interested.”
Tanner pulled off his gloves and set them on the counter. He looked as if he was thinking hard on something, and she was dying to know what it was.
“Actually,” he said, “I wondered if you’d be interested in having dinner in town, and maybe a beer?”
A twinge of excitement passed over her, and she chided herself. The seriousness of his expression let her know the invitation was not personal, which was the last thing she needed at the moment, anyway.
“This invitation sounds like it comes with an agenda,” she said.
“I’m afraid so. I want to get out into town. Watch the locals and see if I can stir up some talk.”
“And get the word spread around that I have a tracker living on the property.”
He nodded. “It will either shut him down or cause him to escalate. When people rush, they tend to make mistakes, so if he escalates, I’m depending on him getting sloppy enough for me to catch him.”
“So I guess that means you didn’t find anything today?”
He frowned and Josie got the immediate impression she wasn’t going to like what he was about to say.
“I had a talk with Emmett Vernon,” he said and told her the details of the conversation.
A flush ran up her face and she clenched her hands. The nerve of the man who’d made a good living off her family, talking about her that way.
“I don’t know what Emmett is trying to imply, but I promise you, there are no skeletons that followed me back to Miel. Those people only care about the fashion world, and tucked away in the swamp, I am hardly a threat to models vying for the same gig.”
“I didn’t figure, but I wanted you to be aware of what he’s saying. Your crew leader was a bit upset about it, too.”
“Ray is a good man. I’m sorry he’s in the middle of all this drama. He has a nice family to support and just wants to do his job.”
Tanner nodded. “He told me he doesn’t trust Vernon. Men like Ray don’t say those kinds of things lightly, especially to a stranger.”
She blew out a breath. “No, I suppose not. So, what do we do?”
“You go about your business as usual. I’m going to fish around into Vernon’s business a bit and see if anything surfaces.”
“This is all just so distressing. The man was like an uncle to me, and all of a sudden, it’s like I don’t know him at all.”
“We’ll figure it out. Vernon may have reasons for his behavior that have nothing to do with this situation. He’s not exactly the kind of man who would lay his problems out at your feet.”
“No, I guess he’s not.”
“There’s something else,” he said.
One look at his face had her back tightening again. “Why do I get the feeling I’m really not going to like this?”
“Because I don’t like it, either.” He blew out a breath. “I saw what you saw. I chased it through the swamp, but lost it in the bayou. I couldn’t find the place where he climbed back up the bank.”
She stared for a couple of seconds, not even breathing. “You saw it?”
“Only a little, but it was exactly as you described.”
“Do you still think it’s a man in a suit?”
“That makes the most sense. Someone familiar with the swamp would have known how to ditch me.”
“And that’s why you want to observe the locals.”
“Yeah.”
He stared down at the counter again, and her antenna went up.
“You’re not leaving anything out, are you?” she asked.
He blew out a breath and looked back up at her. “Thing is, I saw it over a section of brush.”
“Okay?” She wasn’t quite getting the problem.
“That brush was a good six feet high.”
She sucked in a breath and looked out the windows and into the swamp. It looked so peaceful, but something lurked out there. What was it?
The even bigger question—what did it want?
* * *
T ANNER STEPPED OUT OF the shower and dried off with one of the huge fluffy towels. The towels in his apartment were thin, scratchy and covered with bare spots. He supposed that was
Tanner pulled off his gloves and set them on the counter. He looked as if he was thinking hard on something, and she was dying to know what it was.
“Actually,” he said, “I wondered if you’d be interested in having dinner in town, and maybe a beer?”
A twinge of excitement passed over her, and she chided herself. The seriousness of his expression let her know the invitation was not personal, which was the last thing she needed at the moment, anyway.
“This invitation sounds like it comes with an agenda,” she said.
“I’m afraid so. I want to get out into town. Watch the locals and see if I can stir up some talk.”
“And get the word spread around that I have a tracker living on the property.”
He nodded. “It will either shut him down or cause him to escalate. When people rush, they tend to make mistakes, so if he escalates, I’m depending on him getting sloppy enough for me to catch him.”
“So I guess that means you didn’t find anything today?”
He frowned and Josie got the immediate impression she wasn’t going to like what he was about to say.
“I had a talk with Emmett Vernon,” he said and told her the details of the conversation.
A flush ran up her face and she clenched her hands. The nerve of the man who’d made a good living off her family, talking about her that way.
“I don’t know what Emmett is trying to imply, but I promise you, there are no skeletons that followed me back to Miel. Those people only care about the fashion world, and tucked away in the swamp, I am hardly a threat to models vying for the same gig.”
“I didn’t figure, but I wanted you to be aware of what he’s saying. Your crew leader was a bit upset about it, too.”
“Ray is a good man. I’m sorry he’s in the middle of all this drama. He has a nice family to support and just wants to do his job.”
Tanner nodded. “He told me he doesn’t trust Vernon. Men like Ray don’t say those kinds of things lightly, especially to a stranger.”
She blew out a breath. “No, I suppose not. So, what do we do?”
“You go about your business as usual. I’m going to fish around into Vernon’s business a bit and see if anything surfaces.”
“This is all just so distressing. The man was like an uncle to me, and all of a sudden, it’s like I don’t know him at all.”
“We’ll figure it out. Vernon may have reasons for his behavior that have nothing to do with this situation. He’s not exactly the kind of man who would lay his problems out at your feet.”
“No, I guess he’s not.”
“There’s something else,” he said.
One look at his face had her back tightening again. “Why do I get the feeling I’m really not going to like this?”
“Because I don’t like it, either.” He blew out a breath. “I saw what you saw. I chased it through the swamp, but lost it in the bayou. I couldn’t find the place where he climbed back up the bank.”
She stared for a couple of seconds, not even breathing. “You saw it?”
“Only a little, but it was exactly as you described.”
“Do you still think it’s a man in a suit?”
“That makes the most sense. Someone familiar with the swamp would have known how to ditch me.”
“And that’s why you want to observe the locals.”
“Yeah.”
He stared down at the counter again, and her antenna went up.
“You’re not leaving anything out, are you?” she asked.
He blew out a breath and looked back up at her. “Thing is, I saw it over a section of brush.”
“Okay?” She wasn’t quite getting the problem.
“That brush was a good six feet high.”
She sucked in a breath and looked out the windows and into the swamp. It looked so peaceful, but something lurked out there. What was it?
The even bigger question—what did it want?
* * *
T ANNER STEPPED OUT OF the shower and dried off with one of the huge fluffy towels. The towels in his apartment were thin, scratchy and covered with bare spots. He supposed that was
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