David glanced at Alex, frowned, but said nothing as he checked his watch. “We’ll do a five-mile run today. Check your watches. Let’s see what you can shave off your time.”

Leah checked her watch, knowing a personal best today would be finishing. She stretched along with the others, grateful Alex kept his distance from her. The less said, the better.

The first half mile of the run was rough. Her muscles complained about the work and her lungs stung each time she pulled in cold air. But she kept putting one step in front of the other and slowly her body warmed and found its steady rhythm. Days ago, she could have looked to the front of the group and seen Deidre’s long lean body eating up the distance with ease. But today it was Alex alone, running ahead of everyone. He moved from the track down the small trail cutting through the woods. Seconds later, he was out of sight.

The woods around her grew thicker with each pace, but as long as she could hear the foot strikes of the others she was fine. She sensed Alex was always close.

Managing a decent pace today, she never fell so far behind that she couldn’t hear the other runners. She was improving.

Alex had run point so that he could scan the woods for anyone that might be waiting or watching Leah. When he finished his run easily in forty minutes, he stopped at the mouth of the trail, waiting as each runner emerged.

There’d been a total of eleven today. David was first to emerge and then several other men. A few women reached the end five minutes later, and after another twenty minutes all were out except Leah. Nothing to be alarmed about. She ran slowly. Hell, when he thought about the medical records he’d read yesterday, it was a wonder she ran at all.

David walked up to him. “Leah is always the last one out.”

“Right.”

He hitched his hands on his hips. “Deidre always had a thing about waiting for her. Didn’t like leaving her alone in the woods. Since . . . well, since Deidre’s death, I figured I’d wait for Leah.”

“You don’t have to wait. I got this.” He cupped his gloved hands close to his mouth and blew hot air out to warm his fingertips.

“Any leads on Deidre’s killer?”

“Working on it.” He studied the still, quiet entrance to the path, very tempted to jog into the woods and check on her.

“She wouldn’t like that,” David said.

“What?”

“Deidre went in after her once. When I saw Deidre come out of the woods, I asked her about Leah. She said Leah was polite but not really happy. She didn’t like being babysat.”

Alex checked his watch. Whether she liked it or not, she had two more minutes before he went in after her.

“She’ll be here soon,” David said. “She’s slow as hell.”

“Never quits.”

“Yeah, I guess that should mean something. But let’s face it, they don’t hand out trophies for last place.”

“Right.”

“She’s odd.”

“Really?”

“I offered to pick her up before a run session, but she came up with a reason to meet me here. Seemed kinda nervous that I knew where she lived.”

“You run with her, but that doesn’t mean you know her or she knows you.”

David shrugged. “I just wanted to give her a ride to the group. Trying to be a gentleman.”

“Right.”

“I haven’t heard about a funeral date yet,” David said.

“No news yet.”

“God, I hope you catch the creep.”

“I will.” He stared at the woods, his internal clock ticking. She had one more minute and then he was going in to find her.

“She’s a veterinarian, you know?”

“I’d heard that.”

“Got to be smart to pull that off.”

“So I hear.”

He leaned in, as if they were conspirators. “A couple of weeks ago, I touched her on the shoulder and she froze up like I’d done something terrible. She shrugged and stepped away. Lots of issues with that one. And you’ve seen the scars.”

“Yes.”

“Leah and Deidre were pals. Have you asked Leah where she was the night Deidre was stabbed? She’s just weird enough, and it doesn’t take much to wield a knife.”

“Really?”

Color warmed his face. “Look, I’m not trying to lay blame on Leah.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“But you came by my office asking questions.”

“I’m asking a lot of people questions.”

“Just so you know, Deidre and I’d planned to take a break from each other.”

“You said that.”

“It was all hot and heavy last summer, but things really cooled off in the last couple of months. I think I was the excuse she needed to leave her husband. It was never a long-term thing with her.”

“Did that piss you off?”

“No. Deidre and I had fun. That was enough for me.” He nodded toward the entrance to the park as Leah emerged. “Besides, my wife and I are talking again. We might work it out.”

“Good.” He took a step toward the woods as he saw Leah jog down the path and up toward the parking lot. Relief jabbed like a pesky bug.

“Leah’s a good-looking woman.”

He agreed. “You think she’s odd.”

“A man can deal with a lot of quirks when a woman is attractive.”

Alex rubbed his hands together. He wondered just how hard David was working on his marriage. “Better get going.”

David opened the door to his car. “Keep me posted on Deidre’s funeral.”

His gaze didn’t waver from Leah. “Sure.”

When Leah came out of the woods, all the other runners had left. Even David was nowhere to be seen. The lone car in the lot was the black SUV, where Alex stood waiting, his arms crossed.

He’d been waiting for her. Her throat tightened with emotion as she made the final push across the field to the parking lot. When she stopped running, her breath was quick and ragged and a stitch pinched her side.

Alex moved toward her, his steps slow and easy. Already, the cold air chilled her skin, whereas he seemed to barely notice the cold. “You need to get warm. Get in my car.”

She glanced toward the SUV. Imagining herself alone with him in the car, she hesitated before she caught herself. “Sounds great.”

He walked beside her, shortening his long strides so he didn’t outpace her. He opened the passenger door, and a rush of warm air greeted her. She slid onto the leather seat. He closed the door and, head ducked to the wind, crossed the front of the car.

The car was neat, well organized, and looked as if it had been freshly vacuumed. Her car wasn’t so pristine. She’d transported a couple of dogs from the shelter to the clinic last week, and they’d left paw and nose prints on her backseat windows and seats. Her cup holder held today’s coffee and yesterday’s, along with a couple of empty water bottles littered the floor.

He opened the door and slid behind the wheel. The interior of the car shrank as his broad shoulders filled the space. “Thirsty?”

“Yeah.”

He reached in the backseat and grabbed a couple of water bottles. He handed her one. “What’s going on with your tire? I can see it’s a spare.”

She’d forgotten all about the earlier frustration. “Flat.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. These are new tires. Maybe there’s a problem with the valve. Maybe I picked up a nail.” The excuse sounded good but didn’t quite ring true even to her. “I had to change it before I could get here.”

Alex’s gaze warmed. “Aren’t you handy.”

She twisted off the top of the bottle and drank. “Jack of all trades.”

“Anything else happen out of the ordinary?”

She tossed him a nervous look. “Why do you ask?”

He hesitated. “Just asking.”

The card from her aunt had thrown her off base, but that hardly seemed worth mentioning. “No.”

He studied her. Again, peeling back layers. “Keep me posted on anything odd that happens.”

Unspoken words hummed between them. “Do you know something about Deidre that I should know?”