Where Shadows Meet(39)

“You got any other ideas?”

“She’s not your responsibility. We do the best we can.”

Matt shot him a look of disgust. “And maybe get another dead body. I don’t understand what’s happening yet, but I intend to.”

Blake shrugged. “We can’t play bodyguard for everyone.”

“You’re all heart, Blake.” But what did he expect from a guy who would cheat on his wife? He pushed away the thought of his lies to Hannah. That was different. “Follow me,” he told the women. He got in his vehicle, then waited until they climbed back into their car before leading them the short distance to his house.

Parking in front, he saw that the grass needed to be cut and the shutters could use a new coat of paint. Funny how he hadn’t noticed until he was bringing guests. He let Ajax out, and the dog raced to sniff at the other car’s wheels.

Hannah got out of the car, and her gaze swept the house. “It’s charming.” She sounded surprised.

“I’ll let you in.” He opened the gate to the picket fence and walked to the door, which he unlocked and pushed open. “After you.” The women stepped past him into the foyer. He’d just cleaned it on his day off in hopes of renting it, and he could still smell the Lysol in the air. “Where’s your luggage?”

“At my aunt’s.”

“I’ll go get it for you. I don’t want Reece following you here.” His mind still raced about how to hide Caitlin now that he knew Hannah was looking for her. And what was Reece’s game? By now Reece knew where his sister lived. At least she lived with a sheriff’s detective.

“Oh, my cats are there too.” Hannah bit her lip. “I—I should probably go back there instead.”

“Cats? I hate cats.” The thought of the sneaky creatures strolling through his house made him wince. “Can’t your aunt keep them for you while you stay here?”

“She just lost her son. I don’t want her to have to worry about them. I need them with me. It will take Reece a while to figure out where we are.”

“If he’s as guilty as you say he is, he might have been the one to throw the Molotov cocktail through the window. Just how many of them are there?”

“Four.”

At least she had the grace to look a bit ashamed. “You have plenty of litter? And food?”

“Yes, I brought all their things with me. The stuff is at my aunt’s too.”

Now that he looked a little closer, he saw that her eyes were almost catlike. The golden brown color and the almond shape reminded him of a tabby’s eyes. As he’d often told Caitlin. He shoved the thought away. “I’ll go get the felines. They can stay here.”

“Are you sure? Will Ajax be okay with them?”

Ajax looked up at the mention of his name and came to sit at Matt’s feet. “I’ll leave him here for now. Anyway, Ajax loves cats. It’s his one flaw.”

She smiled then, and he thought she should do it more often. The flash of white teeth and the light in her eyes made him smile back in spite of the way he wished he could boot out the felines.

“Maybe I should go with you. They’ll be out of sorts in a strange place without me around.”

He knew the feeling. Leaving the two women in his house made him want to stalk around and swish his tail too—if he had one. “I can handle it. I don’t want him watching your aunt’s house and following you back here.”

He stopped to get Blake to help, then drove out to the Honeggers’. Buggies still lined the road and the driveway. “I wish we had something new to tell Mrs. Honegger,” he told Blake as he parked and got out. He nodded to several Amish men sitting around smoking on the front porch. Another woman came to the door when he knocked, then Mrs. Honegger pushed through the crowd to step out onto the porch with him and Blake.

“May I help you?” she asked.

“I apologize we don’t have any news yet, ma’am.”

“We wait on the Lord’s will, son.”

“We plan to see justice done, Mrs. Honegger. I’ll track down the killer.”

“When you do, let me know. I need to go to his family.”

Did she plan a tongue-lashing? “Why do you want to see his family, ma’am?”

“I will accept this from the Lord’s hand, young man. I’ve already forgiven the one who did this, and I want to comfort his family.”

Matt didn’t understand how she could be so calm and accepting of what had happened, but her attitude intrigued him. “I’m here for another reason. Your niece and her friend were followed today by Reece O’Connor. And someone tried to run Hannah down in the buggy on her way to the grave site. I’m having them stay at a home close to the sheriff’s station.”

Mrs. Honegger put her hand to her mouth. “Hannah! Is she all right?”

“She’s fine. She escaped without incident.”

“Oh dear. I need to talk to Hannah, explain what’s happening.” The woman literally wrung her hands. “I should never have sent her the picture.”

“Tell me, do you know who threw the explosive through your window?”

She looked up at him, her brow smoothing. “I’ll talk to Hannah. It’s not your concern. It’s a family matter.”