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It had been a foolish mistake to linger near Forrester’s condo, but he’d needed to make sure the bombing was a success. When that little girl had wandered out into the hallway afterwards, crying and confused, she’d seen him.
And his heart had nearly stopped.
Would she remember his face? Could a kid that young testify in court? He’d panicked, grabbed her, and ran before anyone else arrived at the scene. And now there’d be murder and kidnapping charges—and the possibility of life in prison—if she ever identified him in a lineup.
Unless he got to her first.
Forrester’s family would be eliminated, then Forrester himself would be dealt with.
The first had already been located. And though Janet had managed to slip away, it wouldn’t take long to find her. A woman with her...appetites...would soon surface.
When she did, she would provide useful information whether she wanted to or not.
And then she would die.
CHAPTER FOUR
Alex threw another bale of alfalfa onto the conveyor, then shielded his eyes against the late afternoon sun as he looked up at the open door of the hayloft.
“You aren’t going over to welcome those new people?” His fourteen-year-old sensibilities were clearly affronted by Dana’s lack of common hospitality. “Not even to take over those boxes on our porch?”
“Francie is dropping them off on her way home, right after she finishes riding her horse.” Dana grabbed the bale as it tottered at the top of the conveyor, tested the twine with her curled fingers, then flung it high onto the stack behind her. “She ought to be back in a half hour or so.”
“I think we should go, Mom,” Molly called from her perch on the stack. At the age of eleven she had the easier job of settling the bales into even rows. “You said he had a little girl, and was alone and everything. Shouldn’t we bring them supper or something?”
Guilt born of lifelong duty to such rituals of country life had settled around Dana’s heart since seeing Zach trying to manage his little girl at the Pink Petticoat, warring with her equally strong need for self-preservation.
Fortunately, she knew that several other women present had already volunteered. “After he left the Petticoat, Kim Nelson and Lila Frasier said they were going to take him supper tonight and tomorrow. By the time word spreads, he won’t have to worry about fixing dinner for the next month.”
“But we’re the closest neighbors.” Alex lifted another bale from the hay wagon, but tossed it to the ground instead of sending it up the conveyor. “This one’s real heavy, Mom.”
Meaning it was damp inside, and would mold if stored for winter. Dana sighed. “Another one we’ll have to break open to dry out. That bottomland hay wasn’t quite dry enough when Bob baled.”
She’d figured out the number of massive round bales she needed for the cattle and range horses, and the number of small bales for the horses kept in the barns. This first cutting had been lighter than she’d hoped, and if much of it was poorly cured...
“Maybe Molly and I could go visit.”
