Hot for You (11 page)

“I received a strange email.” She gestured to
his laptop. The email was still open.

“Do you mind if I read it?” he asked.

She shook her head.

He eased down into the chair and looked at
the email. Immediately his expression went hard.

He looked over his shoulder at her. “I assume
you don’t know this ‘Firebug’.”

She shook her head. “I have no idea who could
have sent it.” She took a deep breath. “I have some talent at
tracking people down myself and the IP address took me nowhere and
I don’t have the software I need to take it any further.”

Cody nodded slowly. “I need to show this to
Reese.”

“Your cousin, the detective?” Carilyn
asked.

“Yes.” Cody clicked the button to print and
the printer started humming. “It’s only a theory, but I’m afraid
this might be related to the arsonist.” He looked at her. “You are
not going anywhere without me.”

She dragged her hand down her braid and
started plucking the end, another one of her high anxiety habits.
She was aware of it, but she couldn’t get herself to stop doing it.
“I can’t just hide.”

Cody got up from his seat and took her by the
shoulders. “More importantly, you can’t take chances. Until this
guy is caught, you need to stay low.”

“What if it’s an idle threat?” She frowned.
“What if someone is trying to scare me as a prank?”

Cody didn’t release his light grip on her.
“One of the other arsonist’s victims is missing. Police don’t know
if it’s related, but this email concerns me.”

A cold chill prickled Carilyn’s skin.
“Missing?”

“It may be nothing.” Cody caressed her upper
arms soothingly. “But the police are treating it as a missing
person’s case.”

The thought that everything could be tied to
the arsonist made her stomach clench. “What do I do?”

“You continue to hang out with me.” He smiled
at her. “Is that such a bad thing?”

She couldn’t help a little smile. “These are
great lengths to go to in order to keep me around.”

He smiled in return, but it was a concerned
smile. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine. But I need my laptop
and software so that I can work to track down the S.O.B. who sent
the email. I also need to get clothes and toiletries.”

“I’ll take you to Leigh’s to get some of your
things.” Cody slid his hands down her arms and released her. “We’ll
go while it’s still broad daylight. Are you up to going now?”

“Now is good.” She followed him out the
office door. “I’ll get my purse.” She glanced down at his T-shirt
that she was wearing. “And I’ll put on my own clothes.”

“I’ll be in the kitchen,” he said.

She hurried down the hall and found that Cody
had washed her clothes while she slept and had stacked them in a
neat pile on the trunk at the foot of the bed. She pulled on her
T-shirt, jeans, socks, and shoes, taking her time because she still
wasn’t steady on her feet. When she was finished, she grabbed her
purse and headed back toward the kitchen.

Cody was leaning up against the counter with
a glass of milk in one hand and an Oreo cookie in the other. He
nodded toward the open package on the counter. “Cookie?”

“I’m still full from breakfast.” She cocked
her head to the side. “Isn’t it a little early to be eating
cookies?”

Cody gave her a quick grin. “It’s never too
early for Oreos.” He glanced at the clock. “Besides, it’s closing
in on eleven.”

“Wow.” She looked from the clock to him. “I
had no idea that much time had passed since breakfast.”

“We can hit the drive-thru on the way back
from Leigh’s place.” He put his empty milk glass in the dishwasher.
“There’s a great burger joint in town.”

After Cody put away the Oreos, he and Carilyn
left the house and climbed into his truck. She kept a tight grip on
her purse, as if that could protect her like some kind of shield.
Protect her from what, she wasn’t sure, but holding it to her chest
was somehow comforting.

“While you were getting dressed, I called
Reese.” Cody glanced from the road to Carilyn. “He said he was
concerned about your safety based on the letter and additional
circumstances.” Cody glanced back at the road. “He obtained a
warrant to search the first victim’s home, and it looked like there
could have been a fight inside, but it’s not conclusive.”

Carilyn sucked in her breath. “Do they think
it’s the same person who sent me the email?”

