Francine Williams nodded slowly. “That might be best for a little while. Just one other thing, Miss Lacey. Every one of us in this courtroom wants to help you. Find one of us you can trust and give us the information we need to do just that. You are not alone.”
Five minutes later, Anna was back in her car. She had left Jazz in her cage at the office so she wouldn’t have to be left all alone in a cold car. It was, she decided, the perfect time to go get puppy chow and a collar and leash. Then she could pick up Jazz and take her straight home to a warm house.
But while she was thinking of Jazz, most of her attention was focused on what had just happened in court. Old wounds of her own had been torn open as she sat there, and she felt as if she were bleeding inside. Once upon a time, a judge had looked down from his bench at her and said almost exactly the same thing. He’d said, “We want to help you, but you have to trust us first.” Finally she had.
And somehow she had to get Lorna to do the same thing: trust someone. The sheriff. Reverend Fromberg. The judge.
Herself. It didn’t matter so much who, as long as it was someone who was willing to go to bat for her.
Distracted as she was by worry and seething emotions from her own past, she spent more than was wise at the grocery, buying Jazz the fanciest blue collar and leash, a big bag of puppy chow, a box of puppy treats, a small bone and several squeaky toys. She picked up some carpet cleaner that was guaranteed to remove pet stains, but talked herself out of a flea collar. At this time of year, it would be a wasted expense. She also picked up a few groceries.
When she stepped back outside, the first spit of sleet was falling, fine, icy crystals that stung her cheeks. The pavement was wet, still warm enough to melt the sleet. That wouldn’t last long. Hurrying, she emptied the shopping cart into her car and drove swiftly back to the office.
As soon as she opened the door, Jazz started barking, a high-pitched puppy yelp. Looking into the cage, she saw that the dog had had an accident. She cleaned it up swiftly and replaced the soiled paper with fresh newspaper. Then she put Jazz back into the cage and carried her out to the car.
The cage wouldn’t fit into her car, though. Finally giving up, she put it in the trunk, then took the puppy into the passenger compartment with her. Jazz insisted on curling up on her lap, but she didn’t think that would cause much trouble.
Then she tried to start the car. And tried again.
The starter whined, but the engine wouldn’t catch. What now? Sleet crystals were rattling against the windows of her car, warning her that the streets would soon be dangerous. Forcing herself to wait in case she had flooded the engine somehow, she counted seconds in the tick of ice on her windows.
The night was dark and empty. Funny, she thought as she drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, there had been a time when she had believed being out alone at night would protect her. Then she had discovered otherwise. The night was a time when predators stalked the young and weak. It was full of threat. At night she wanted to be safely within the walls of her snug little house.
She shivered as the night’s chill began to find its way into her jacket. Jazz whimpered softly, suggesting that she was getting hungry. Anna patted her gently and tried to start the car again. And once again the engine refused to turn over.
A tap on her window startled her, and she gasped, turning her head swiftly. Hugh Gallagher stood there, bent over to look in her window. “Car trouble?” he asked through the glass.
She rolled her window down an inch. “It won’t start.”
“I heard. The engine’s not catching. Let me lift the hood and see if the choke’s stuck, okay?”
“Thank you.”
Her gaze followed him as he walked around to the front of the car. Then the hood lifted with a protesting groan and he vanished from view.
He was a nice man, she told herself. He’d proved that already. She didn’t have to be afraid to be in his debt.
He rattled around under the hood for a few minutes, then slammed it closed and came back to her window. “It’s not the choke, Miss Anna, and I can’t see well enough to check anything else out. How about I drive you home and take a look at it in the morning?”
She hesitated. It wasn’t that she really had any option, but she hesitated anyway. It had been a long time since she had been comfortable getting into a car with a man. Any man. Even after all these years, she was still uneasy. But common sense won.
“If you wouldn’t mind. I have the dog and all these groceries….”
“No problem. My truck’s right across the street. Just let me bring it over.”
A couple of minutes later, he had her groceries and the dog cage loaded in the back, and Anna and the puppy in the front seat with him.
“I’m glad I happened to be having dinner at Maude’s,” Hugh said as he pulled out onto the street.
“So am I. I really didn’t want to call a tow truck. I can’t afford that expense right now.” Especially not now that she was going to have to get her car fixed. “I hope you didn’t interrupt your dinner to help me.”
“Naw. I was just finishing a piece of Maude’s elderberry pie. You ever have any?”
Anna never ate out; her budget wouldn’t allow it. “No, I’m afraid not.”
“Well, let me take you over there for lunch tomorrow, before she runs out of elderberries.”
Anna didn’t know how to answer that, because she wasn’t exactly sure what he intended by the invitation. Before she could think of anything to say, he went on.
“Did you hear about the fire at school today? They say the Lacey kid set it. Now, I don’t know folks in the county as well as people who’ve lived here all their lives, but I did see that girl a lot around the church, and she always seemed like a good kid to me.”
“She is. One of the best.”
“Well, I just can’t figure it.
Now, if it’d been Bobby Reilly, I would have thought it was just what you oughtta expect, but not that girl.”
“I know.” She felt her heart accelerating as they edged near a topic she didn’t want to discuss with him—or with anyone, for that matter. She didn’t want to have to tell anyone what she suspected Lorna’s problem was—at least, not unless she got some proof of it.
“You ask me,” he said, “there’s something wrong there, and it isn’t that girl.”
They eased to a careful stop at the corner, then turned onto Anna’s street.
“Gettin’ slippery,” Hugh remarked. “Guess I oughtta put the chains on after I drop you off.”
“That might be wise.” God, how she hated this stilted conversation. How she hated being so uncomfortable with men that she couldn’t think of anything to say to keep the ball rolling. How she hated being the prisoner of hurts that were so old they ought to be almost forgotten.
He turned into her driveway, and she felt the tires slip and spin on the icy pavement as he braked to a halt and switched off the ignition.
“You stay right where you are,” he said. “I’ll come around and help you out. Those shoes you’re wearing don’t look like they’ll give much traction.”
They wouldn’t, she thought. They were a pair of cheap pumps she’d bought just because she had to keep up appearances at work.
Hugh climbed out and came around to her side. He opened the door and reached for her elbow to steady her. “It’s like a skating rink. Hang on to me.”
Even with all her caution, her feet slipped anyway, and he caught her around the waist. All of a sudden there was nothing between them but a squirming puppy and the layers of their