“If you’re trying to spook me—”

  The older man shook his head. “Humans gather for the same reasons. We’re safer not being alone. Crows are smart enough to know that.”

  Jasper chuckled. “I get it.”

  “Good, because Bessie misses you at breakfast,” Earl Ray said as he walked Jasper to the door. “She thinks you’re avoiding her.”

  * * *

  JASPER GROANED. EARL RAY knew why he’d been avoiding the café and town in general. But it bothered him that Bessie thought he was avoiding her. In truth, he’d been avoiding Gossip, avoiding running into Leviathan Nash and keeping his distance from Darby.

  He was a lone crow. And it was all out of nothing more than cowardice, he told himself as he left. Was Earl Ray worried that like a lone crow, he was in danger because of it?

  Shaking his head, he told himself that nonetheless, he was glad to hand off the bag full of hair and the cup. He felt relief—and anxiety. He found himself hoping there would be a match on one of the databases. At least that would put an end to Darby’s investigation if she knew the man’s real name.

  If the man calling himself Leviathan Nash was a known crook and Darby exposed him, maybe residents might lose interest in what the probable con man had to “sell” them. But at the same time, it would put Darby in danger when she wrote about it—depending on exactly what kind of criminal record the man had.

  Even though Jasper had told Darby not to expect much, he realized that he was anticipating the man would have an extensive criminal record. Which meant Leviathan Nash might be more dangerous than even he feared.

  He tried to tell himself that once exposed, Leviathan would probably disappear as quickly as he’d appeared—and take the rest of his secrets with him.

  Including whatever secret the man had for him.

  That thought disturbed him more than he wanted to admit. He would never know whatever Leviathan Nash had to tell him. All his instincts warned him that he didn’t want to know.

  But how badly did the man want—or was it need—to tell him? The bigger question was what Leviathan would do if he kept refusing.

  * * *

  AFTER EARL RAY got the DNA sample sent to a friend, he put it out of his mind. He was determined to get his and Bessie’s house ready so they could finally move in. Since they’d gotten married, their lives had been up in the air. He’d sold his house that he’d shared with his now deceased wife, Tory, and bought this one and gone to work.

  It had been hard to sell the house, feeling like another betrayal. He’d told himself that Tory would be glad he’d found love again. He hoped it was true.

  Bessie had kept her little house for the time being. She also had her café and bakery, both of which had kept her plenty busy. He knew she needed a familiar routine. Not that she didn’t love baking. Also the town loved her baked goods. If the day ever came that she quit... He hoped it would be her choice.

  He had Bessie on his mind, which had been the case for years. He loved her and marrying her had been the smartest thing he’d ever done. He just wished he’d done it sooner. But for years, he’d felt he was betraying his late wife, Tory, by falling in love with Bessie. When he’d realized that he might lose Bessie... Well, he’d smartened up and told her how he felt. Proposing had been a no-brainer. He wanted her for keeps.

  With Bessie and the house remodel on his mind, he hadn’t noticed the small white bag hanging on his front door until he returned from the hardware store. He had a large sack filled with hinges, screws and nails and was pushing open the door when he saw it.

  He frowned and pulled the small white bag free. As he did, the sack in his other hand clattered to the floor, spilling boxes of screws and nails and hinges on the wood porch.

  Earl Ray stared at the small bag almost in disbelief. Bessie had been keeping him abreast of the goings-on at Gossip and the rumors circulating through town. That was why he was so shocked. He’d heard about the invitations, but he hadn’t expected to get one. Any secrets he had weren’t the kind a con man could uncover. What could Leviathan Nash have to share with him? It made no sense.

  Scooping up everything he’d bought at the hardware store and the small white bag, he stepped into the house, letting the door close behind him. In the kitchen, he put down everything on the table, surprised how scared he suddenly was. He could understand how the locals had felt when they’d gotten their invitations—especially after the rumors had started to circulate. They might have been excited, honored to be singled out—until they’d realized why.

  What could Leviathan Nash—or whatever his name was—have to tell him? He’d come to Buckhorn in his twenties on a trip through the state while on military leave and met Victoria “Tory” Crenshaw as she was getting off a bus. It was by chance that they’d settled here. It wasn’t like he’d grown up here.

  His stomach sank as he realized who had grown up here. Bessie, the woman he loved and had only recently married.

  Earl Ray pulled out a chair and dropped into it. He thought he would be sick. For years, he’d held Bessie in the highest esteem... The last thing he wanted to know was anything bad about her. He would have sworn that they had no secrets from each other.

  But Leviathan Nash’s calling card, so to speak, was bad news that turned people’s lives upside down. Earl Ray was happy. He didn’t want his life upside down or inside out.

  He thought about Jasper throwing his invitations away as he picked up his own. He didn’t want to know. Whatever it was, he told himself that there was nothing he needed to know about Bessie. He already knew everything he needed to know about her. He hated to admit it, but he’d done a full background check on her a long time ago. There was nothing to find.

