Free Forbidden Ground by Karen Harper Page A

old buddies myself.”
    He took her home and insisted on walking her to the door and then going in.
    “Just to be sure everything’s normal in here,” he said. He looked around the first floor to convince himself she was safe. “Not much left inside here, is there?” he asked.
    “Tess said Grace sold a lot of things after they were done renting it and moved to the Hear Ye community. I guess they pretty much hold things in common there. And Tess took a few things for their new place. I’m only passing through, so I can make do. She did leave me a stocked fridge. Can I get you anything?”
    He shook his head but reached for her and pulled her into a tight hug. “I’m grateful you were with me today,” he said, his warm breath moving the tendrils of hair along her forehead. “But we can’t play detective ourselves, even though I get it that you’re used to considering all angles and proving theories. Promise?”
    “I know to leave things up to the experts, and this is not my field.”
    She felt him relax a bit, even though she hadn’t really promised what he’d asked. Did he think she’d get hurt by trying to puzzle things through?
    “Dinner tomorrow night?” he asked. “To make up for tonight?”
    She leaned back a bit to look up into his eyes; that move tilted her hips tighter against his. “Don’t worry about me. Yes, I’d love that. But you just take care of yourself.”
    “I might need some help with that.”
    “Good. Call me tomorrow. I’ll be out and about mapping virgin mound sites, but—”
    “Including mine?”
    “If you let me.”
    “Just noting their location and size?”
    “For starters, yes.”
    “Okay. I’ll call you about that later, and we can do it together.”
    Their gazes met and held. His arms around her tightened. He tilted his head and kissed her warmly, but lightly, quickly. She sensed he was holding back for some reason. He was distracted and must figure this wasn’t the time or place, darn him.
    He hugged her again and was out the door. It wasn’t two minutes later her phone sounded—she had it programmed to play “Rule, Britannia!”
—
and she saw it was Carson again. Strange, but she’d actually hoped it was Grant, which was ridiculous since he’d just left.
    “Carson, yes, I’m here.”
    “Where in hell have you been? I’ve been worried sick. No weddings today to make you turn off your cell, right?”
    “You won’t believe what happened. I went with Grant Mason to a local artist’s house to commission a carving and we found the man dead—with his skull crushed. And by his own carving—he uses tree trunks—which had the Adena pipe figure on it, like he was psychic that was what I’d order—that and a Beastmaster mask.”
    “What? Slow down. Unbelievable! A freak accident?”
    “His place had been ransacked when his wife was away. She has an alibi—more or less—so it must have been thieves.”
    “I can’t believe you got yourself into that. Are you all right? Is it safe for you to be staying there alone at your sister’s place, with lunatics like that loose?”
    “I’m not afraid to be out here.”
    “Anyone you could stay with?”
    “Carson, I haven’t lived here for years and I was young when I left, but I’ll be fine. It might have been a big happy time for my father to be back here seeing old friends, but not me, so I don’t have anywhere else to stay.”
    “So how did that go—with your father?”
    “Not that well—for me, anyway. I remember what he was like, though Tess and Char really don’t.”
    “That’s my Kate. A mind like a steel trap.”
    “But I’m sorry I didn’t ask about how your talk went. Things got so intense here—”
    “Really? Have you convinced Grant Mason to let you excavate Mason Mound yet?”
    “I’m working on it, but I can’t push. Besides, the murdered man was a good friend of his, and Grant recently had another personal setback.”
    “That might make him more vulnerable.”
    “You sound