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Because if a door opened for that kind of conversation, it could shut again fast unless he was ready to step through.
THE WEATHER HADCOOPERATED,the dark clouds massed in the night sky had provided excellent cover, and the maple tree was in an ideal position, as he’d noted on previous stakeouts.
Anyone who left their car in the driveway overnight in a storm like this shouldn’t be surprised if an accident happened.
Especially if one of the limbs whipping about overhead had been given an incentive to snap off.
Travis smiled and hunkered lower behind the wheel, keeping Bri’s duplex in sight through the rain-spattered windshield.
No telling when she’d be home, but if she was having dinner with the guy she’d met up with outside the restaurant she went to after leaving that medical office building, it could be a while.
Marcia would wait dinner on him, though. She’d been most accommodating during his visit.
Most accommodating.
His smile broadened.
This trip was turning out fine on a number of fronts.
He rested his hand on the radio jamming device beside him that would disable Bri’s remote opener once he flicked the switch. While that wouldn’t necessarily keep her from pulling in, she’d have to trek to the front door in the rain, open the door from the inside, and brave the gale again to move her car inside.
Best case, she wouldn’t bother. She’d leave the car outside until tomorrow, and the wind would do its job while she slept. The branch he’d doctored late last night, after he heard the forecast for tonight, would splinter and appear to be a natural break when it fell. Knowing how to cut trees was all part of his job.
If fate cooperated, it would fall on her car—and a branch that size could do a fair amount of damage.
But even if she came back out and moved her car inside, she’d have a mess to deal with in the morning. The driveway would be blocked, and she’d have to call for assistance.
Whichever scenario played out, the inconvenience wouldseem like an accident. An act of God. No one would ever know he’d had a hand in it.
Because this wasn’t the kind of neighborhood with security cameras everywhere. Or anywhere, near as he could tell. He hadn’t spotted a single one on his stroll around the area during the reconnaissance phase of his mission.
The cell on the seat beside him began to vibrate, and he squinted at the screen.
Marcia was getting impatient.
He picked up the phone. Weighed it in his hand. Somehow he had to buy himself another hour. It was important to keep his hostess happy until he tired of his games with Bri and decided to head home.
And that would be soon. Another week, max. Six or seven more days would give him ample opportunity to create at least a couple more annoying, and hopefully expensive, disruptions to pay her back for all the trouble she’d caused him.
So after dinner tonight, followed by a bit of entertainment, he’d plot his next move. One that would also appear accidental.
Because no one must ever be able to prove that Bri’s misfortunes were anything more than a run of very bad luck.
HARD TOTELLWHAT HOLMES WAS UP TO—but it wasn’t good.
Guaranteed.
From several houses down, I watched him watch Bri Tucker’s duplex. He’d been there when I arrived an hour ago, but unlike his last visit, he’d never left his car.
Maybe he’d done his dirty work before I showed up.
Too bad I couldn’t have come earlier.
But it was hard to do surveillance while holding down a demanding job.
Not that it mattered, though. Holmes wouldn’t know when I’d been here, what incriminating evidence I had in hand. Thenail-spreading photos would be enough to convince him I was on to him—and to cooperate. I could bluff the rest.
As another round of pelting rain kicked in and the wind picked up again, headlights swung around the corner.
