But as she turned to go do the laundry, she heard a car door slam. Rushing back to the window, she peeked through the blinds to see who was out there now.
Eric Butler.
Julia’s heart went into overdrive. What was he doing here? And why hadn’t she combed her hair and put on some makeup this morning? Running her hands through her long tresses, Julia decided she didn’t care. She had too much to worry about. The good deputy was probably just checking on her out of a sense of duty.
And she did owe him a lot. At least a cup of coffee and a slice of pie.
But when she opened the door, Eric Butler didn’t look as if he were in the mood for either. “Hello,” Julia said, trying to give him a reassuring smile.
“Hi, yourself. Got a minute?”
“Of course.” She waved him into the room. “I’m glad you came by. I’ve been meaning to come and see you.”
He gave her one of his level, steady looks. “Oh, and why is that?”
Julia’s heart sent a warning jolt through her system. “Well, to thank you, of course. You most likely saved my life. I…appreciate it.”
He waved his good arm in the air. “Don’t worry about that.” Then he looked into her eyes, his expression as calm and centered as the still American flag hanging on her front porch. “We couldn’t let that man take you with him.”
“I didn’t want to go with him.” She turned toward the kitchen. “Want some coffee? Some of Cat’s famous apple pie? She brought a fresh one by just this morning.”
Silence.
Julia turned to look at him. “Deputy?”
“Call me Eric,” he said, lifting a shoulder off the porch post.
“Okay. Eric, would you like some coffee and pie?”
“What I want, Mrs. Daniels, is the truth.”
Swallowing back her surprise, she retorted, “Call me Julia.”
“Okay. Julia, we need to talk.”
Julia could understand how a criminal would be intimidated by this man. He stood almost six feet tall and right now he was all business. “I’m not sure I understand,” she said, wondering if he’d already found out about Alfonso’s mysterious death. Had he also found out something that would incriminate her? “I’ve talked to just about everyone in the sheriff’s department and the police department. What do we need to discuss?”
Eric took two long strides toward her. “I want you to tell me why that man would have come to Wildflower…. Looking for you?”
Julia gasped, then shrank back. “I don’t…I mean…I didn’t know he was looking for me.” She sank down on a chair, then stared up at him. “What are you talking about? Was he looking for me?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Eric replied, his tone gentle now, his expression relaxing. “I’m just trying to figure this thing out, so it can make some sense. I don’t believe this was a routine robbery. Got anything you’d like to share with me about all of this?”
“I didn’t know that man, if that’s what you’re asking,” Julia replied, praying Moria would stay in her room a little while longer. She didn’t want her daughter to hear this conversation. “I’m telling you the truth. I’d never seen him before. Maybe you need to be honest with me, too, Deputy. If I’m in danger. If my daughter is—”
“I didn’t say that.” He let out a breath. “We’re still investigating. We’ve put out an APB based on eyewitness descriptions and our findings, and we have a rap sheet and a positive ID on someone who fits the robber’s description. He’s a dangerous man, which is why I’m trying—on my own time—to do a more detailed investigation into his background.”
“So I don’t have to talk to you, since you’re not even supposed to be here, right?”
His gaze swept over her face, then back down. “No, you don’t have to tell me anything. But…I’m trying to help you here.” He glanced at the picture of Moria sitting on the coffee table. “For your daughter’s sake, at least.”
Julia couldn’t tell him to go away after that. “What do you need to know?”
Satisfied that they understood each other, he said, “His name was Mingo Tolar. Ring a bell?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, it doesn’t.”
Eric nodded, then pinned her with another level look. “But, did that man happen to know you? That’s what I’m wondering. And I’m not giving up on this until I find out what’s going on. Because if he did know you…if he did come here looking for you, then yes, you and your daughter might still be in danger.”
Julia gulped back her fear, her gaze meeting his. He gave her the same steady, reassuring look he’d given her in the restaurant the other day. Then he looked past her into the hallway, his eyes full of surprise.
Julia turned around to find Moria standing there with Rosa clutched to her chest. And a brilliant fear shattering her big brown eyes.
FOUR
Julia rushed to Moria. “Hey, honey. I didn’t see you there.” Bringing her daughter into the room, she pulled Moria close as she sat down on the couch. “This is my friend Mr. Butler.”
Moria sent a big-eyed look toward Eric. “Are we in trouble, Mommy?”
“Now why would you think that?” Julia asked, trying to keep her tone calm. She glanced over at Eric, hoping he hadn’t noticed the fear in her child’s eyes. Or her own, for that matter.
Moria leaned close, her hands going around Julia’s neck. “The policemen came yesterday, just like they did when Daddy went away.”
Julia’s gaze slammed into Eric’s. She could see the questions burning there inside his eyes. Pulling at Moria’s long hair with her fingers, she tried to laugh. “Oh, that. Well, it’s just that something happened at my work the other day and the police are trying to get information. But you and I haven’t done anything wrong. We’re okay, honey. It’s okay. And Mr. Butler is…he’s a sheriff’s deputy. That’s like a policeman, sorta. And he’s just trying to help out.”
Moria didn’t look convinced. “He scares me. I don’t like policemen and I don’t like strangers.”
Eric’s smile was short and quick. “I’m a friend of your mother’s. But you’re smart to be careful around strangers. Has anyone besides the policemen come by to see you or your mother?”
“No.”
“Has anyone who scares you tried to bother you at school or anywhere else, like when you’re playing outside?”
Moria shook her head but refused to say anything else.
Julia sent Eric a pleading look. “Can we finish this later?”
His nod was so subtle she almost missed it, but his eyes were on Moria. “You know, I’ve sure heard a lot about you from your mother. She loves you a lot.”
Moria didn’t reply, instead she clung to Julia even more. Afraid for her daughter, Julia gently lifted Moria up onto the couch. “Honey, stay right here while I show Mr. Butler out, okay? You can color in that new book I bought you at the grocery store yesterday.”
“Okay,” Moria said, taking Rosa in her lap. She stared up at Eric with obvious distrust, then went to the small kitchen table where her crayons and coloring book lay.
Julia motioned for him to follow her out onto the porch. After she’d shut the door, she said, “I appreciate your concern, but…Moria doesn’t understand what’s going on, and I don’t know anything about this man. I only know that I was