waited for her to get inside before he closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side. As they pulled out of the parking lot, he turned up the radio, adjusted the heater and tried to concentrate on anything but the woman sitting next to him. It was no use.
As bad as tonight was for her, tomorrow might be worse. He wondered how she would react when she found out that a text message on Tricia’s phone asking her to meet him at Laurel Falls had been sent from the phone Flynn said he lost.
The concern Jack felt for Danielle Tyler surprised him. He’d sworn he would never get involved with another woman, and he’d worked hard to perfect the image of a man with no feelings. It scared him to think she might make him want to change his mind.
Danielle studied the streetlights as they drove toward her house. Their beams cut through the interior of Jack’s car and cast a protective glow through the interior. Jack’s presence beside her comforted her. She didn’t want to go home alone. A sadistic killer had surfaced in Webster Falls again, but in the wake of his appearance, she’d met Jack.
Her house came into view, and she sighed with relief. Jack turned into the driveway of the small log cabin where she’d lived for three years and stopped behind her car. The fluid movements of his lean body made her heart skip a beat as he slid from the car and hurried to open her door.
He grasped her arm and helped her climb from the car. Once outside, he continued to hold her, and she leaned against him as he guided her up the steps to the front porch. His muscles rippled, and she recognized a sense of security flow through her. She hadn’t felt that in many years.
At the door he released her, and she fumbled with the key. Her hands shook so she couldn’t insert it into the lock. Jack leaned over and took the key ring from her hand. “Let me.”
In one swift move he unlocked the door and pushed it open. Uncertain what to do, she faced him. “Thanks for seeing me home.”
The security light in the yard cast a shadow across his face as he surveyed the surrounding area. “You don’t have any close neighbors.”
“No. That’s what I liked about this place. It’s private.”
He glanced inside the house and back across the dark yard. “I’m wondering if it’s safe for you to be here.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Why?”
He frowned. “Two people close to you have been killed.”
Fear raced through her as her gaze flitted toward the shadows around the house. “At the school you said it could be a copycat. What if it’s not? What if the person who murdered Jennifer has been here all these years?”
“That’s what I hope to find out. But for now, do you want to go to a hotel for the night?”
She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “I don’t want to be run out of my home because I’m scared. Besides I have an alarm system.” She opened her eyes and glanced into the dark house. “But I was in such a hurry this morning, I didn’t set it.”
Jack nodded toward the inside. “Want me to go in with you?”
Danielle opened her mouth to refuse. She hadn’t invited one person inside in the three years she’d lived here, but the thought of entering the house alone scared her. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. “Come on in. Do you have time for a cup of coffee?”
Jack glanced at his watch. “I have a few minutes before I told my partner I’d be at the police station.” His gaze drifted over the small living room. “This is nice.”
Danielle turned and smiled. “Come on in the kitchen.”
He followed her and sat without speaking at the table while she bustled about trying not to look at him. Suddenly, she felt like a high-school girl desperately wanting to impress her date, but Jack wasn’t here because of a date. He wanted to protect her.
When she filled his cup, he looked up her and smiled. “Thanks.”
She smiled at the sound of his soft voice. “I really appreciate you coming in with me. I don’t think I could have entered this house by myself.”
He nodded. “You’ve had a rough day.”
“Yeah.”
He leaned forward, his eyes staring into hers. “Are you sure about staying here?”
She realized he would leave soon. She’d be alone. What if the killer knew her? A lump of fear rose in her throat. “I—I think so.”
They drank in silence for a few moments. She tried to figure out what thoughts were running through his head, but his expression remained unchanged. After a moment he pulled a notepad from his pocket and wrote something, then pushed the paper across the table. “Here’s my cell phone number. Call me if you need someone.”
Relief flowed through her. Tears welled in her eyes. “Thank you. I don’t mind telling you Tricia’s murder has me scared.”
His gaze locked with hers, and his eyes softened. Pushing his cup away, he stood. “I’d better be going.”
Danielle nodded and followed him to the front door. They reached for the knob at the same time, their fingers touching. He jerked his hand away, and she opened the door. “Thank you again, Jack.”
He exhaled. “I’d better go.” He stared at her for a moment, then nodded. “Good night, Danielle. Sleep well.”
She closed the door and leaned against it. Her life had taken a detour since this morning. One of Webster’s most promising students had been murdered, and her school was once again plunged into a horrible nightmare.
Only time would tell if Tricia’s murder was related to Jennifer’s. At the present time there was no concrete evidence to believe it was, but something told her a killer had returned.
Danielle’s breath puffed a vapor mist as she stepped onto the front porch the next morning. It seemed chillier than usual, but she hadn’t felt warm since she’d stood in the parking lot at Laurel Falls the night before. She pulled the key from the locked door and turned toward the steps just as a car stopped at the curb.
A smile creased her lips at the sight of Jack crawling from behind the wheel. He walked toward her as she descended the steps. Stopping a few feet away, he smiled. “Thought I’d check to see how you made it last night.”
His eyes looked tired, and the stubble of a beard showed on his face. “Have you been up all night?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. Just left the station.”
“What about Flynn? How is he?”
Jack shook his head. “Not good. One of the officers drove him back to the dorm last night. We were afraid for him to drive himself because he was so upset.”
Even as angry as she’d been at Flynn over the Web site, she knew Tricia’s death must have been devastating. “I’ll check on him when I get to school. But first, would you like a cup of coffee? There’s some in the kitchen.”
He shook his head and glanced at his watch. “I’m going home to shower, then I have to get back to work. I’ll come out to the school later. I want to look through Tricia’s room. See if I can find anything that might point to the murderer.”
“Do you need my help?”
“Yeah. I’ll call before I come. Now I’d better get going.”
Danielle followed him to his car and stood behind him as he pulled the door open. Before he got into the car, he turned and faced her. “Watch your step today. Be suspicious of everybody around you. Don’t trust anybody.”
A tremor rippled from her legs and swelled as it traveled upward. She swayed toward Jack, and his steadying hand clamped on her arm. Ten years ago with her parents on tour in Europe, she’d faced her friend’s death alone. Perhaps this time would be different.