Belonging (21 page)

That day would never come, she thought sadly,
her heart filled with an inexplicable emptiness. She had let Matt
come far too close already. Even though she had seen the gentle,
caring side of him, she knew he could be as strong and forceful as
Evan had been, and that made her wary of him. Matt was so
determined. But so was she.

No, that day would never come. She would see
to it. Somehow...

***

Spirits at the Hall household on Sunday,
although not at an all-time low, certainly could have been
improved upon. Angie had tossed and turned the night before and
woke bleary-eyed with a nagging headache. The girls reacted to the
news of Spooky's disappearance exactly the way she'd said they
would. They were crushed. As for her own blue mood, she refused to
examine the source, though she told herself firmly it had nothing
to do with Matt Richardson! The three of them moped around the
house, and even a trip to McDonald's that evening failed to cheer
up the two youngsters.

More from a sense of duty than any real hope,
on Monday she placed an ad in the lost and found column of the
newspaper, just in case Spooky turned up. Then she spent the day
buried under a mountain of paperwork, though one reprieve came when
the council ratified the city's budget that evening. By
Wednesday, what with trying to muster support for the city hall
renovations and the women's shelter, she felt as if she'd stepped
onto a merry-go-round.

Her work had always served as a way of
getting her mind off any personal problems she faced, allowing her
to put things in perspective. But as the week wore on, she felt the
tight rein she usually kept on her emotions slipping further and
further from her grasp.

She heard nothing from Matt. During
Thursday's staff meeting he was polite, courteous but, above all,
so damn businesslike she could have screamed with frustration. The
moments she'd spent in his arms, his lips coaxing a warm response
from hers, might never have happened.

Perhaps he'd finally decided to take her at
her word. She'd said she wasn't ready for a man in her life, and,
at long last, he must have realized she meant it.

In the cold light of day, she told herself
that was what she wanted. She couldn't risk any kind of
relationship with Matt, and if she'd let him believe otherwise,
she'd have been guilty of leading him on. But in the dark hours of
the night, when loneliness ran high and her defenses ebbed low, she
missed him. She missed his late-night phone calls, his smile that
eased the harshness of his features, the oddly tender light in his
eyes, his gentle humor.

Matt, on the other hand, was feeling just as
uncertain. He was at a total loss over how to proceed with her.
Already he felt as if he'd been dragging his feet forever. Patience
and understanding had gotten him nowhere, but at the same time he
knew a woman like Angie would rebel just as fiercely if he decided
to come on strong and determined. In fact, he thought grimly,
nothing would send her running in the opposite direction more
quickly than a few caveman tactics. If it hadn't been for the times
he glimpsed a certain wistfulness in her eyes when she thought he
wasn't looking, he might indeed have given up on her.

By Friday Matt was miserable, and Angie
wasn't any closer to understanding what was in her heart.

Even Todd, showing an unusual sensitivity,
noticed her blue mood. "Is something bothering you?" he asked
point-blank in her office early that afternoon.

Other than the fact my life has been turned
upside down lately, not a thing. She bit back the uncharacteristic
sarcasm and forced herself to lean back in her chair. "Not a
thing," she said briefly. Todd hadn't made any more overtures
toward her, but the friendly companionship they had once shared was
gone. They had even disagreed over some city-related matters,
something that had rarely happened before.

"Is it that incident with your cat?" he asked
suddenly. "Or the vandalism in your yard?" He shrugged. "I
wouldn't worry about it if I were you. Probably just some rowdy kid
in the neighborhood."

"Matt Richardson thinks the two incidents are
connected." The words were no sooner out than she was annoyed with
herself once more. He had already dominated her thoughts to the
nth degree, and here she was talking about him!

Todd's smile was skeptical. "Coming from
Chicago, he probably thinks there's a mugger lurking around every
corner, too."

Angie said nothing. Not only did she have no
desire to discuss either the two incidents or Matt, but she had the
vague feeling that Todd disliked Matt.

The next second her hand was on the intercom.
"Georgia, would you see if Steve Jackson is free for lunch next
Monday?"

