Ring of Lies (41 page)

I
ntrigued
,
Jack
edg
ed closer without ever looking directly at him.
When he saw
the man replace the tin
of tuna
he’d been holding on the shelf and head
f
or the sandwich counter
, his interest sharpened.
As Jack drew level with him, t
he man
muscled his way into the line behind Grace.
He leaned
into
her
at the same time
his right hand pull
ed something out of his pocket.

Jack cut into the line,
elbowed
the man
out of the way, and
stepped
on
his
foot
at the same time
, ignoring
the
shout
ed curse that came from
his
lips.

‘
I’ll carry that,
’
he said,
and snatched
the brown paper sack from
Grace’s hand
.
He
hauled
her
through
the
checkout
and out the door
.
He kept looking over his shoulder as
they hurried
across the street toward his parked car
.

‘
What’s the matter, Jack?
Are we being followed
again
?
’
Grace asked.

‘
No.
’

‘
Then why
did you drag me out of the bakery
?
’

‘
Because I didn’t like the way the dude with the Stetson and the limp cut into the line
and crowded you
.
’

Grace looked back at the
entrance to the
bakery
over the rim of her sunglasses
.
‘
Limp?
The guy in the graveyard had a limp.
’

‘
I know
,
which is why I don’t want you out in the open one minute longer.
’

Grace put a hand to her throat.
She had to fight to catch her breath.
Her heart was beating too fast, making her skin damp and her head spin.

‘
You don’t think—
’

‘
I’m not thinking, but there are
way
too many coincidences for my liking.
Now hu
rry up.
’

She
swallowed hard and almost ran to keep pace with Jack’s long strides.
She ha
d no sooner climbed into the passenger seat than Jack started the engine.

‘
Aren’t you going to wait until he comes out
of the store
so that I can get a look at his face?
’

Jack slammed the
Explorer
into gear, and roared down
the s
treet with a squeal of rubber.

‘
I guess that answers my question
,
’
Grace
panted
.
‘
You know, it might not have been the same
man
.
’

He looked sideways at her.
‘
Do you want to go back and take that chance?
’

Sh
e drew in a deep breath
, but remained silent
.
Her fingers clutch
ed
the
door hand
l
e
, tighten
ing
until they where white and bloodless.

‘
I didn’t think so
,
’
Jack said
.
‘
I slipped up.
I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight for a moment.
I could have got you killed.
’

‘
That’s being over dramatic.
’

Jack lifted his foot of the gas pedal
and
slowed down
to comply with the island’s
speed
limit.
‘
First thing they teach us at Quantico is that
you stay alive by being
over
ly
cautious
.
’

Stunned by Jack’s bluntness, she snapped her mouth shut and
stared out of the window.

A road-weary
motor coach
,
its
roof bristling with antennae and satellite dishes,
huddled underneath a
large
Banyan
tree
fifty feet
from the entrance to Sand Dollars.
T
he headlights flashed twice
as
they
approached.

‘
Someone you know?
’
Grace asked.

‘
Yeah,
Anderson and Kennedy,
the two agents Mike assigned
for
back up
.
I’ll introduce you later so you don’t get scared
if you bump into them.
They’ll be taking the night shift—watching
the house
while we get some sleep.
’

‘
When
Catherine
and I were young,
our
parents
owned
what we Brits call a caravan.
It was very basic
,
just a tin can on wheels.
Catherine
hated it, especially when it rained.
Everything would be
damp, bedding, clothes, shoes—
everything.
And when it was hot, it was
even more
unbearable,
so I
don’t envy
your colleagues
in this heat.
’

Jack smiled.
‘
Tin can
.
I’ll remember that next time I have to use it.
It’s newer than it looks
,
and is equipped with a
n array of high-tech gadgets and a
decent
A-C
.
’

‘
A-C?
’

‘
Air conditioning.
Never fails to amaze me how we
say we speak the same language…
but we don’t speak the same language.
Do we?
’

His eyes met Grace’s and a thrill of something more than fear twisted her heart.
She wondered if Jack felt it too.
He glanced at her again.
His look said nothing.
She sta
red straight ahead at the
motor coach
.

Jack slowed the
SUV
to a crawl
and wound down the driver’s window
as he drew level with the vehicle
.
To anyone who might be interested it
appeared
as though he was telling the guy behind the wheel to move
away from
his property.

‘
You’re clean
, Jack
.
No one, not even the mail man
,
has
gone near
the house
since we got here
.
’

‘
Thanks, Kennedy.
We’ll be in for the rest of the day.
Get some shut
-e
ye.
’

The
Explorer
picked up speed
and turned into the drive
way
.
Jack pulled on the brake and swivelled in his seat to face Grace.

‘
You need protection and
I’ll do my best to make sure you get it
.
But I’m a realist, Grace.
So,
I want you to promise me that i
f anything
untoward happens, you’ll
head
straight for that
motor coach
.
Ander
son and Kennedy will take care of you.
’