Page 34 of Rancher to the Rescue

Didn’t that thought send a shot of adrenaline racing through him?

More anger ping-ponged through him, seeking an outlet. Normally, a long day at the ranch worked out any and all frustrations. If a day of setting posts and repairing fences didn’t knock the wind out of him, a good workout would.

Considering he had to help take care of Angel, those options weren’t exactly on the table. Figuring out a non-physical way to deal with his emotions was about as fun as licking a bowl of toothpaste.

After searching for half an hour, Prudence stood up and announced, “I’m going around back now.”

Since Adam had searched his side of the front yard with a fine-toothed comb, he joined her. Maybe he should just retrace the perp’s footsteps. Adam imagined bolting out of the back door. The perp had to have seen Adam or been alerted by some person or persons parked out front.

The guy had been in a hurry. So, he’d bolted out the backdoor and cut east. Adam followed the trail. Prudence seemed to catch on when she joined him.

At the chain-link fence where the perp jumped over, metal glinted in the sunlight.

Prudence must have seen it around the same time because she made a beeline in the direction Adam was about to head. She dropped down and then came right back up with a cell phone in her hand.

“This is mine,” she said, pressing her thumb onto the pad to bring the device to life.

It was too late to remind her the sheriff might have been able to lift a print and he couldn’t blame her for going for it. He’d caught it himself too late to warn her.

“Is there anything out of the ordinary?” he asked as she studied the screen.

“No, but this makes me think they have my purse as well as access to my car.” She issued a sharp sigh.

“Your wallet would have ID in it. Your address would be easy enough to lift from there,” he said, grateful she was talking to him again.

“Did you find something?” Lawler came out the backdoor.

“Her cell,” Adam supplied.

“Nothing looks off. I have security on my phone, so I doubt they got anything from it,” she said.

“Most folks know we can track a cell phone down nowadays,” Lawler said.

“Common knowledge,” Adam agreed. “So, the perp was trying to bring law enforcement to Prudence’s house? Why would they do that?”

Lawler studied the back door for a long moment. His gaze unfocused, like he went inside his head to find an answer or recall information. Maybe he was trying to put himself inside the perp’s head.

He walked to the door and then did an about-face. He jogged over to the side of the house, mimicked seeing the two of them rounding the corner. Then, he raced over to the fence and faked a jump. He reached for the top of the fence and the cell tumbled out of his hand.

“Could have been an accident that he lost her phone,” Lawler said after careful consideration.

“In the heat of the moment, the perp could have realized he dropped it but knew there was no time to hop back over the fence to retrieve it,” Adam added.

“Could be.” Prudence, who had been quiet up until then, made the same walk as Lawler. “Or, he could have ditched the phone because he realized we would be onto him now.”

“Yep,” Lawler confirmed. “That is certainly the next possibility I was going to focus on.”

“Either way, it’s still not safe for you to stay here tonight.” Adam wasn’t sure why he felt the need to remind her. “The offer to come to the main house still stands.”

Whether he was ready to admit it or not, he needed her in so many more ways than one.

12

Time was getting away from Prudence. Angel would need another bottle soon and Adam needed time to get home, which was a solid hour drive from her place.

“I appreciate the offer. I’ll have to think about it,” she said. She hadn’t made up her mind about going back with him just yet.

“Where else would you go?” It looked like Adam took a physical blow at hearing her words.