Kitabı oku: «Christmas Peril», sayfa 3

“Caleb, would you be a dear and build a fire?” Sara pulled the edges of her shawl together.

“Sure. I’ll need to move some of the items away from the fireplace.”

Jayden leaped to her feet. “I’ll help.” She headed straight for the figure of the baby Jesus, gently lifting it from the manger and cradling it against her as if she were playing with one of her dolls that she’d had to leave in Crystal Creek. “Miss Sara says I can hold him. But I hafta to be real careful.”

“Are you sure, Sara?” Annie held her breath watching her child handling the eighteen-inch-long figurine, beautifully painted.

“She’s fine.”

“Here, hon, I’ll move the manger for you.” Annie tried not to think about the things they’d left behind in the rented apartment. And according to Trey, all destroyed because someone had searched and trashed her place. Looking for what?

A thoughtful expression slashed her daughter’s face. “What’s a manger?”

“Child, it’s a place where animals eat.” Sara rubbed her hands together.

“Why was baby Jesus put in one?”

“Because there was nowhere else for Mary to give birth to Him. The inn—motels were full, so they stayed in a stable.” Caleb stacked the logs on the grate then turned the gas on and put a match to it. Flames burst about the wood.

Jayden tilted her head to the side, her eyebrows crunched together. “But isn’t Jesus special? He should have a big bed.”

“Yeah, Jesus is special, but He didn’t mind the manger.” Caleb rose and caught Annie’s look.

In that moment she knew she had let her daughter down. She might be upset with the Lord because He wasn’t answering her prayers, but she should have at least given her child a chance to learn about Him so she would be able to make up her own mind when she was older. At breakfast this morning Sara had talked about going to church on Sunday and had asked them to go.

At one time she had believed that all things were possible through God. She’d been active in her youth group at church, had gone on mission trips. Then she’d made wrong choices when her father had walked out on the family. She’d thrust herself into a murky pattern of self-destruction. She was thankful Jayden’s birth stopped that slippery slope downward. But was the Lord mad at her because of her actions?

“Give me about five minutes to get the dinner on the table.” Annie averted her gaze and hurried from the room. She wouldn’t be using that excuse on Sunday; she needed to take her daughter to church.

In the kitchen she had begun spooning the stew into a serving bowl when Caleb came in.

“Here, let me help.” He held the Crock-Pot over the bowl so she could slide the stew into it. “Are you okay?”

“No. I just realized what an injustice I have done to my daughter. I should have taken her to church, but I was angry with God. I still am.”

“Why?”

“My life wasn’t going the way I thought it should. I prayed and prayed for help, but He didn’t answer me. I was basically alone, struggling to pay my bills, raising my daughter with little support…” When she realized what she was telling him, she peered at him to read his expression. Compassion greeted her look.

“What happened to Jayden’s dad?”

“He’s dead.”

“I’m sorry. That makes it tough.”

If you only knew.

Caleb set the Crock-Pot on the counter and took her hands. “Look at coming to Christmas as a fresh start. The Lord hasn’t forgotten you. He doesn’t. He answers in His time, not ours. I’d love for you and Jayden to come to church with me on Sunday.”

For a few seconds Annie couldn’t concentrate enough to form a coherent reply to his invitation. All her senses were centered on the feel of his hands around hers, the rough texture of his thumb rubbing her skin, his spicy scent wafting to her, putting to shame the aromas of the stew and rolls baking.

“Will you come, Annie?”

She stepped back, grabbing for the pot holders to take the bread out of the oven. “Sara said something about it.” She didn’t want to care for Caleb. She would be moving on when she could come up with a plan. She needed to return to the library and begin researching how to get lost and stay hidden.

“That’s okay. We go to the same one. I’ll come by and pick everyone up.”

The next afternoon, late, Caleb rang the bell at Sara’s. He really didn’t have an excuse for visiting, but he was here because he found himself drawn to Annie and Jayden. Since his father’s death last year, he’d been going through the motions of living, but something was missing. He wanted a marriage like his parents had.

Whoa. He’d gone from thinking about Annie to thinking about marriage. He still couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong with Annie. Had someone hurt her? Her deceased husband?

Annie swung the door open. “Hi.” Her smile encompassed her whole face, pushing away the vulnerability he’d glimpsed for a few seconds. Now he realized why he was here. He wanted to pump Sara about information concerning Annie. The investigator in him couldn’t let go of the fact Annie was harboring pain. He wanted to know what caused it and help.

