Free BIG SKY SECRETS 03: End Game by Roxanne Rustand Page A

fine. Will they be back?”
    Only if someone else dies. “Hard to say,” Megan said with a vague wave of her hand. “I just hope we catch the guy so they don’t need to.”
    “The paper called him the Full Moon Killer.” Sue Ann drew back, a hand fluttering at her neck. “But what if he strikes at random next time? I wish I could just leave here, and go stay with my sister in Oregon.”
    Megan had heard a number of other people talk about leaving town, and what the situation would do to the upcoming tourist season wasn’t hard to guess. “The sheriff’s department is following every lead, believe me.”
    “But that’s what everybody’s talking about these days—how there don’t seem to be any. How he could be one of us, and we don’t even know it. Or how he could be someone new around here, who looks normal as can be. Like that new fella—he comes in here, now and then.”
    “I think we all just need to be calm, and careful and not jump to any conclusions. We have absolutely no suspicions about Mr. Anders,” Megan retorted, a little too sharply. She steadied her voice. “No evidence whatsoever. I hope you aren’t mentioning him to your customers. False accusations could stir up a lot of legal trouble for you.”
    “N-no. Of course not.” Sue Ann cast a quick, guilty glance toward several patrons seated at the front windows. None of them looked up. “And I’ll make sure to let people know, if I hear such talk.”
    Megan closed her eyes briefly. Though the woman had a good heart and would never mean any harm, damage control with Sue Ann was like trying to dam a river with chewing gum. “It would be better if you just didn’t say anything at all.”
    “I won’t. I swear.” The little bell over the entryway tinkled as the door opened. Sue Ann’s eyes widened and she sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh.”
    Megan looked up, already knowing who she’d see reflected in the long mirror behind the old-fashioned soda fountain. She gave Sue Ann a pointed look, then turned to him and smiled. “Scott.”
    “Megan.” He stamped his boots on the entry mat and then sauntered up to her, the deep waves of his coal-black hair wet and gleaming from the rain, his light blue eyes more startling than ever in contrast to his lean, wind-burned face. A corner of his mouth twitched. “Let me guess,” he added in a low tone only she could hear. “This is another undercover outfit?”
    “Very funny.” She watched Sue Ann move to the other patrons, coffeepot in hand. “It would be effective, though. Ninety percent of the people around here wear denim jackets and jeans, so I’d blend right in.”
    “Had any more unexpected visitors out at your place?”
    “None—assuming that my new guard buddy has good ears.”
    “Do you keep him outside?”
    “Goodness, no. It’s chilly out there this time of year.”
    “He’s probably used to it, if he was a stray.”
    “But he’s older. He deserves to be inside, and he can bark just as well with a roof over his head. If someone tested the doors or windows, he’d sure let me know.”
    “True.” Scott studied the toes of his boots for a moment, then looked up with a hopeful smile. “Are you working today?”
    “Nope. This is a rare day off.”
     
    The dimples bracketing his mouth deepened. “Are you free?”
    “Well…I do have plans. Sort of.”
    “Important?”
    “Well…” She thought longingly of the bookstore.
    On the other hand, a rugged version of Pierce Brosnan was now grinning at her with a hopeful expression in his eyes, and that opened up a set of entirely different possibilities. “Why do you ask?”
    “I had to come into town to pick up some fencing materials, and now I’m heading to an estate sale south of Lost Falls.” His low, self-deprecating laugh danced across her skin. “When I noticed your truck parked on the street, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Maybe you can keep me from doing something stupid.”
    She glanced out the window at