Jake watched the tiny car drive away, Onion’s head sticking out the passenger window. His solar plexus ached as if he’d been sucker-punched by a bear. He double-checked the latch on the front door and started toward his SUV. 

Something slapping against a solid surface caught his attention. On alert, he stopped in his tracks and listened. There it was again.

Every nerve attuned to any movement, he grabbed the Beretta from his ankle holster. He crept toward the kitchen side of the wraparound porch. Turning the corner, he saw a hotel do-not-disturb sign hung from the kitchen doorknob.

Taking his time to be thorough, he scanned the perimeter. Spotting nothing out of the ordinary, he squatted down by the door. Scratches marred the lock. He picked the lock and cautiously entered Claire’s kitchen. His search didn’t turn up anything new and he returned to the porch and the do-not-disturb sign.

As he had done when he’d found the gas can in Claire’s pantry, he used his cellphone camera to document the find. He e-mailed the latest photo to his Absolute Security account. Still alert, he got into his SUV and turned on his cellphone’s hands-free option.

“Call Sherry.”

It rang twice. “What’s up, hot stuff? You finally callin’ to ask me out on a date?”

“Oh honey, you know I would, but Carl would kill me if I took his blushing bride out on the town. You’d never be able to live with him afterward.”

“Hell, I can’t live with the man now. Do you know he brought home another stray dog today? We’re up to five. Good Lord in heaven, it’s a sin what I pay for dog food every week.”

The news didn’t surprise Jake. He’d grown up with Carl in the house next door and Sherry across the street. For as long as he’d known Carl, almost thirty years, he had been dragging home every pitiful animal he found.

“That’s what you get for marrying a vet.”

“True. So what’s got you calling me if it’s not candlelight dinners?”

“I need some help of the unofficial kind.”

“Uh-huh. Talk.” 

He could tell by her no-nonsense tone he was now addressing Sgt. Sherry Newsome of the Denver Police Department.

“I’ve got an UNSUB believed to have killed a woman, now terrorizing another. I’ll upload the case file to you as soon as I get to my hotel. I need to know if his pattern fits any open cases in Colorado, Nebraska or Wyoming.”

“Shit, you’re not asking for much, are you?”

“Do I ever?”

“Only every damn time. Are you working with the locals on this?”

“There’s an evening at Silvio’s in it for you and the puppy collector.”

“Damn. You’re gonna get me fired one of these days.”

He shrugged. “Hey, what are friends for?”

“Technically, you’re Carl’s best friend, not mine. But I’ll see what I can come up with.”

“Thanks, Sherry, I owe you.”

“Believe me, I keep a running tally.”

Jake clicked off as he pulled onto the highway. The killer could have left the door hanger when he’d rummaged around the house. But if that was the case, why break the stained-glass front door? 

Could the killer have been there during the storm? From his vantage point in the drive, Jake had kept visual contact of Claire through the windows but couldn’t see the kitchen door. 

It all came down to the phone and flash drive. What the fuck was Burlington hiding? Time to find out. He pushed the phone’s voice-activation button.

“Call Burlington.”

Did you miss part of Dangerous Kiss? Catch up here. xoxo, Avery