Cody’s expression grew grimmer. “They’ve sent
her computer to forensics but they did get a response back right
away to let Reese know they found an email from someone who called
himself Firebug.” Cody continued as hair rose on Carilyn’s arms,
“His message was a little different, but Reese thinks it might be
the same guy.”

Carilyn swallowed. “What did it say?”

“The email read, ‘I’m watching you,’” Cody
said. “And he used her name, too.”

Shaking her head, Carilyn rubbed her arms
with her palms. “This is crazy. I just got into town. I haven’t had
time to make any enemies.”

“I believe you may just have been in the
wrong place at the wrong time.” Cody’s knuckles whitened as he
gripped the steering wheel. “There are things I can’t tell you
about—not yet—that lead both Reese and me to that conclusion.”

“You asked me about having a doll with me in
my car and I told you no,” Carilyn said. “Does it have anything to
do with that?”

“I’ll tell you when I can,” Cody said and she
knew he wasn’t going to explain what was going on any more than
that.

When they reached Leigh’s home, Carilyn was
surprised to see a police cruiser and a sedan pulled up in front of
the house. Detective Reese McBride and a police officer in uniform
were standing on the porch.

She looked at Cody. “What are the police
doing here?”

“Insurance,” Cody said as he parked the
truck. “Just making sure it’s safe to go in.”

Cody jumped out of the truck, came around to
the passenger side, and opened the door. He took Carilyn’s hand.
“Easy does it,” he said.

“Thanks.” Her head was feeling a little
better, but still woozy and she was a little unsteady on her
feet.

Detective McBride walked toward them. “How
are you feeling, Ms. Thompson?” he asked. “Cody tells me you took a
spill from a horse.”

“Could be better,” she said, “but I’m doing
fine.”

“Do you have the key?” the detective
asked.

She handed over the key and stood on the
sidewalk beside the truck as he and the police officer checked the
house.

When they came out, Detective McBride was
frowning. “I need you to take a look at the house.”

Carilyn’s heart beat a little faster as they
walked up the stairs. “What’s wrong?”

He gestured to the front door. “Tell me if
the house is in the same condition you left it in.”

“All right.” Not knowing what to expect,
Carilyn stepped into the house. The hair on her arms rose.

It was a disaster with a vase shattered on
the floor, a lamp that had been knocked over and broken, couch
cushions in disarray, and a plant on its side and dirt spilled
across the floor.

“No.” She looked at the detective, the words
barely coming out of her mouth. “It was clean and orderly when I
left.”

“Why don’t you see if you notice anything
missing,” Detective McBride said.

“I don’t know that much about Leigh’s
things.” Carilyn picked her way through the mess. “So far I can’t
tell.” She knelt when she saw the framed photograph of Leigh,
Misha, and herself, and picked it up off the floor. The glass was
shattered. She shook her head and placed the photo on an end
table.

She made it to the guest bedroom, which had
been tossed, too. Her gaze fell on the place where the box for her
new computer had been and her stomach bottomed out. It was
gone.

“My new computer is missing.” She looked over
her shoulder at the detective and Cody who were watching. She went
to her suitcase. Everything had been thrown out and the software
that had been shipped to her was gone. She told the detective.
“That software can’t be used by anyone without an encrypted
passcode, so it’s not likely he can break into it.”

But that would mean she’d have to have more
software shipped to her and purchase another laptop. She put her
hand to her forehead, trying to hold back tears.

Cody was at her side in a moment, his arm
around her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

She held back a rush of emotion that made the
back of her eyes ache and her headache worsen. “I’m okay.” Her
voice cracked a little. “It’s just such a violation.”

“Yes, it is.” Cody squeezed her shoulders.
“Let’s get you out of here.”

“I need to change first and gather a few
things.” She looked at her clothing, which had been thrown all over
the room. “It might take me a few minutes.”

“Take your time,” Cody said and he and the
detective walked out of the bedroom and closed the door behind
them.

A tear trickled from her eye and she brushed
it away with the back of her hand. Crying wasn’t going to do a damn
bit of good. No, she had to get a computer and had to set it up.
She was going to find the bastard. And she was going to find him
soon.

