Ambushed At Christmas. Barb Han

to Deacon.

      As soon as Sunny took their orders and disappeared, Deacon’s gaze settled on Leah.

      “You picked up on that.” She referred to the wrong foot. It was easy to see that a different MO had been used.

      He nodded and then sipped his coffee. “The scenario at our ranches doesn’t fit the Porter’s Bend Killer. But a man’s in jail.”

      “Eyewitness places him in the park. He has a violent past,” she said.

      “Was a murder weapon recovered?” he asked.

      “Nope.”

      “Then it’s a flimsy case at best,” he said. “They won’t be able to hold the guy for long.”

      “His background is an issue for him.” She ran her finger along the rim of her coffee mug.

      “Meaning?” The statement got Deacon’s attention.

      “His crimes against women have been escalating. He has a decent-sized rap sheet.” She picked up the cup, rolling it in her palms for the warmth.

      “But chopping off someone’s foot seems harsh for someone who is escalating their violence,” he stated.

      “This case reads like a revenge killing to me. It’s violent and personal.” Her body shivered involuntarily, thinking about what had happened to Jillian Mitchell.

      “But why the foot?” Deacon’s brows crinkled in concentration. She didn’t want to think of the move as adorable. It helped that his face muscles tensed. It seemed to dawn on him. “The killer wants to send police on a wild-goose chase.”

      “A copycat who cut off a foot...” Leah didn’t finish her thought before she saw Charles walk into the restaurant out of the corner of her eye. Had Keeve alerted Charles to the fact that she was here? Son of a—

      Charles Dougherty made a beeline for her table. His gaze zeroed in on Deacon. Looking at her ex now, she couldn’t see what she’d ever seen in him. Friendship? Kinship? Comfort? Familiarity? Charles had been a sympathetic ear after being alone for two and a half years following the loss of Wyatt, a man she’d truly cared about. Raising a child on her own had been tough and she wasn’t making excuses, but after Charles lost his teenage daughter to a rare childhood cancer and then his wife walked out, Leah had felt for the guy.