Page 42 of Lion’s Den

Rather than answer what he considered a polite inquiry, she laughed.

“Give it up,” David said, shaking his head. “You’ll convince no one that you’re just asking innocent questions.” He turned to Sedona. “What he’s failing so miserably to ask is if you are still seeing this lion tamer?”

“No way, and I don’t plan to either.”

The knot in Cam’s stomach loosened. “Do you know where he is?”

Sedona actually rolled her eyes. “You remember he works for the circus, right? We move on to another town after a few days. I have no way of knowing where he is at the moment unless I ask around, and I haven’t inquired about him for years.”

But she knew something. He knew it in his gut. “How do you know he’s still with the circus, Sedona? How would you contact him if you needed to talk to him?”

“I’d send him an email.”

“Give me his name and email address,” David said. “Also his birthday, if you know it, and any other information that will help me decide if I’ve got the right guy.”

She scowled at him. “Why would I help you hurt a friend?”

David flinched.

Most people wouldn’t have noticed the small reaction unless they had spent a lot of time with the sheriff. Cam had spent many hours training with the Montgomery brothers and had learned their tells. “Sedona,” he murmured.

“No, it’s okay,” David said, disappointment showing in his eyes. “The reaction isn’t unusual.”

Sedona held up her hand. “No, it’s not right. I’m sorry, David. That’s an ingrained reaction learned from my friends in the circus. Usually, people don’t trust us. If burglaries pick up in a town while we’re there, the police usually come to question us.”

“If that’s what happened to you and your friends, that’s wrong on our part. We’re wrong for suspecting circus performers with no basis for the accusations.”

“I can’t say you’re wrong,” she admitted. “Most circus performers are honest, hard-working people. But there are a handful who want to make a quick score before they leave town.”

“Is your boyfriend one of those who wants to make a quick score?”

“Ex-boyfriend,” Cam said. Both of them ignored him.

“He was. That’s part of the reason I broke up with him. I was afraid it would keep me out of college, and college was my way out of that life.”

“Did he try to stop you from leaving him?”

She tried to withdraw her hand from Cam’s hold. He wouldn’t let her. So this was a sore spot. What had the lion tamer done to Sedona? “He hurt you, didn’t he?”

She gave a slight nod.

“What did he do?” And how quickly could he locate this jerk and have a chat with him?

“Nothing you need to be concerned about, Cam. It’s in the past, where it belongs.”

He stared at her. The intimidation tactic didn’t work. She easily ignored him. He’d have to work on his mean stare.

“You should reconsider Cam’s offer of relocation,” David said.

“Why?”

“Someone wants to know what you know. I just received a message from Levi. Someone broke into your house and had a field day with the stacks around the place, then went to your school classroom and did the same thing.”

“My classroom?” Sedona surged to her feet and headed for the door. “It’s broad daylight and school is in full swing. I need to clean it up before the kids see it.”

“You can’t.” Cam stepped in front of her. Interesting that she would be more concerned about her classroom than her enormous home.

“It’s my classroom.”