  Or was there? Swallowing, he turned the business card over in his fingers. At heart, he was an investigator. He could feel the need to know pushing aside the fear of what he might find out. He wasn’t that much different from Darby and it was one reason he respected her.

  He tried to assure himself that whatever Leviathan Nash had to tell him was a lie. But unfortunately that hadn’t been the case apparently with what the man had told other Buckhorn citizens. Just the thought that this con man would try to besmirch Bessie’s good name...

  Earl Ray prided himself on his ability to stay calm in the worst of circumstances. He drew on that ability now. He thought of Jasper, who’d thrown away the two invitations he’d gotten. Ignoring the invitation was a thought.

  But unfortunately, Earl Ray knew he could not. Had he known what he would do even before he’d seen the bag hanging on his door? He’d been invited inside the lion’s den. How could he pass up the chance to make his own assessment of the man calling himself Leviathan Nash? Didn’t he owe it to the town he’d sworn he would protect?

  He realized that he’d been falling down on his duty to the town since the man had arrived with his poisonous gossip. Earl Ray should have been the one to find out that there was no one by the name of Leviathan Nash before the local newspaperwoman did. He should have protected the town and its residents. He couldn’t turn a blind eye anymore.

  Both angry and scared, he picked up the invitation to check the time of his “special showing.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  MONDAY MORNING, DARBY leaned an elbow on her desk and stared at her computer. She needed more on Gossip and its owner. She’d written about the so-called opening of Gossip the first week. The second she’d written Vi’s story and more about Gossip and Leviathan Nash. She needed something new if she was going to keep writing about the man and his shop.

  She still had more questions than answers. Unless she heard about the DNA on the hair, the fingerprints on the cup, she had nothing new to say about Gossip or Leviathan Nash.

  Last week she’d debated holding the story, but had ended up running it. She’d hoped that locals would read Vi’s story and keep their distance from Gossip, but that hadn’t happened. More people had gone. Unfortunately, none of them wanted to talk about it after they’d gone inside.

  She sighed and looked up, startled to see a man standing on the street in front of her office window. More startling was the fact that he was the last person she’d expect to see in Buckhorn—not to mention the last person she ever wanted to see again.

  Just when she was about to duck behind her large plant, he stepped closer, cupped his hands around his eyes and leaned into the glass to stare right at her. She froze as he smiled, stepped back and headed toward her front door. It was unlocked and there wasn’t time to reach it and bolt it shut. She held her breath as he stepped into her tiny office.

  “Aiden? What are you doing here?” she demanded, surprised how angry and scared she was to see him again.

  “What are you doing here is more the question,” he said as he sent a disparaging glance over her office. “This is...” He seemed at a loss for words.

  “My newspaper office,” she said, gearing up for a fight. “So you can just wipe that look off your face because I don’t like it.”

  He settled his gaze on her. “There seems to be a lot of things you don’t like. Me included.”

  Darby looked away. She just wanted him out of her office. What was he doing in Buckhorn anyway? What were the chances that he’d just been passing through town? She got to her feet. “We’ve already had this discussion. There really isn’t anything left to say.”

  His laugh had an edge to it. “You had your say, that’s for sure.” He glared at her. “But I didn’t. You never gave me a chance.”

  “Aiden, I really don’t have time for this. I have a newspaper to get out.” She could see that he had to bite his tongue not to say something demeaning. She wasn’t going to argue with him, even if he hadn’t scared her the last time she saw him.

  “I’m not leaving town,” he said. “Where would you suggest I stay?”

  He looked as if he thought she might offer her apartment upstairs. Was he that delusional? “It’s early spring so not a lot has opened yet for the season. Perhaps someplace in the next town.”

  He mugged a face. “I’m staying in Buckhorn.”

  “Then your best bet is a room at the Sleepy Pine Motel. It’s right down the highway on the way out of town. I really don’t see any reason for you to stay since—”

  “I came a long way to see you,” he interrupted. “I’m sure you can spare a few minutes. After all, we were engaged to be married. If you’re too busy to talk now, then why don’t you stop by my motel room later.”

  “No.”

  He looked at her as if he couldn’t believe she’d just said that.

  “If you’re determined to talk, let’s meet at the café. It’s just down the street. I could be there by...six.” She didn’t want to meet him, but she told herself she’d let him have his say and then maybe he would leave town. She wasn’t going anywhere near his motel room, though.

  “Fine.” With that he turned on his heel and left.

  The moment he closed the door, she jumped up and locked it. She tried to breathe. Aiden. She had hoped to never see him again. She’d never dreamed that he would track her down. That he would show up in Buckhorn. That he would think there was anything he could say to make her change her mind about him.

  Still shaking inside, she sat back down at her computer. She had to get the newspaper out. Pushing all thoughts of him from her mind, she began to do a last edit on what she’d written. She thought of Jasper. Had he done something with what she’d taken from Leviathan Nash’s cabin? She thought about calling him, but didn’t have the time to rewrite her entire article on Gossip.

