d had his pick of anyone he wanted.

  Yet any relationships he’d had during high school hadn’t lasted more than a few dates, earning him a reputation of being too picky—or a playboy, depending on whom you asked.

  “So, like I told you, this is my parents’ place.” Ryan deposited his jacket on the back of a kitchen chair.

  She glanced around. The house probably hadn’t been renovated in ten or twenty years, if she had to guess. There was wood paneling on the walls and ruffly curtains over the windows. But it felt like home. It felt like whoever lived here cared enough to k
eep it clean and cozy.

  Ryan’s dad had been the town veterinarian, and his mom had worked the front desk there. Everyone in town loved them. Doc Philips had retired a couple years ago when he started having heart problems.

  “I only came here once—for a Halloween party,” Ansley said. “But it looks just like I remember.”

  Ryan shrugged. “It feels like I’ve stepped back into my childhood. I’m going to look for my own place as soon as I have time. But since my parents are gone for the winter, there’s no big rush.”

  “Makes sense.”

  Ryan reached into the fridge. “I was going to throw some chicken on the grill. Sound good?”

  Ansley nodded, not in a position to argue—not that she had a reason to. “Sounds great. What can I do?”

  “Just sit and rest. I’m going to heat the grill and then go change. Feel free to sit outside on the deck. The weather is perfect.”

  Ansley wandered out onto the deck that jutted from the back of the house. Before stepping onto it, she tested it first, memories of Thickie’s place running through her mind.

  It felt stable.

  Still, she hesitated before putting her entire weight onto it.

  The slider rumbled open behind her, and Ryan stepped out. “I checked out the pilings downstairs earlier. The deck is safe.”

  Ansley let out a chuckle. “You read my mind.”

  “You can never be too careful.”

  Her heart rate hurried along faster than she wanted as she watched Ryan head to the grill. Man, he was handsome. He looked even better in his gray Henley and jeans than he did in his uniform.

  Maybe. It was a close tie.

  Ansley swallowed hard, trying to keep her thoughts in check. Off limits. That’s what Ryan was. She needed to remind herself of that.

  Ryan set a glass dish with marinated chicken by the grill.

  “You always fix so much chicken for just you?” Ansley asked as she watched him put five breasts on the grill. Five was a little much for just one person.

  Ryan glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “I do. I eat it all week. It’s . . . efficient.”

  That was too bad. Ansley thought she’d caught him getting ready for a date with someone else. Maybe he’d canceled on her so he could babysit Ansley.