Free Out of the Depths by Valerie Hansen Page B

“Mosquitoes can be deadly around here.”
    “They’re deadly everywhere these days,” he said. “Might as well be cautious.”
    “Right.”
    Cody was studying her profile in the reflected light from the cabin window. “What’s wrong? You’re awfully quiet.”
    “Maybe I ran out of things to say.”
    “That’s never stopped you before.”
    She took a playful swing at him. “I’m not that bad.”
    “Could have fooled me.” His smile faded. Now that they’d discussed recent events and he’d gone over her list of employees, there was a suggestion he wanted to make. He just wasn’t sure how to broach the subject without putting her on the defensive.
    “Listen, I know you like to handle things yourself,and I commend you for it,” he said, “but after what happened tonight, don’t you think it’s time to call in some professional help?”
    “Like what?”
    “Well, how about we start by asking Logan to do some background checks for us?”
    “We? Us?” Her eyebrows arched.
    “I just thought, since he’s my brother-in-law, it would be best if I did the asking. You’re welcome to approach him yourself if you’d prefer.”
    Trudy Lynn shook her head. “Becky already suggested it. The main reason I haven’t is because I don’t want to interfere with his pastoral duties. I can’t believe how busy that poor man is, day and night.”
    “He won’t be too busy to make a few inquiries for us, will he? After all, you do go to his church.”
    “I suppose it won’t be so bad if we make sure he understands we don’t expect him to drop everything and go back to being a private investigator.”
    “Then it’s settled. We’ll give him a call tomorrow and put him on the trail.” Cody saw her make a comical face that was half frown, half smile. “What?”
    She pointed to a sliver of sky visible through the oaks. “I think we’d better call Logan today. That sure looks like the glow before sunrise.” She yawned. “No wonder I’m so tired.”
    “We’ve both been running on adrenaline. Now that its effect is wearing off, we’re bound to feel exhausted.”
    “How’s your knee?” Trudy Lynn asked.
    “Not as bad as I’d thought it would be by now,” heconfessed, eyeing his propped-up foot. “Ask me again in the morning.”
    “I just did. It is morning, remember?” Stifling another yawn, she stood and stretched. “Get some rest. As soon as I finish my chores I’ll call Becky and see if she knows what Brother Logan has scheduled for today. If he’s not too busy, I’ll ask for his opinion. Okay?”
    “Sounds good to me.”
    Cody purposely waited until she’d left before he tried to move. The calf muscles in his injured leg were tied in knots, but at least his knee wasn’t throbbing. He used his hands to support and cautiously lower it. So far, so good. At least he hadn’t had to stifle a shout of pain.
    He pulled himself upright by tugging on the porch railing, then tucked a crutch under each arm before starting for the door.
    Tail wagging, Sailor was already waiting there, ready to go in.
    When Cody turned the knob, it came off in his hand! Disgusted, he looked at his dog. “So, that’s how you got out. What’d you do, eat the inside handle?”
    The Newfoundland wagged his tail and panted, his sad, brown eyes giving him a totally innocent expression.
    Cody pushed open the door. Expecting the worst, he was relieved to note that the only thing Sailor had done to escape was chew at the knob and make a series of scratches below the lock.
    Correction , Cody thought. Not below the lock. Below where the lock would have been if the interior knob was still attached .
    He picked up the pieces and reassembled them as best he could, mostly to make sure Sailor hadn’t ingested anything dangerous. When he was satisfied his dog had merely chewed the lock set apart and spit out the mechanism, he hobbled wearily to the bed, lay across it and closed his eyes.
    In the morning, he’d use his cell phone to