  Anyway, when he found out something, he would let her know—especially if the DNA sample didn’t provide any answers. She hated to think of how he would gloat if it turned out that Leviathan Nash was just an old man trying to make a living with a stage name. But she didn’t believe that for a moment.

  Surely if the man’s DNA got a match on some criminal database Jasper wouldn’t try to keep it from her to protect her? No, she told herself. He was worried about her. If Leviathan was as dangerous as she suspected, Jasper would warn her. She thought of what they’d shared so long ago and sighed.

  Meanwhile, she had problems of her own, she thought with a shudder. Aiden. Why had she agreed to meet him at all? Because she got the impression he wouldn’t leave until she did. Better in a public place.

  First the newspaper, she told herself, pulling herself back from those dark thoughts. Then she would deal with Aiden. But even as she thought it, she had to admit that she was scared of him. What had possessed him to follow her to Buckhorn? His reasons for being here made her uneasy. He wanted something from her for him to come all this way. It was over. He knew that, didn’t he?

  She thought about what had made her finally break up with him. She’d been trying to put distance between them, having realized that they were all wrong for each other. He wasn’t the man she wanted to spend even the next date night with—let alone the rest of her life. Since the engagement, he’d become too possessive, too controlling, too much of everything she didn’t need or want.

  She’d decided to break up with him that Friday night. But he’d showed up unexpectedly at her door Thursday night late. He’d been drinking. She could smell the liquor on his breath when she’d opened the door and tried to send him away.

  But he’d pushed past her, knocking her aside. She’d never seen him like that, but as she’d stared after him, she’d realized that it hadn’t come as a surprise. She had sensed something just below the surface as if he made a special effort to control his temper around her.

  Until that night.

  “You’ve been avoiding me,” he’d said, raising his voice. “What the hell is going on?”

  “It’s late. Let’s not get into this now,” she’d said, trying to lower the heat she saw in his glazed eyes.

  “No, we’re going to do this now,” he’d insisted, taking a step toward her. “You tell me what’s going on right now or I’ll—” He’d stopped when he’d seen the cell phone in her hand and her finger on the send button. “Tell me you aren’t calling the cops,” he’d said between gritted teeth. “That would not be smart on your part.” He took a threatening step toward her.

  “Leave now,” she said and pushed Send.

  He swore and started to launch himself at her. She grabbed the back of the chair nearest her and hurled it into his path.

  “911. What is your emergency?” came the voice over the phone. She’d put it on speaker.

  “My boyfriend has been drinking and has forced his way into my apartment. I’ve asked him to leave and he won’t. He just threatened me.”

  “What is your name and address?”

  She rattled it off as Aiden took a step back, raking a hand through his hair and swearing.

  “What is his name?” the operator asked.

  “I’m leaving!” Aiden yelled as he righted the chair and started past Darby. “Hear that, bitch? I’m leaving. But this isn’t over. You’ll pay for this.” As he passed Darby, he slapped the phone out of her hand. It skittered across the floor. She could hear the operator asking if she was all right. “I’ll be back,” he whispered before slamming the front door behind him.

  She’d locked the door before picking up the phone. The operator was still there, asking what was going on.

  “He left and I locked the door,” Darby had told her. She was fighting tears. “I don’t think he’ll be back.”

  “I wouldn’t count on that,” the operator had said. “Is this the first time he’s been violent?”

  “Yes.”

  The operator lowered her voice. “It won’t be the last. Honey, cut him loose and save yourself a lot of grief.”

  She realized that her hand holding the phone was trembling. “I was already planning to.”

  “You might consider getting a restraining order. But don’t hesitate to call and don’t let him in your apartment again.”

  She’d thanked the operator and burst into tears.

  The next morning she’d called Aiden and told him it was over. He’d pleaded with her not to break things off, saying how sorry he was, that it had been alcohol talking not him.

  But she hadn’t weakened. She’d had the engagement ring sent by special courier, forcing him to sign for it so she knew he’d gotten it.

  She’d been so sure it was over and they both knew it. Only apparently she’d been wrong. Aiden had tracked her down here in Buckhorn and was refusing to leave until he had his say. She didn’t trust him. Something must have happened for him to come all this way. She’d sensed his anger just under the surface ready to come flying out at the least provocation.

  Darby shuddered as she looked toward the window at the fading light. She should never have agreed to meet him. But he’d been in her office, with no way to get away from him. She much preferred a public place to meet. Even as she thought it, she considered calling the marshal, but Aiden hadn’t really threatened her. Yet.

  Turning back to her computer and her weekly newspaper, she hit Send. All her instincts told her not to go alone to the café this evening to meet Aiden.

  * * *

  JASPER HEARD A text come in on his phone and was surprised to see a copy of the Buckhorn Independent Press. He felt his pulse jump. What had Darby written about Gossip and Leviathan Nash now? He’d already read about the opening and Vi’s story.

  He saw that there didn’t seem to be anything new—just more on the marshal’s report on the incidents that had been happening in town. She asked readers who’d been inside the shop to contact her and share their experiences.