"Sure thing, boss," came the disembodied
reply.

Todd lifted an eyebrow. "Still trying to woo
him over to your side of the fence on the city hall issue?"

For some reason his tone rankled. "Something
wrong with that?" she asked coolly.

There was a thoughtful expression on his
face. "Steve seems pretty adamant in his support of a new
building—"

"And so are John Curtis and Mike Matthews."
She gave him a long, hard look. "It isn't going to stop me from
trying."

"I don't know, Angie," he said with a shrug.
"Hard to believe, but the money's there. A lot of people think a
new building is the way to go." He smiled and added mildly, "Since
it's not an election year, you don't have to be overly concerned
about the voters rallying against you."

Angie couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"That doesn't even enter into it, and you know it! We've had public
feedback that proves there are just as many people who think a new
building is a frivolous expense," she countered hotly. "And there
are other services that will go up in smoke unless we renovate and
use the excess monies elsewhere. It's a question of priorities,
Todd!"

He frowned across at her. "Don't be so
defensive, Angie. I'm on your side, you know."

"It doesn't sound like it," she retorted. He
had the grace to look a little sheepish, and she found her anger
dwindling. She pushed herself to her feet and rose to stare
pensively out the window. The bright blue sky was cloudless,
providing a colorful background for the lush green forests
carpeting the ridges of the foothills to the east. The quiet
serenity of the scene before her reminded her only too clearly of
the tumultuous state of her emotions lately.

"I'm sorry, Todd," she said after a moment.
"I haven't been in the best of moods all week." She turned slightly
and offered a weary smile. "Maybe I've been cooped up inside too
long. Summertime blue, I suppose."

"Maybe what you need is a day off," he
suggested warmly. "Or better yet, a night out."

Angie began to shake her head, but suddenly
the door burst open and Georgia rushed in.

"Will you look at this!" she announced. "Of
all the nerve! Why, if I knew who did this I'd..."

The rest of her threat was lost on Angie as
she walked over to pick up the piece of paper Georgia had flung
down on her desk. She quickly scanned the typewritten message.

If you know what's good for you, Mayor Hall,
you'll change your mind on the city hall issue. If you don't stop
fighting those of us who want the new building, your cat
disappearing will be the least of your worries. I'll be watching,
Mayor, and waiting. Don't disappoint me, or you'll be sorry.
Because next time it might not be your car, or your yard, or your
cat...

An acrid taste rose in her throat. "Spooky,"
she whispered, turning pale. Matt was right. Spooky had been
snatched deliberately.

A low whistle sounded behind her. Todd had
come up and was reading the note over her shoulder. "You think this
is a joke?" he asked quietly. He took it from her hand, his eyes
moving over it once more.

Angie thought of Spooky's body, lying limp
and cold. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "No," she said
tonelessly. "No joke." Her legs felt like rubber as she eased
herself into her chair.

The room was deathly quiet. At any other time
the sight of Georgia wringing her hands fretfully might have made
Angie laugh. But laughter was the furthest thing from her mind.

The sudden rap on the door made her jump. She
looked up to see Sam Nelson poke his head inside the door. "There
you are," he boomed at Georgia. "Can't seem to stay away from this
place, so I thought I'd..." His voice faded when he saw the somber
faces of the three occupants.

Angie managed a halfhearted smile and waved
him to a chair. "Just like old times, Sam. Seems we have a minor
crisis on our hands."

"Minor!" Georgia gave her a withering look
and hastened toward Sam, the letter in her hand. "Take a gander at
this, Sam!"

Sam ran a hand over his chin when he'd
finished reading it and looked across at Angie. "Considering all
that's happened lately, I don't think I'd take this too lightly if
I were you."

"Why do you think he says losing her cat will
be the least of her worries?" Georgia asked him anxiously, standing
at his side.

"It's obvious," Todd interjected bluntly.
"It's a threat. Support the new building or else."

"A threat?" At that, a hot tide of anger
suddenly surged through Angie. "Dammit, I'm not letting someone
push me around over something as important as this!"

