Free Twin Targets by Marta Perry

hanging up her outer clothing, switching from her boots to her fur-lined slippers, putting her keys in the basket on the table. The orderly actions usually comforted her, reminding her that she was in control of her life.
    Maybe that sense of control had always been a mirage, with the darkness lurking beyond to shatter it just when she thought she was safe.
    She shoved the ugly image away fiercely. She would not let herself think that way. She also wouldn’t let herself imagine that someone had been in her home, moving the basket an inch out of alignment, leaving an alien scent on the air. That way lay paranoia. The men who’d killed Ruby were gone, and they’d never bother her again. As for that mysterious so-called cousin who’d been asking for Ruby in Brownsville—well, there could be some innocent explanation for that, couldn’t there? If so, Micah would find it.
    Micah. She’d spent the day trying not to think about him, without success. He’d crept into her thoughts while she was meeting with the audio-visual committee, showing the ropes to a new volunteer, even talking to a fellow librarian on the telephone.
    She hadn’t dreamed up the awareness that had run between them. It had been real.
    Maybe that was natural enough. They’d been through an emotional time together, and she’d just wept in his arms. She seemed to hear his murmured words of comfort again, and her cheeks warmed at the memory. That sense of attraction had been accidental. Micah was probably as eager as she was to forget it. The phone rang, and she crossed the room quickly to answer it. “Hello?”
    “Jade.” Her heartbeat accelerated slightly when she heard Micah’s deep tones on the line. Maybe he was calling to see how she was after the spectacle she’d made of herself the previous day. Maybe…
    “Something has come up that I need to talk with you about.” His voice was brisk and businesslike. “Will you be home if I get there in about an hour?”
    Apparently she wouldn’t have to make an effort to get their relationship back to a neutral level. He’d done it for her.
    “Yes, I’ll be here.” She tried to match his tone. “What is it? Have you found out something about the man who claimed he was my cousin?”
    “We’d better wait to talk when I arrive. I’ll see you then.” He hung up without a goodbye.
    Well, the most charitable interpretation was that he questioned the security of her phone line. Feeling oddly unsettled, she wandered to the kitchen, got out an apple and a few crackers, and wondered if she should offer him supper when he arrived.
    A glance inside her refrigerator reminded her that she hadn’t shopped, but the neighbors had dropped by several times over the past few days, apparently feeling that having one’s house invaded by armed thugs warranted the delivery of casseroles.
    She was instantly ashamed of the caustic nature of the thought. That offhanded kindness between neighbors was one of the things she loved most about this place. She couldn’t allow recent events to turn her bitter. She got out a chicken-and-rice casserole and preheated the oven. Then she took her snack back into the living room to wait for Micah’s arrival. Curling up on the couch, she tried to concentrate on the newspaper, but Micah’s face kept intruding. What did he want? Had something new come up? It probably wasn’t anything good, or he’d have said something reassuring on the phone. She tossed the paper aside. News of grain prices and snowmobiles for sale wouldn’t distract her for the next hour. She moved instead to the well-filled bookshelves and hesitated for a moment. Her hand hovered over the titles and then she settled on an old favorite. Snuggled once more on the sofa, she opened and read the familiar first line of Little Women. Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents. She could almost feel her stress level going down. She would escape into the comfort of a safe fictional world, just as she had at