Chapter 5
At the police impound lot a day later, checking out her ruined car, Colton swore. “You were right.” He stood, dusting his hands off on his jeans. “The brake line was split.”
“Split? You mean cut, don’t you? Damn it.” She paced, the wind catching strands of her hair. “He’s found me.”
Colton wanted to touch her. Instead, he crammed his hands into his pockets. “Don’t jump to conclusions. We need to check with the police. The first thing they always do in situations like this is check for brake fluid. It would have squirted out when you went to apply the brakes.”
She folded her arms. “Tell me the truth. Does it look like it’s been cut?”
Reluctantly, he nodded. “Yes.”
“Let me look.” She dropped to the ground, peering under the twisted wreckage. “Show me what to look for.”
He showed her the left front brake line, the only one that had been cut. The right side was still intact.
“That would be enough to make my brakes fail?” she asked. “They wouldn’t have to cut both of them?”
“No.” He got to his feet. “Let me make a call to the police station. I’m sure they saw this, too.”
“Then why wouldn’t they tell me?” Her eyes widened. “You don’t think one of them…”
“Come on, Jewel. You can’t be suspecting everyone. You’ll make yourself a nervous wreck.”
“I know.” Sighing, she lifted her face to the sun and sniffed. “I can’t even get a scent.”
“Get a…” He frowned. “What do you mean?”
Her startled look told him she hadn’t meant to speak out loud. “Nothing. Never mind.” She got to her feet, her expression heavy. “I guess what happened doesn’t matter. Either way, it’s time for me to move on.”
“Move on?” She’d startled him. “Why? You don’t know for sure he’s found you.”
“Why else would my brake line be cut? Come on, I’d rather be safe than sorry. Especially where he’s concerned. You don’t know Leo. When he says he’s going to do something, he won’t rest until it’s done.”
Since her ex-husband had very publicly sworn to see her dead, Colton could understand her paranoia. Still, though he hated to admit it, he didn’t want to see her go.
“Let’s think this through. The man’s in prison. If this reallyishim, how’s he finding you?”
Her troubled gaze touched on his face before skittering away. “He has his ways.”
“Not a good enough answer. Did you contact anyone back where you used to live?”
She shook her head. “I have no one back there. Both my adoptive parents are dead.”
“What about friends?”
“Leo made sure I had no friends.”
The way she spoke of what must have been complete and utter isolation touched him. How lonely she must have been.
He forced his mind back to the subject at hand. “Have you used a credit card or a cell phone?”
“No. No credit cards and I threw away the cell phone Leo’d given me. I brought a prepaid one with cash, under my new name. There’s no way he could trace me with that.”
“What made you choose Jewel Smith?”
A faint flush colored her cheeks, though she lifted her chin and squarely met his gaze. “Because I think of myself as emerging from under the ground. Someday, I’ll shine again. Though I’m no diamond,” she added.
“No, not a diamond,” he said softly, unable to help himself. “More like an opal, mysterious and quiet, until you turn it the right way and it flashes fire.”
