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“Jessa?”
She turned around to face him again. Something in the way he said her name made her twitch. A cool breeze blew over her. She shifted until she stood closer to the street and all the cars idling while waiting for the light a few blocks up to change.
“Do we know each other?” Maybe from law school or a case. His face ticked off a memory that she couldn’t quite grab.
“Baines Fielding.”
Okay, so fromthatcase. One she wanted to forget. Better yet, pretend never happened. “What about him?”
“Did you know him?”
She swiped her finger to unlock her phone. She didn’t have to memorize the man’s face if she took his photo. Snap and hit the emergency SOS button. That was the plan.
“I’m Rob Greene.” He held out his hand. “I’m doing a story on a series of unexplained deaths in the area.”
Oh, hell no.
“I’m leaving.” She hated to put her back to him, but running into traffic struck her as an equally bad idea. She slipped her hand into her bag and pulled out her keys. Let them jangle. Let him realize she would punch, kick, and stab her way to safety, if needed.
She got a few steps before he spoke again. “This issue is not going away.”
Neither was he, apparently. New strategy. She shifted andwent back to the gate to Retta’s house and pressed the button on the security pad.
“Good. I’d like to talk to the judge, too,” Greene said, moving closer.
The intercom barely made a sound before Earl, Retta’s husband, stepped out of the gate and onto the sidewalk. He made quite the impression in his expensive suit and equally expensive gold watch... holding a baseball bat.
A few passing cars honked their horns. Earl ignored the noise and looked at Jessa, as if to satisfy himself she wasn’t hurt. Then he turned to Rob Greene. “Is there a problem here?”
“He says he’s a reporter.” Wait, is that what he said? Something about a story. The anxiety pumping through Jessa made it hard for her to concentrate.
“Get lost,” Earl said and didn’t sound like he was joking.
“I’ve been trying to talk with you and your wife for weeks.” Greene didn’t move, but his calm assurance had vanished. He scanned the area, as if looking for reinforcements, but his gaze kept coming back to the bat in Earl’s hand. “Just a few questions. Some background.”
“You want me to beat the shit out of you out here, where everyone can see?” The menace in Earl’s voice was impossible to miss.
Jessa couldn’t help but shift until she stood closer to Earl and the weapon. Age didn’t matter; he looked ready to swing and was fit enough to connect with bone and make it hurt. At least Jessa hoped so.
“This is a serious matter. Right now, I’m not at the office, so I’m hard to reach. Here’s the best way to contact me.” Greeneheld out what looked like a business card. “Your wife knows people who—”
Earl knocked the card out of Greene’s hand, sending it to the sidewalk.
Jessa took that as a sign his patience had expired. “I’ll call the police.”
A car slowed down and parked next to them by the sidewalk. The vehicles lined up behind it blew their horns as they tried to maneuver around. Someone shouted, and a couple across the street stopped and watched.
Fear revved up and spilled over inside Jessa. No one got out of the stopped car, but having it nearby kept her from shouting for help.
Earl didn’t seem to notice any of the movement on the street. All of his attention centered on Greene. “Do you want more trouble?”
Greene lifted his hands in what looked like surrender. “Listen—”
“You have enough problems right now. You don’t want to add me to your list. Don’t let the clothes and the fancy house fool you. I came from a place where I learned to protect what’s mine and to fight dirty to do it. You understand me?”
The door of the parked car opened. A man stood up and called out to Earl, “Do you need some help, sir?”
Earl shook his head. “Mr. Greene is leaving and never coming back. Isn’t that right, Mr. Greene?”
