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The men stomped their feet and made a show of brushing a few snowflakes from their sleeves, but their presence cast a shadow over the reception area. The first, with beet-red cheeks, exuded a false air of bluster as he clapped his hands together to warm them up. Beside him, the second scanned the room, his eyes sharp flints in his face. They weren’t locals, that much was clear from their demeanor and the calculating way they surveyed the room.
Flinty Eyes slung his arm on Emilia’s high desk, while his companion prowled the room. Caleb couldn’t help but notice the dense muscle beneath Flinty Eyes’ cheap suit. Danger lurked beneath the facade of civility.
Though he was confident in his own abilities—he’d maintained his fitness from his days as a SEAL—Caleb knew facing both men posed a formidable challenge, especially with civilians in the room
Flinty rapped a clipped fingernail on the reception desk. “Good morning.”
Emilia’s smile wavered as she addressed Flinty eyes. “Can I help you?”
The man reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a photograph, which he flashed at Emilia and Caleb.
“We’re federal agents and this woman has a warrant out for her arrest for fraud. She’s deprived many old people of their life savings. She skipped bail and we’re worried she might be out to cheat someone else.”
The image depicted Grace in another time, another life. She stood on a beach but her forced smile failed to conceal the pain in her eyes. Despite the brief time he’d known her, Caleb’s heart clenched at the sight, a surge of protectiveness welling up within him.
“Five foot three, medium build, in her mid thirties, long hair. Nervous, but don’t be fooled. She’s cunning, this one.”
“Never seen her.” Caleb feigned disinterest and slid his credit card to Emilia, grateful he’d brought Grace in the back entrance. But right now she was waiting in the rear corridor. He needed to get to her before she came looking for him.
Emilia shook her head. “No. Sorry.” She took Caleb’s credit card and swiped it through the reader.
Flinty’s attention shifted, his gaze zeroing in on Molly Hargreaves across the room. They were going to speak to Molly, the woman who knew everything happening in Aurora Cove.Had she seen Grace at all? Caleb fought the urge to stare.
“Perhaps you would care to look?” Flinty suggested, crossing the room to hand Molly the photograph. She adjusted her glasses, her movements deliberate as she examined the image.
Caleb readied himself. Flinty was leaner, more calculated, while his companion was heavier built, easier to take down if it came to that.
Molly smiled, taking off her glasses and letting them dangle from the chain around her neck. “Neither Hugo,” she said, giving the cat carrier a pat, “nor I have seen that woman.” Her tone left no room for doubt. “I hope you find her. Stealing from seniors isn’t funny. Folk like her should be locked up.”
Flinty studied her, his gaze probing for any signs of deception. “You sure? You want to take another look?”
Molly sniffed, tugging her cat carrier closer as Hugo yowled. “I may be old, but I’m not senile. I’ve not seen that woman.”
Flinty slipped the photograph into the inner pocket of his jacket, a small cream rectangle appearing between his fingers like a sinister token. “My card. Please call if you see her. You’d be doing your civic duty.”
Molly accepted the card, her peachy lipsticked lips compressing into a line. Without so much as a glance, she tucked it inside her purse. “Should I call the police, too?” Her voice was steady, but there was a subtle edge to her tone.
“No,” Flinty’s reply was instantaneous. “This is a federal matter, and we wouldn’t want to waste local law enforcement time.”
“Of course. I understand.” A feline hiss emanated from inside Molly’s cat carrier as if Hugo sensed the energy in the room. “Hush, Hugo.” Molly glared at Flinty. “He’s very sensitive.”
Hair rose on Caleb’s neck. This was all taking far too long. Any moment now, Grace would emerge from the back corridor.
Flinty pivoted and handed a second card to Emilia. “Y’all you take care now. You see her, call me.”
Emilia took the card and, spinning in her office chair, pinned it to the board behind her. “I will.”
The flint-eyed man jerked his head at his partner. “Granger.” The door chimed a warning again and shut after them, closing off the outside world once more.
Caleb waited at the window, watching the red taillights of Flinty’s black Toyota Camry disappear. Time to get Grace the hell out of here.
As he moved to leave, Molly’s hand on his arm stopped him. “I didn’t always live in Aurora Cove, you know.” She’d left Hugo’s cat carrier on her chair to catch hold of him. “Before you were born, I came here with little more than the clothes on my back. I had reason to leave my husband and plenty to stay away from him. I was lucky, I got away, but if he hadn’t been too lazy to come looking for me and he’d found where I lived, I would have hoped that perhaps other women might have prevented him from finding me.” She sighed. “The fear in your friend’s eyes—it used to be in mine, too.”
“Hugo?” Brad appeared at the waiting room entrance.
Molly waggled her fingers at Brad over Caleb’s shoulder. “That’s us.” She collected Hugo’s carrier, cooing at the spitting fur ball inside. “Come Hugo, darling.” She gave Caleb’s arm a final squeeze. “I don’t know if those men were real FBI or not, but I suggest you get your friend out of here, and fast.” Her plucked eyebrows rose and then she swept past him in a cloud of sugary perfume.
Her words settled cold and lucid in his Caleb’s brain. This threat Grace had brought with her. It loomed larger and more ominous than ever. And it was far more complex and dangerous than she’d let on.
