Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Bianca watched his face as he listened.
For a moment he didn’t say anything. Then his expression shifted sharply. “Are you shitting me?” He straightened, one hand bracing against the bar. “Okay. Yeah.” Another pause. “No, I need to go down and talk to Quinn anyway.”
Bianca’s stomach tightened.
“Yeah, thanks, buddy. See what else you find out.” Adam ended the call and lowered the phone slowly.
“What’s going on?” Bianca asked. “Is it just destroyed?” She should have bought the insurance.
“Yeah,” Adam said, his eyes glittering with a hard light. “It’s not looking good. The front and side are pretty crumpled. Elbert’s going to give us a bid and then you can decide what you want to do.”
Bianca swallowed. “Okay?”
“But he did find one other thing.” Adam spoke through clenched teeth.
She gave an involuntary shiver. “What’s that?”
Adam held her gaze for a second before answering. “Your tire was blown out with a bullet.”
Bianca stilled from head to toe. “What?”
Adam rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “We didn’t see it last night because the tires were all muddy when I pulled you out of the ditch.” He glanced down at the phone still in his hand. “But once Elbert washed everything off and really looked at it, he found the hole.”
The air left Bianca’s lungs.
“Somebody shot out your tire,” Adam said quietly. “They made you wreck on purpose.”
CHAPTER 14
Bianca soon found herself sitting across from Sheriff Quinn Lodge at a heavy wooden desk stacked high with papers and thick file folders. The room smelled faintly of coffee, leather, and the clean bite of disinfectant that suggested someone had wiped everything down that morning. A wide window behind the sheriff looked out over Mineral Lake’s small main street. Sunlight filtered through the glass, catching on dust motes drifting lazily in the air.
Quinn Lodge filled the chair behind the desk with quiet authority. He was well over six feet tall with black hair cut short and even darker eyes that missed very little. His shoulders were broad beneath a plain dark T-shirt, and the hard lines of muscle along his arms suggested he spent plenty of time working outside rather than sitting at the desk. His badge rested beside a yellow legal pad where he was taking notes as Adam spoke.
Bianca took a moment and appreciated the guy. The men in Mineral Lake were seriously good-looking. She’d already noticed that fact several times since arriving in town. Ranch work, clean air, and long days outside apparently did wonders for them. A few of them would make fantastic extras in the film. Of course, that could be a problem too. If they were too good looking, they might pull attention away from the actors. Hollywood didn’t always appreciate competition from real life.
“How’s Juliet doing?” Adam asked as he settled his impressive bulk into the chair beside Bianca. The wooden seat creaked under his weight. “She owns the art gallery in town,” Adam added, glancing toward Bianca. “You should pop by there. There are some amazing pieces.”
Bianca perked up. While she didn’t usually deal much with interior design for filming locations, knowing a good artist or art dealer could be incredibly helpful. Props departments often needed pieces on short notice. “I will,” she said.
Quinn looked up from his notes. “My poor wife is sicker than a dog,” he muttered. “She caught the flu.”
“Ooh.” Adam winced. “I’m sorry. It’s going through your family like wildfire.”
“It’s not just my family.” Quinn looked back down at his pad and scribbled another note. “It’s the whole community. Make sure you’re taking your vitamins. Leila and Dawn are down, too. So far, Hawk and I are the only ones who haven’t caught it.” He shook his head. “The rest of them don’t take their vitamins.”
Bianca grinned. “I’m not sure vitamins ward off the flu.”
“Well, I’m not sick,” Quinn continued to write the report.
“You’re too stubborn to get sick,” Adam drawled.
Quinn looked up. “I know.” He tapped the pen against the legal pad before looking at Bianca again. “You have absolutely no idea who would be leaving you notes or shooting at your tires?”
“None,” she said.
Quinn nodded slowly. “There were a couple of people who spoke out against the film at the public hearing.”
“Yeah,” Adam said. “I already have a list written down.”
Quinn glanced up. “Who was it?”
“The Rockefellers and their Concerned Citizens crew,” Adam said. “Also, Pike, Thatcher, and Boyd protested the idea of movie people in town, and so did I.” He glanced at Bianca. “Still do. Also, I saw Pike and Boyd today, and I can’t imagine either of them leaving stupid notes.”
Quinn rubbed a hand along his jaw. “It doesn’t seem like either of them, but I still want to talk to them. Then I’ll head out and speak with that citizens group.”
“I’ll come with you,” Adam said.