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Jane’s eyes sparkled with humor. “That’s Jason. When we were kids, he’d lock me out of his bedroom and threaten me with all kinds of dire consequences if I snuck in.” She wrinkled her nose. “As if I wanted to steal his collection of old snake skins, or his codebooks.”
Bridger joined in. “So Jay was into codebreaking early, huh?”
“Elementary school. He and his friends wrote secret notes all the time. They had passwords for everything.” She laughed to herself. “One time, he rewrote Mom’s shopping list in code, only he lost the key. He didn’t get dessert for a week.”
He snagged another chunk of bell pepper. “He’s a brilliant guy.”
She smiled shyly. The shadow that darkened her expression quickly after made his heart hurt.
Whatever her brother was running from, it was serious. Bridger wanted to charge off after him, but searching blindly risked alerting Jay’s pursuer. He and Tai would lose any tactical advantage.
Not acceptable. Yet.
If Jay didn’t drop them a hint to his location soon, they’d have no choice. In the meantime, they’d catch the pastor’s extortionist.
That bacon was starting to smell better and better. Maybe he could dredge up enough appetite to do justice to Tai’s hash.
Jane motioned to him to hand over the cutting board. “Let me do that.”
Tai sighed. “How’s he ever gonna learn?”
Bridger shrugged. “Who says I have to?” He tried not to sound too smug.
Jane lined up a potato half, her slender fingers moving gracefully as she cubed it into precise shapes with a few quick slices of the knife.
Bridger figured he could watch her work all day.
Normally, he’d be fidgeting about now. After hours at the hospital, and another hour in the car, he’d be twitching with the urge to move, to run or swim or pound a heavy bag until his body was slick with sweat and his heartbeat hit the red zone.
But there was something about Jane’s pretty, tranquil home that soothed him. Something about the woman herself, that made him want to linger.
Her home was exactly as he would have expected, and yet not. It was pretty and put together in a welcoming way he’d expect from a woman whose store appeared to be the hub of her community.
It was the artwork that surprised him. Stunning photographs filled the walls. All landscapes. Local places, he suspected. Whether shots of the desert to the east, or the soaring, snow-covered Sierra Nevada to the west, they were far more than typical tourist shots. Like any great art, they added their own power, bringing out the majesty of their subjects.
Tai pointed the chef’s knife at the toaster. “Think you can handle the bread, sailor?”
“I’ll give it a whirl.”
How was it he’d never gotten the knack of preparing food? He could field dress a wound, set a broken leg, and shoot almost as well as Tai. What was it about knives that weren’t weapons that eluded him?
Jane finished the potatoes, set her elbows on the counter, and stared him down. “What makes you think the explosion wasn’t an accident?”
Tai gave the frying pan an expert shake. “Besides the evidence of a timer and propane tanks in the hall closet? There was a note.”
The knife slipped out of Jane’s hand. “What?”
Bridger slid the knife away from the edge of the counter. “The sheriff showed us. Looks like the blackmailer is into revenge of some kind. He accused the pastor of sinning. Said no more money. Myles would have to pay with his life now.”
Jane pressed a hand to her chest. “That’s awful! He’s going to have to confess about the blackmail.”
“He already has. Deputies interviewed him while you were getting your CT scan. They’ll do their best to keep the info under wraps while they conduct their investigation, but it’s going to come out. Pretty soon, everyone in town will know.”
She nudged a few cubes of potato into a line. “It needs to.”
“Whatever the motive, it’s clear your preacher was the target,” he said. “We’re not going to ignore the possibility that the bomber went after Jay, too, but it’s doubtful. The threat was really specific. Definitely intended for Pastor Myles.”
She licked her lips. “Should we tell them Jason’s missing?”
