They had returned Joy to the horse barn and were walking back to the main house before Riggs broke the silence. “I take it that’s how you handle those kind of situations. Break into the place. See what you can find. I don’t know why I should be surprised. That’s what you did with me.” He looked at LuAnn with angry eyes.
She matched the look. “I didn’t break into your place. And I don’t remember asking you to follow me.”
“I followed Charlie, not you,” he corrected her. “But it’s a damn good thing I was there, wasn’t it? Two times in two days. At this rate you’ll wear out your nine lives in a week.” She kept walking, her arms crossed in front of her, her eyes staring resolutely ahead. Riggs stopped.
She stopped too and looked down for an instant. When she looked up there was a far softer countenance confronting him. “Thank you. Again. But the more distance you put between the three of us and yourself, the better off you’ll be, I guarantee it. Forget the fence. I don’t think we’ll be staying on here. Don’t worry, I’ll pay you for it anyway.” She stared at him for a moment longer, trying to push away feelings that had been strangers to her for so long that they now simply frightened her. “Have a good life, Matthew.” She turned and headed for the house.
“Catherine?” She kept walking. “Catherine,” he said again.
She finally stopped.
“Would you please tell me what’s going on? I might be able to help you.”
“I don’t think so.”
“You never know.”
“Believe me, I know.”
She started toward the house again.
Riggs stood there staring after her. “Hey, in case you forgot, I don’t have a car to get home in.”
When she turned around, the key ring was already sailing through the air. Riggs caught it in the palm of his hand.
“Take my car. It’s parked out front. Keep it as long as you like. I’ve got another one.”
On that she spun back around and disappeared into the house.
Riggs slowly pocketed the keys, shaking his head in absolute frustration.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Where the hell have you been?” Charlie came out of his study and leaned up against the doorjamb. His face was still pale, a detail LuAnn picked up on immediately.
“Same place you were,” she said.
“What? LuAnn, I told you—”
“You weren’t alone. Riggs followed you. In fact he managed to save me again. If he happens to do it once more, I might have to consider marrying the man.”
Charlie went a shade paler. “Did he go inside the house?”
“No, but I did.”
“How much did you see?” Charlie asked nervously.
LuAnn swept past him and into the office. “I don’t want Lisa to hear.”
Charlie closed the door behind them. He went straight over to the liquor stand and poured himself a drink. LuAnn watched his movements in silence for a moment before speaking.
“Apparently, you saw more than I did.”
He turned to her and downed the drink in one motion. “The news clippings on the lottery? The murders?”
LuAnn nodded. “I saw them. After my first encounter with the man, I wasn’t very surprised to see that.”
“I wasn’t either.”
“Apparently there was more, though.” She looked at him pointedly at the same time she sat down on the sofa, folding her hands in her lap and collecting her nerves as best she could.
There was a haunted look in Charlie’s features, as though he had awoken from a nightmare and attempted to laugh it off, only to find out he wasn’t dreaming. “I saw some names. A list of them in fact. Yours was on there.” He paused and put the glass down. His hands were shaking. LuAnn braced herself. “Herman Rudy. Wanda Tripp. Randy Stith. They were on there too. I escorted them all in New York.”
LuAnn slowly rested her head in her hands.
Charlie sat down beside her, put one beefy hand on her back, and slowly rubbed it.
She sat back and slumped against him; a painful weariness laced her words. “We have to go, Charlie. We have to pack up and go. Tonight.”