* * * * *

Cody wanted Carilyn to go back to the ranch
and rest, but she convinced him that she needed to pick up another
laptop first. She knew what she wanted and needed, so it was just a
matter of getting a second one.

She also made a phone call to a co-worker who
said he’d get software she needed to do her job overnighted to her
again so that she could get it installed ASAP. He was a hacker, too
and was also sending her tracer software on the side.

When they reached the ranch Carilyn did
listen to Cody and laid down on the bed in the guestroom and took a
nap. She woke in the early evening and found that she was feeling
better. Her head hurt less and even though she felt bruised and
battered from the spill she’d taken, she felt stronger.

Still, the e-mailer who called himself
Firebug had her feeling uneasy and jumpy. The man, at least she
assumed it was a man, had not only sent her a threatening email,
but had probably been the one to tear apart Leigh’s house. The
thought of that violation caused anger to burn beneath her
skin.

After she had brushed her hair and washed her
face, she headed into the kitchen. A note that Cody had written was
on the kitchen island, telling her he was outside taking care of
chores and would be back shortly.

Her stomach growled. It had been awhile since
they’d eaten at a fast food place while they’d gone shopping. She
didn’t consider herself to be much of a cook, but she figured there
had to be something to throw together that would be easy and
palatable.

She searched through the pantry and saw that
he had a couple of boxes of spaghetti and a jar of red sauce. In
the freezer she found frozen vegetables—a man after her own heart.
Whenever she bought fresh vegetables they inevitably went bad
because of how little she cooked. She located hamburger in the
freezer, too. She also found a bag of salad, along with a bottle of
Thousand Island dressing as well as a bottle of ranch.

It wasn’t long before she’d made meatballs.
The spaghetti sauce bubbled in a small pot on the stove, and she
added the baked meatballs to it when it was time. She then put the
dry spaghetti into water she had boiling in a stockpot she’d found
in one of the cabinets. Veggies simmered on a back burner and the
salad was in a large bowl on the counter.

“Something smells good.” Cody’s deep voice
had Carilyn whirling around to face him.

“Spaghetti and meatballs,” she said. “I
assume you like spaghetti since it was in the pantry.”

The corner of his mouth curved up in a smile.
“You assume right.” His expression turned concerned. “How are you
feeling?”

“Much, much better.” She picked up a pair of
potholders she’d discovered in a drawer. She started to put them on
to lift the pot and pour the spaghetti into the colander she’d set
in the sink.

“Let me.” He took the potholders from her,
put them on, carried the stockpot to the sink, and poured the
spaghetti into the colander. “I don’t think you should be carrying
anything this heavy.”

She shook her head. “I think you’re worrying
too much about me.”

“I’m entitled.” He set the empty stockpot on
a trivet then shook the colander to get most of the water out. “I
watched you take a hell of a spill.”

“Well, I’m doing lots better.” She turned off
the burners that were beneath the veggies and sauce.

In a matter of moments, they had everything
on the table and were seated. Dinner was enjoyable and she was glad
he didn’t bring up “Firebug” or anything else that had happened.
When they’d finished dinner, they cleaned up. He said he’d offer
her a glass of wine but that she should stay away from alcohol
until she was fully healed from the concussion or it could delay
her healing.

Carilyn was surprised at how easily she had
settled in to staying with Cody despite the fact that they’d only
met a few days ago. She found she trusted him and was comfortable
with him.

After dinner, she asked Cody to play his
guitar. He got it out and sang as he played a few tunes for her. He
had a great singing voice and she loved listening to him. As far as
she was concerned, he finished too soon—she could listen to him all
night long and not get tired of it.

Once he’d put away his guitar, he suggested
watching a pay-per-view movie on cable. They picked out the latest
superhero movie when they discovered they each liked Spiderman,
Superman, Batman, Ironman, and any other number of superhero
movies. When she sat on the couch, he sat on it too, close but not
so close that she might feel he was going to try to be intimate.
She wasn’t ready for that. She still had a headache, not to mention
she didn’t plan on getting involved with him since she was here for
such a short amount of time.