3

 

Sara sat at a table in the café, her hands shaking too much to drink the coffee Luke bought her. He sat next to her, his hand inches away from hers. Sara’s mind whirled. Austin had found her. She was no longer safe.

Detective Inspector Wilcox came over, jerked his head in greeting to Luke, and sat opposite Sara. “Tell me what you saw.”

“It was Austin.” She inhaled deeply, trying to calm her shattered nerves. “He stepped up to me, said my name, and pretended to shoot me with his fingers.”

“I see.” He looked at Luke. “And where were you?”

“He was standing right there, all right, Inspector? Both of them were. I hadn’t gone off on my own. I resent this protection thing at times, but I’m not stupid.”

Wilcox stared at her, then looked back at Luke. “Well?”

“I was as close to her as I am now. We both were. We thought the guy was window shopping.”

“We’ll talk more back at the chalet. Sara, DC Lomas will drive you and Luke back now. Chances are Austin knows where you’re staying, especially after last night. So I want you to pack. We’ll move you out tonight.”

“But it wasn’t Austin.”

Wilcox gave her a long ‘I’m not going to be argued with’ stare.

Sara sighed. It wasn’t Austin she’d seen the previous night. It was Jamie. He’d found her, only no one believed her, so she wasn’t going waste her breath. “All right. Where am I going?”

“Let us worry about that. You and Luke go home and pack. There will be uniformed officers outside. If Austin knows where you are, there’s no point in concealing the uniforms, but we’ll maintain the illusion of husband and wife. That’s essential for the duration of this protection program.”

Sara let Luke lead her out to the car. She gave him the bags and got inside, wrapping her arms around her middle. She didn’t care what Austin did to her…but her baby was another matter. She sat there in silence as Luke got in next to her, and Lomas drove back to the chalet.

Sara carried the bags from the car and struggled to pull out her key. Her trembling hands made unlocking the door impossible.

“Let me.” Luke took the key from her, his fingers warm against her frozen skin, and opened the door. “Go and start packing. Mine won’t take long. Would you like more coffee?”

Still shaken, and surprised by the gentleness in his tone, Sara agreed. She walked into the bedroom and laid her new clothes straight into her case. She pulled all her old clothes from the drawers and wardrobe, and shoved them into a black rubbish sack. She picked it up and went into the lounge. She glanced at the officers there. “This needs throwing out.”

“Here.” Luke swapped the sack for a mug of coffee. “We’ll take that out for you.”

“Thank you.” Sara returned to the bedroom, setting the mug down on the dresser. She packed up the rest of her things in a blur. Once again, her entire life was turned upside down in the space of a few short hours.

Setting the case on the floor, Sara curled up on the bed, the gold framed photo of Jamie in her hand. She let out a deep breath. She’d seen him. She wasn’t crazy. He’d been standing right there, and they’d chased him away. Now she was leaving. She might never see him again. Not that there wasn’t a shred of hope. He’d found her once. Could he find her again? Just as Austin had?

Sara shivered. Which one would get to her first? Lord, keep me and my unborn child safe.

 

****

 

Luke opened the door. Wilcox stood there with another officer. “Lieutenant Luke Nemec, this is Sergeant Dave McArthur. He’ll be your partner for the duration of this case.”

Luke held out a hand, taking a second to form a first opinion. Around the same height as him, Dave had short brown curly hair and a matching beard. His hands were rough, indicative of hard work somewhere in his past. His dark eyes were warm and echoed the smile on his face.

As they shook hands, Luke allowed the firmness of his grip to illustrate the fact he didn’t take any nonsense from anyone. He learned a lot from shaking hands, and it was a good point to give back as much as you learned from it, especially in his line of work. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“And ye,” Dave replied in his soft Scottish lilt.

Wilcox spoke again. “We’re relocating you and Sara to Tannoch where Sergeant McArthur lives. I want you to be on a first name basis—which you would be as partners, anyway. You met several years ago when Dave worked an international case and kept in touch ever since. I don’t want anyone knowing you’re a police officer, Luke. Tannoch is a small town in the northeast Highlands of Scotland, about four hundred miles from here. We need to leave in a few minutes if we’re going to get you on the flight.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll get Sara.” Luke headed over to the bedroom and knocked. “Sara?”

 

****

 

Sara rolled over. “Yes?”

Luke’s voice came through the door. “We need to leave.”

“Coming.” Sara rose and flung the door open. She pushed past him and went to Wilcox. “Where am I going?”

“First, I’d like you to meet Sergeant Dave McArthur, Lieutenant Nemec’s new partner.”

Sara glanced at him. “Hello.” She turned back to Wilcox and raised an eyebrow.

“We’re taking you to Tannoch in Scotland.”

“So, you want me to up sticks—”

Luke interrupted her. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Up sticks?”

Sara looked at him. “Up sticks—think the second little piggy, and building a new house. It means move.” She turned back to Wilcox, not missing a beat. “Up sticks and move, again, only this time to the other end of the country where I have to live in what presumably is a small town and pretend to be married to a bloke I don’t know from Adam. Pretending here in a virtually empty holiday park is one thing…a small town with small town gossips is something else altogether.”

“The cottage you will be living in has four bedrooms. Like I said before, the only people who know the sleeping arrangements will be you and Lieutenant Nemec.” He handed her an envelope. “New ID for you, including a passport. As of now you are Mrs. Nemec.”

Taking a deep breath, Sara snatched the envelope and snapped as everything built to a crescendo around her. “And I told you, I’m already married. Look, Inspector, Jamie was here last night. You move me, and I lose him again.”

“Whoever it was out there last night, I can assure you, it was not your dead husband.”

“Fine. Then there was someone just like him outside my bedroom last night. I chased after him and would have caught him, had the leftenant not stopped me.”

“Lieutenant Nemec was doing his job. Whoever was outside last night had gone by the time we did a search. We’re not going to risk your life any further. If you want our continued protection, you will fly to Scotland and live there with Lieutenant Nemec until this case is over.”

“This case? Is that all I am? A case?”

Wilcox ignored her. “End of discussion. You are booked on the six o’clock flight to Inverness. Sergeant McArthur will accompany you and drive you both from there to Tannoch. Are you packed?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go. I’ll drive you to the airport myself.”