“What brings you by?”

He pulled his thoughts back to the task at hand. “I came to see Sara.”

“Oh, that sounds serious. Is there a problem?”

He schooled his expression into a neutral one, hoping he hadn’t given anything away. “No.” He should elaborate, but what could he say to Annie? I’ve come to find out all I can about you and what made you visit a relative suddenly right before Christmas. One you haven’t seen in fifteen years.

“Were there any more teenage pranks pulled last night?”

“All’s calm right now. I issued my warning to the one I think is behind it. Hopefully he heeds it. If not, I may sic the mayor on him,” Caleb said with a laugh as he crossed the threshold.

“Is that your secret weapon?”

“No, my art of persuasion is.”

Annie closed the door. “Sara is in the living room in her usual place.”

“Are you going out?” He noticed she had her coat on, her purse sitting on the table in the foyer.

“Yeah, as soon as Jayden washes up. She had some chocolate and managed to get it all over her face and hands.”

Carrying her doll, Jayden bounded down the stairs in her jacket, her hair pulled back in a ponytail that bounced with her lively movement. “Is Ralph here?”

Caleb responded to the little girl’s smile with one of his own. “Sorry. I left him at home. I can bring him by later if you want.”

“Yes!” Jayden pumped her arm. “We’re goin’ to the liberrie.”

“We’ve already read the books we got yesterday. We’re getting some more. And Sara wanted me to pick up one for her.” Annie grabbed her purse. “Ready?”

Jayden hurried across the foyer, snatched up her pile of books and rushed out the door.

Annie shook her head. “I guess she’s ready. See you later.”

“Bye.” He waited until she was gone before proceeding into the living room and taking a seat.

Sara closed the magazine she was reading and placed it in her lap. “I heard you at the door. Did you know Jayden is already reading? She loves books ’bout as much as I do.”

“You really have enjoyed having them here, haven’t you?”

“I didn’t realize how until today. When they first came, I sensed they were lost and looking for something. Well, at least Annie. But so was I. These past few days have brought me back to life. So yes, I’ve enjoyed them being here. I’m so glad she decided to visit me.”

“Did she ever tell you why she suddenly decided to come see you?”

“No, other than she’d always had fond memories of the couple of times she had when she was a child. Especially that last visit, when she and her family came at Christmastime.”

“She told me her husband was dead.”

“Husband? She said that?” Sara’s wrinkles deepened on her forehead.

“Well, not in those words. I asked about Jayden’s father.”

“Annie has never been married.” Sara leaned forward in her chair. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I’m concerned about Annie. I think she’s in trouble. Earlier today when I asked why she didn’t wear a wedding ring, she told me she’d never married the man who fathered Jayden. I’d thought that first day she’d come the name you used to introduce her was her married name, so I didn’t say anything. But her real last name is Coleman, at least that was it when she was ten.”

Caleb inhaled a deep breath and held it. This was what he’d come for, to find out what was going on with Annie, but he didn’t want to hear that she was in trouble. He wanted to be wrong about his gut feeling that something was wrong with her. “Did you say anything about it to her?”

“No. Every time I start asking about what she’s been doing she manages to change the subject as quickly as possible. I think my question about the wedding ring threw her, or I’m not sure I would have gotten that much information. Something’s not right.”

“Are you worried about yourself?” He hated asking that question because his gut told him Annie wasn’t someone who would hurt Sara, but he was a cop and Sara was a friend. He had to ask.

Sara chuckled. “Absolutely not. I’m a good judge of people, and I see a woman who is hiding something because she’s afraid. I catch glimpses of fear in her eyes every once and a while. For instance, yesterday in town a car backfired. She went deathly pale, grabbed Jayden and shielded her. It took her several minutes to calm down, although she tried to hide her fright at the sudden sound. And right after that, Annie was talking on her cell in the library. Her face went pale, and she dropped the phone.” Sighing as though relieved she finally shared her concerns, she sat back.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Do some investigating like they do on TV? See if you can find out anything? Most people don’t leave home, drive halfway across the country and show up on someone’s doorstep they’re not even sure is still alive or living where they used to. What made her leave Florida?”

“I’ll see what I can find.” After hearing what Sara had discovered, his concerns spiraled upward and alarm bells pealed loudly in his mind.

“You said something about bringing Ralph down this evening. Come for dinner, too. Annie is planning spaghetti. We’re eating at six.”

“Sold.” He came to his feet. “I best be going. See you later.”

