Free Catch a Shadow by Patricia; Potter

opened the door for her. “Thank you for your time, Ms. Palmer,” he said with a formal courtesy that appealed to her. Too much.
    She stepped inside, aware that he was still on the steps. It was nearly dark, and she turned on the light switch for the porch light. It didn’t go on.
    â€œThat’s strange,” she said.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI just put a bulb in.”
    Without an invitation, he stepped inside the porch and checked the bulb. She had to stand on a chair to replace the bulb, as did Sam, but he was tall enough to reach it. “It’s loose.”
    She would have sworn she had made sure she’d screwed it in tight. She and Sam liked to sit out on the porch, sometimes with light, sometimes without.
    Then she remembered the noise she’d heard. She’d almost convinced herself it had been her imagination.
    How far did she trust her companion? She had to make an instant decision. “I thought I heard a noise in my apartment before you came. But then I sort of dismissed it.”
    It was like watching a panther wake from a nap and go into full hunting mode. David Cable’s body tensed, and she knew she didn’t want to be on the other end of the hard gaze of his eyes. She also realized that he had nothing to do with any noise she might have heard from next door.
    â€œThis isn’t your apartment?” he said, looking toward the door of Sam’s side.
    â€œNo. I own the building and live on the right side. Sam, my tenant, lives on the left. He takes care of Merlin when I’m working, and I came by to pick him up.”
    â€œDo you have your key?” he said.
    She hesitated. Then, inexplicably, she handed it to him, all the time questioning her sanity.
    He went in like a cop, though he didn’t have a gun in hand. But she’d seen enough cops in action to know what was real. His moves were cautious. Experienced. Defensive.
    In seconds he was back at the door.
    â€œIt’s empty,” he said.
    He stood by while she picked up Merlin’s cage and went inside. The parrot was unusually quiet. She put the cage down and opened the door. Merlin flew out and sat where he could regard David Cable.
    Her visitor didn’t look like a David. David sounded warm and friendly and open. She didn’t know much about David Cable, but he didn’t appear to have any of those qualities. Still … inexplicably she did not want him to leave.
    His lips thinned, and a muscle moved in his cheek. “You should see if anything’s missing,” he said.
    She nodded. “Thanks for checking.”
    He simply nodded.
    â€œYou can go,” she said. “You said you planned to leave Atlanta tonight.”
    â€œI’ll wait while you check and make sure everything’s okay.”
    She studied him for a moment, then decided she felt safer with him than without him. For some reason she trusted him. She didn’t do that readily, not after her bad judgment with her ex.
    But she still wasn’t going to hand over the letter. Not without obtaining more information. Perhaps because she saw secrets in his eyes. Secrets, but not the cold vacantness she associated with a bad guy. It wouldn’t make sense to anyone else, but there it was.
    Nothing seemed disturbed in the living room nor the kitchen. But when she reached the back, the computer was running. She never left it on. She’d lost one once during a storm and was always careful now to turn it off when she was gone. Summer storms were frequent in Atlanta.
    Then she saw a crack in the window that faced the backyard. That was something else she always kept closed because of Spade.
    â€œSomeone was here,” she said. “He must have gone out the back.”
    â€œHe?”
    She gave him a weak smile. “Aren’t all bad guys men?”
    â€œYou’ve had experience with that many bad guys?” he asked. No smile. Not even a hint of one.
    Humorless. He was completely