Divine Evil

Hewitt's bitter words played back in his head. What had she been telling him? What did she know about Parker?
    Cam hadn't had any luck reaching the former sheriff. Parker had moved from Fort Lauderdale over a year before, without leaving a forwarding address. Now, Cam thought that he would add one more chore to his routine-trying to track Parker down. He only wished he knew why he felt compelled to bother.
    He opened his eyes again to full dark, was soothed by it. He picked up the bottle and contented himself with the measly punch of sugar and caffeine. He lighted a cigarette, then swung his telescope around. It always soothed him to look at the stars.
    He was studying Venus when he heard a car rattling up his lane. And he knew, with a certainty that surprised him, that it was Clare. More, he knew that he'd been waiting for her.
    She'd needed to get out of the house. No, Clare admitted as she bolted out of the car, she'd been frantic to get out of the house. She knew Angie and Jean-Paul would be fine on their own for an hour or two. In fact, she was sure they'd been waiting to have some time alone to discuss Jean-Paul's theories. She couldn't think about it. Wouldn't.
    “Hey, Slim.” Cam had walked to the end of the deck to lean over the rail. “Come on up.”
    Clare took the deck steps two at a time, then threw herarms around him. Before he could react, she had fastened her mouth hard to his.
    “Well,” he managed after a moment. “It's nice to see you, too.” He stroked his hands up and down her rib cage, then settled them on her hips as he studied her in the backwash of light from the bedroom window. “What's wrong?”
    “Nothing.” She knew she had a bright smile on her face. She'd all but glued it there. “I was just restless.” She combed her hands through his hair and pressed against him. “Or maybe it was horny.”
    He might have been flattered, even amused, if he'd believed her. He kissed her lightly on the forehead. “You can talk to me, Clare.”
    She knew he would listen. That he would care. But she couldn't tell him about the horror she'd found on her back stoop, or Jean-Paul's wild suspicions, or the book she had taken from her father's office and hidden under her mattress the way a teenage boy hides a porno magazine.
    “It's nothing, really. I guess I'm wired-commissions, contracts, great expectations.” It was partially true, but she had a feeling he would sense more if she didn't wipe it from her mind. “So, what are you doing?” She pulled away from him to stroll along the deck to his telescope.
    “Nothing much.” He came up behind her to pick up the bottle of Pepsi. “Want a drink?”
    “Yeah.” She took it, sipped from the bottle. “I was hoping you'd call,” she said, then was immediately annoyed with herself. “Forget I said that. What can you see through here?”
    He put a hand on her shoulder before she could bend to the eyepiece of the scope. “I did call. Your line was busy.”
    “Oh.” She couldn't stop the satisfied smile. “Angie'sbeen on the line to New York. Got a cigarette, Rafferty? I must have left my purse in the car.”
    He took one out. “I like your friends,” he said, striking a match.
    “They're great. I guess it was stupid, but I was really nervous about your meeting them. It felt like I was showing you off to my parents or something. Oh, Christ.” She plopped onto the arm of his chair. “I can't believe I said that. Pay no attention to me-pretend I just got here.” She let out a long breath. “God, I feel like a teenager. I hate it.”
    “I like it.” Cam put a hand under her chin to lift her face. “In fact, I think I'm crazy about it. Ten minutes ago I was sitting here feeling sorry for myself. Now I can't figure out why.”
    She looked at him. His eyes seemed almost black in the dappled starlight. There was a faint, satisfied smile on his mouth. The pull was so strong her stomach trembled with the effort to hold back. “Rafferty, what have we got here?”
    “What do you want to have?”
    “I guess I haven't figured that out yet. I was hoping you had.”
    He'd figured it out all right, but he didn't want to make it easy on her. “Why don't you think about it for a while?” He sat in the chair next to hers. “I've got Venus in the scope. Want to take a look?”
    She shifted into the chair and tilted her head. “I like being with you,” she said as she studied the bright red star. “I mean like this-not just in