Todd shook his head slowly. "I don't know,
Angie. I think Sam may be right. Whoever wrote this means
business." His eyes met hers. "You'd better be careful."

The need for caution was the only thing the
four of them could agree upon. When Todd left for an appointment
fifteen minutes later, Georgia wasted no time in picking up the
phone on Angie's desk.

"Who are you calling?" Angie asked
suspiciously. She didn't like the utterly determined look on her
assistant's face.

"Who do you think?" Georgia pushed her
glasses up on her head. "Georgia Hendricks for Chief Richardson,
please," she said crisply into the receiver.

Angie's arm shot out to break the connection,
but Georgia snatched the phone up against her ample bosom and
smiled smugly.

Angie didn't bother to listen to the brief
conversation between her assistant and Matt. She was too busy
fuming. "There's no need to bring Matt Richardson

into this," she said angrily when Georgia
hung up. "Is there, Sam?"

Sam didn't have the chance to get a word in
edgewise.

"No need!" Georgia's eyes fairly sparked. "I
suppose if you got a bomb threat you'd sit back and do nothing,
too! Sam, tell her this is serious!"

"Seems to me you're doing a pretty good job
of it yourself." Sam patted her hand and smiled encouragingly up
at her.

Smitten! The man was utterly smitten! It was
clear to Angie she would get no help from his direction. "This is
hardly as serious as a bomb threat," Angie tried to reason with
Georgia.

Georgia propped her hands on her hips and
gazed down her nose at Angie. "You and Matt Richardson may have had
a lovers' tiff, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a
matter for the police."

Lovers' tiff! Angie glanced at Sam, her
cheeks reddening guiltily. "That's not the case at all," she
muttered stiffly. "First of all, there's nothing at all going on
between Matt Richardson and me."

Georgia's snort spoke far more eloquently
than words. Sam cleared his throat and looked away.

Angie glared at her. "Second of all," she
added firmly, "this letter is probably just—"

It was this scene that Matt walked into.
"What's up?" he asked casually. "Georgia said it was urgent." He
noticed Sam and nodded to him.

"Damn right it's urgent!" Georgia thrust the
letter at him. "Feast your eyes on that!"

The letter in his hands, Matt eased himself
onto a corner of Angie's desk. Only an arm's length away, Angie's
heart began to do double duty. She'd put the moments spent in his
arms firmly out of her mind, or so she thought until suddenly the
memories came rushing back.

She couldn't stop her eyes from roving over
him. He'd apparently come straight from his office and hadn't
bothered to don his suit jacket. His tie was loosened, and at the
sight of the springy dark hairs nestled at the base of his throat,
she felt the urge to explore further inside his crisp white shirt.
He'd rolled his shirtsleeves up to his elbows, and his muscular
forearms, liberally covered with the same dark hair, only enhanced
his masculinity.

When her gaze moved reluctantly upward, the
hard expression on his face put a halt to any further meandering
of her mind.

"How and when did this arrive?" His eyes
flashed among the three other occupants of the office.

It was Georgia who responded. "About half an
hour ago. With the rest of the day's mail."

"Do you still have the envelope it came
in?"

Georgia nodded and disappeared into the outer
office. Returning, she told him, "It's postmarked yesterday. From
here in town."

Matt nodded. He asked for a large manila
envelope and slipped both the letter and its original envelope
inside.

"Are you going to check for fingerprints?"
Georgia cast an I-told-you-so look at Angie.

"We can try," Matt replied. "But the only way
we can come up with anything is if we can get a good clear print
and if it belongs to someone with an arrest record." He rubbed his
jaw thoughtfully. "That might not be the case here."

"Oh." Georgia's face fell. "I thought you
could tell just about anyone's."

"This is real life, not Hollywood," Sam
injected dryly.

Matt echoed the sentiment. "Did anyone touch
the letter besides the two of you?"

"Just Todd," Georgia replied.

"Todd Austin? The city manager?"

Angie nodded. "He was here when it
arrived."