Gone and Done It (29 page)

A muscle in his cheek twitched. “Thinking in the spirit world?”

I reached for the leash, ignoring the tingle of skin contact with the sheriff. He was still married, and so was I. “Thanks for catching the dog and bringing her back to me.”

“No problem.” An awkward silence fell between us. Finally, he met my gaze. “Now that you’ve had a few days to think, you still on board with police work?”

My pulse quickened. “We have another case?”

“Not yet. But it will come. We’ll get outside requests, too.”

“Gail?”

“And others. With today’s television coverage and Charlotte’s articles, I predict you will be in high demand.”

“They can demand all they want. I want to live simply and raise my daughter. Those are my priorities.”

“The town will protect your anonymity, and so will my office, if that’s what you want.”

An unusual offer, and yet stated so matter-of-factly it fired my curiosity. As we strolled back toward the cleansing ceremony, I asked, “Did you do that for my dad?”

He nodded. “Tab struggled with his gift for years. He’s relieved you’ve stepped into his role. He’s a new man.”

“That he is.” We walked a few more paces, my mind making connections where before there had been none. “Now that I’ve got an ‘in’ with law enforcement, can you do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

I took a deep breath. “Can you probe into Roland’s death? I’m not satisfied with the official version.”

He halted. “What’s this?”

“The Army lied.”

Wayne’s aura darkened. He opened his palms and gestured broadly. “No can do. The Army won’t let us civilians in.”

Liar.

His body broadcast the lie in three dimensions, which brought me up short as well.
Wayne is lying to me.
He knew more about Roland’s death or disappearance than he was telling me.

Why would he lie?

It made no sense.

I faked a shrug. “It was worth a shot.”

“Darn right. Don’t you worry about a thing. Wayne Thompson is on the case. I’m gonna watch over you like a hawk.”

A hawk. Funny he should mention a hawk. I’d seen one recently, and it ranged clear across Sinclair County. Like my occasional watcher in the woods.

Another weird thing in a weird world.

I could worry it to death, or I could practice acceptance.

I was happy. Larissa and I were in a good place, a safe place. We were thriving here on the Georgia coast. Like Mama said, time would sort the rest out.

I’d have to be patient.

Formerly an aquatic toxicologist contracted to the U.S. Army and currently a freelance reporter, Southern author
Maggie Toussaint
loves writing fiction. She’s published five romantic suspense novels and five mystery novels, with
Death, Island Style
and
Dime If I Know
her most recent Five Star releases.
Gone and Done It
is the first installment in her new paranormal mystery series. Her debut release,
House of Lies,
won Best Romantic Suspense in the 2007 National Readers’ Choice Awards. She’s served as a board member for Southeastern Mystery Writers of America. Visit her at
www.maggietoussaint.com
,
http://mudpiesandmagnolias.blogspot.com/
, and
http://facebook.com/MaggieToussaintAuthor
. Maggie makes her home in coastal Georgia with her husband. When she’s not writing books, she enjoys spending time with family and friends.