Lover Beware 03 - After Midnight

Grasping moss-covered rock, she hauled herself up the bank to the spot she'd seen the thick clump of ferns move. She parted the coarse leaves, half expecting to find an opening to one of the limestone caves. There was an opening, but it was little more than a shallow concavity in the rock.
    There was no sign of Jess, but the ground was trampled as if someone had hunkered down there, the vantage point high enough that whoever it was had been able to watch her swim.
    Her gaze probed the bush edge, all the fine hairs at her nape lifting as she backed away from the trampled ground, clambered down to the river, and swam across to the other side. The little hidey-hole could have been made by kids com-208
    FIONA BRAND
    ing here to swim and build huts, but the property was isolated.
    Apart from the Jackson family, who lived a couple of miles away, there were no children who were likely to come and spend time here.
    Snagging her towel, she cinched it around her waist and headed back to the house, calling Jess as she went.
    It wasn't inconceivable that a feral goat or pig had taken up residence on her land, although that scenario wasn't likely, because with the threat of tuberculosis from wild animals, most of the surrounding farmers were hot on animal control.
    Maybe she was overreacting, but, whatever—or whoever—
    had been hunkered down there in the ferns above the swimming hole, she wasn't taking any chances.
    TUCKER'S OFFICE WAS small, cluttered, and smotheringly hot, despite the fact that he had a window open to catch the breeze.
    Jane sat down in the chair adjacent to his desk and set her purse on the floor. "There was someone watching me swim."
    Tucker's face was weary. "Join the club. Martha Holbrook said someone was watching her take a bath last night, and Anna Wheeler claims she saw a face at her window while she got undressed, but her husband said it was probably the next-door neighbour's cat trying to get in the window. You sure it wasn't kids?"
    "I don't know who, or what, it was. It could have been kids, I just..."
    "Have a feeling. I know." He rubbed a hand over his balding head. "The whole town's having 'feelings.' I'll send Zane out to look around. Is your house secure and alarmed?"
    "It's secure, but not alarmed. I tried to buy an alarm in Winslow yesterday. They were sold out."
    Tucker grunted. "Figures. I'll get Zane to do a check on your locks. Have you considered going to stay with someone until we catch this guy?"
    Jane picked up her purse and got to her feet. She hadn't expected Tucker to jump through any hoops for her, but all the same, it didn't make her happy that he was treating the matter so casually. "I've got Jess and the hens to feed, and the sheep to keep an eye on. Leaving's a great idea, but it's not practical."

    After Midnight
    209
    "What about getting someone to come and stay with you?"
    "I'll see."
    The problem was she didn't really have anyone who was close enough for her to ask that kind of favour. One of the results of Patrick's illness was that she'd concentrated so much on him that she'd neglected the girlfriend thing. They'd both lost touch with the friends they'd had when they'd lived in Auckland, and since moving to Tayler's Creek, she somehow hadn't ever moved past the acquaintanceship stage into friendship with anyone. She had plenty of people she could pass the time of day with in the street, but no actual friends.
    Zane followed her back to her house, and walked with her out to the river. She pointed out the spot where the ferns were flattened. He found a place along the river that had stepping stones, then walked upstream to examine the trampled area, taking notes. When they returned to her house, he walked through her house and checked her doors and windows. "Your doors are good, but you need bolts for the windows. And make sure you get that alarm installed."
    He scribbled the name of a couple of reputable security firms on her telephone pad, both of which she had already tried to buy alarms from when she was in Winslow. As he set the pen down, his pager beeped.
    He checked the message, and blushed. "My girlfriend," he mumbled, as he clipped the pager back on his belt and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.
    Jess thumped her tail on the verandah decking as Jane watched Zane drive away, still talking to his girlfriend. Jane absently stroked her head. "Well, that was the cavalry. So much for security."
    As the dust cloud from Zane's vehicle dissipated, she decided that