Page 45 of Hostile Witness
Hmm.She walked the circumference of the tree, considering her view from every angle. The size of the tree simply begged for the hostas. Decision made, she stood back to double-check.
Her heart stuttered. Was that a camera winking at her from about ten feet up?Omigod.It was aimed directly at the front of her house. What pervert would mount a camera on her tree? Could they see in her windows?Holy crap.
She marched to the garage, grabbed her ladder, and climbed up to remove the damn thing, but it was mounted in such a way that it wouldn’t come off.What the hell?
Maybe it was time to call her uncle? He’d shoot it down. And although Carson had worked very hard to keep an eye on her and was overprotective, he simply wouldn’t stoop low enough to install a secret camera and watch her day and night. The goose bumps on her arms agreed.
Which left her with the same question: Who had put a camera on the tree?
With her nerves jumping and temper flaring, she checked to see where Carson was now. Calling him while he was at work wasn’t cool. Wait—she was sharing locations with Ethan? How? She remembered verbally agreeing to it on a temporary basis until the lieutenant’s killer was caught.But... hold on.She hadn’t actuallyset uplocation sharing with Ethan on her phone.
She closed her eyes and thought a minute. The only time she locked her phone was when she traveled. Tia worried her bottom lip. Had Ethan gone ahead and set it up for her? Without saying anything? Without asking?
What the hell? Phones were personal spaces. She’d never touch anyone’s phone without permission. Maybe the good detective wasn’t as honest as he appeared on the surface?
Oh lordy.What if he was a control freak like Brent had been? No freaking way would she tolerate another man with sneaky habits. Her fist clenched as indignation surged.
Returning to the short list of people who shared her location, she pondered Ethan’s name. Had he gone behind her back and done this? Her spine tickled with unease. He didn’t seem the type, but if she’d learned anything in the past few years... looks could be deceiving.
Nah.She tried to shake it off. If Ethan did this, he wanted to protect her, even if his methods were highly questionable.
More than highly questionable. He should’ve asked to access her phone. Or at the very least, reminded her a time or two to handle it herself.
Tia spun around, facing the tree. And where the hell had that camera come from? Who was casing her house and watching the video feed? Were they planning a robbery, or posting videos of her in her house on social media? She had to find out. Now.
She hurried Flynn into the car, checked Ethan’s location, and managed a choking laugh. This side trip would either be a disaster or a bit of fun. Either way, she’d get an answer.
Tia foundhim in the big grocery store on 90thstreet. After she checked with the office and courteously identified Flynn as a K9, the manager waved her the go-ahead. She grabbed one of those coveted small carts, turned a wide corner, and located her suspect perusing the meat cases at the far end.
She squared her shoulders. The temptation to let go of Flynn’s leash and give the attack command was damn near overpowering.Fass, Flynn, fass.How priceless would it be to watch Ethan anticipate the hit and go down with a twelve-poundspiral-sliced honey ham in his beefy hands? But there were several people with carts in the aisle, and seeing as this was her favorite grocery store, she couldn’t let that happen.
Flynn’s tail thumped in time to the store music, which meant he’d already spied Ethan. Or scented him. One could never be sure which it was with this dog. A few feet at a time, Tia browsed the meat cases, tossing several packages of sale-priced ground lamb into the cart. And because it was a healthy craving, she grabbed a bag of fresh sauerkraut. But wait, organic extra-firm tofu was on sale. She stacked several in her cart.
Flynn’s happy wag was starting to produce a breeze. His whole body shimmied as his head swiveled back and forth between Ethan and Tia. He peered at Tia and whined the softest plea.
Okay, okay. I know you like him.She, however, was on the fence since discovering he might have touched her phone, not to mention the hell there’d be if he was responsible for the camera on her tree.
Nonchalantly, she pretended to eyeball the chicken thighs versus the bone-in breasts while inching her cart closer to his. He was holding an entire beef tenderloin and inspecting it for—she assumed—gristle and fat.
Flynn expectantly stared her down, willing her to acknowledge Ethan’s presence.
She rolled her cart one final time and bumped into the detective’s. Glancing in his direction, she said, “Oh, sorry about that.”
Ethan looked up. His eyes immediately softened when he saw her. “Hey, T, what are you two doing here?” He got down on one knee, giving Flynn the praise and attention he’d been craving.
She ran a hand through her hair. “We were in the neighborhood. I figured it was a good time to stock up for the week.”
He casually scanned the contents of her cart. “You like tofu?”
“Yeah, I prep it ahead of time for lunches.”
“Sauerkraut, huh? I already know who’s going to eat the ground lamb,” he murmured with a raised eyebrow glance in Flynn’s direction.
Tia peered into his cart. “Are you planning on devouring that whole tenderloin?”
A small smile tugged at his lips. “Uh, no, I’ve got a friend flying in from Baltimore in the next day or two.”
Her eyes widened. “Flying from Baltimore?”