He spotted a flicker of movement in the upper window and sighed in selfish relief. If they were already expecting him, then all he'd need to do is confirm their fears, ask them to keep to themselves for a bit, and he'd be free to leave.
****
Rosa let go of her curtain and stepped back from the window. In the hours that had passed, the fear had settled somewhere behind her heart, leaving it still and empty once more.
She stepped out into the hall. "The Sheriff is here," she called as she passed Cam's room and descended the stairs.
Lucia was already waiting, for some reason looking more agitated than she usually let show. Her hand over the lump in her jeans' pocket where Rosa assumed her phone was.
The doorbell rang, and Cam stepped down beside Rosa, who took her hand and lead her into the sitting room while Lucia pulled the door open.
They settled into the three-seater couch and listened to Lucia greet the Sheriff and his laden request to come inside for a moment.
Rosa let her eyes travel over the man as he followed Lucia into the small room. His blond hair and mustache were both neatly clipped and tended, and his blue eyes sat like chips of ice, unfeeling and uncaring. Dust marred his black boots and rested in the folds of his khaki shirt, where his Sheriff's badge glistened gold. His hands were worrying the edge of the dark brown cowboy hat he usually wore.
Rosa let out a breath, preparing herself for what his nervous fingers told her was coming.
"I think, from your faces," he began, sitting in the single armchair as Lucia took the seat beside Rosa. "That you already have an idea of why I am here?"
"We know there has been a body found at Turquoise Valley Golf. That is all," Lucia said as Cam winced, and Rosa continued to watch the fingers tugging on the brim of the hat.
"Yes, well, we're still in the early stages, but I know well that in a town this small, nothing stays secret for long," he said, talking to the floor as if unwilling to meet their eyes. "So I need to tell you that there are similarities to this death and that of your father."
"You mean murder," Rosa said, lifting her eyes to his. She bit her tongue. She had not meant to speak out loud, but his off-hand tone had caused a flare of anger. The way he had said 'death' made it sound as if both her father and this stranger had merely passed on of natural causes.
Silence fell, and Cam's hands balled up in her lap. Rosa knew Lucia would be throwing her a heated look but didn't look away from Hardy’s icy gaze.
"Yes, well, like I said, there're a few concerning parallels."
"A few?" Lucia asked, turning her head back to the Sheriff. "You mean beyond the fact that the body was found in the same location?"
The Sheriff rose abruptly, looking uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, Ms. Kay, but I really cannot go into detail. I am here merely as a courtesy. This will probably be the talk of the town for a while. I know many, including Mayor Goodwin, would like to spare you from the gossip."
Lucia raised her chin defiantly, but Rosa knew well they wouldn't fight his request. They had already determined it best to avoid town for a while, especially for Cam's sake. She was not strong enough to deal with the constant reminders of an event that had very nearly broken them all.
"Any ideas who the man was?" Rosa asked, again wondering why the words kept flying from her mouth unbidden.
The Sheriff paused in the act of putting on his hat and looked over Rosa and Lucia, who had both stood, then his eyes traveled to Cam, and he sighed. "Looks like someone from over the border. He's not local. I imagine the resemblances are merely superficial. We got the guy. There's nothing you three need to worry about except giving the town's wagging tongues and opportunity to tire themselves out."
They walked him to the door and then watched him leave in silence, noting his terse tone when talking about the border.
"Do you have an explanation?"
Rosa sighed as Lucia closed the door and turned on her. "I don't know."
"You don't know? Jesus, Rosa. I've told you all, we need to keep our heads down. Keep our own counsel."
Rosa felt that spark of anger flare up again and raised her eyes to Lucia's. "I'm sorry okay? I just..."
"After mother, you know you need to be more careful than that."
"Look, I just..."
"You just what?"
"I just hated the way he was acting like they hadn't been murdered, that this person might not be someone else's father!" Rosa yelled, losing her hold on the anger.
Lucia froze as if she had been struck, and a sob came from the sitting room.
"Now you've done it," Lucia snarled under her breath.
Me? Rosa thought, knowing it would only rouse Lucia further if she said it out loud. Lucia had not only inherited their mother's angular features but also her razor-sharp tongue and quick temper. Although the latter has been absent for the past twelve years.
Sensing a secret, something her family was not short of, she looked at her sister more closely. "You're afraid."
Lucia's eyes snapped up to hers, and then she sighed, shutting out the jade eyes looking past