Outside he paused and drew in a deep breath. What kind of trouble could Annie be in? First thing he would do was drive by the library and get her license plate number and find out where she lived in Florida.

He drove to the library, jotted down her number and then left, not wanting to hang around and have her find him there. He went to his office and ran her tag number. After discovering she lived in Crystal Creek, Florida, he placed a call to the police there.

“This is Caleb Jackson, of the police department in Christmas, Oklahoma. Can I speak to your police chief?”

When the man came on the line, Caleb explained who he was and asked, “Are there any outstanding warrants for a Annie Coleman. She lives in Crystal—”

“I’m familiar with who Annie Coleman is.”

Caleb straightened in his chair. “You are? How?”

“Someone broke into her place a few days ago and I’d been trying to locate her ever since. She finally called me yesterday afternoon and told me she would handle it when she got back to town.”

“Do you know who did it?”

“No, but they destroyed just about everything in her apartment. It appears to have happened late Saturday night or the early hours of Sunday morning. Is she in any kind of trouble there in Oklahoma?”

“No, not with the police.” When Caleb hung up, he couldn’t shake the warning bell going off in his mind. What was Annie into?

He decided to make a call to a friend on the police force in Orlando. Maybe he could dig around and find out what kind of trouble Annie was in? Because everything pointed to a woman on the run. Why?

When Don answered, Caleb took a few minutes to catch up with what was going on with him, then Caleb said, “I have a favor. I need you to find out what you can on Annie Coleman. She lives in Crystal Creek. There was a break-in at her apartment, but from what the police say it sounds like someone that is angry with her or looking for something. They tore her place apart.”

“Will do. It may take a few days because I’ve got a tough case I’m working on, but on my first day off, I’ll go to Crystal Creek and do some poking around. Talk with her neighbors. Where she works. I’ll even check in with the local police and see if there are any new developments on the break-in.”

“Thanks. I owe you.” Caleb’s hand lingered on the phone after he returned it to its cradle. Lord, whatever problem Annie is having, let it be one I can help her with.

FOUR

On the computer at the library after searching on the Internet for twenty minutes for information on Nick Salvador, she found an article in a Florida newspaper about him being indicted for murder several years ago. She went through the archives of later issues until she discovered what the verdict in the Salvador trial had been.

She stared at the screen. Terror seized her. He had been acquitted of the murder charge, but the reporter noted that a key witness had never showed up to testify. He’d disappeared. She ran a name search on the witness but didn’t find anything pertaining to him. Was he dead? Or living somewhere else?

She pictured something like that happening to her. For a second, panic gripped her. She quickly looked around the library, her heartbeat rapping a mad staccato against her ribs.

“I’ve got my books,” Jayden said, cradling her doll against her chest.

Annie cleared the screen and turned toward her daughter, forcing a smile to her mouth while inside terror still ruled. All she wanted to do was grab her child, hug her tightly and find a way to vanish. Next time she came she would have to research ways to disappear without a trace. There was no way she would risk going back to Crystal Creek now.

“Ready?” Clutching her five books to her chest, Jayden rocked back on her heels.

“Yep, let’s go check these out. I need to get back to Miss Sara’s and cook dinner.” She’d come back tomorrow and do some more searching. She still didn’t have any idea what was going on. Maybe the thugs who had trashed her apartment had found whatever they were looking for. What if they weren’t looking for an object but for her, because Bryan had called her and she’d overheard some of what happened to him?

On Monday afternoon, Annie grabbed her jacket and hurried into the hall upstairs. She’d promised her daughter she would go for a walk with her today and explore the area. Jayden was taking the idea of being on an adventure seriously, whereas Annie wanted her life back. She’d finished her research today on how to disappear and knew it wouldn’t be easy, especially since she had little money. She didn’t even have a cell phone anymore. She’d thrown it away after receiving another message from Bryan’s killer two days ago. He used Bryan’s cell phone again to call her.

His message, “I’m coming to get you,” echoed through her thoughts, producing beads of sweat on her forehead and upper lip. She swiped her hand across her face. She couldn’t let her daughter see how upset she was. Acting as though nothing was wrong wearied her to the point where she was getting no more than a few hours sleep at night.

Annie descended the staircase, composing her features into a calm countenance for her daughter. Jayden was probably already on the porch waiting, since she wasn’t the most patient child. As Annie emerged from the house, she paused. A sudden sense of being watched crawled up her spine, an unpleasant tingling following in its wake.

The last message left on her cell popped into her mind again. She went weak-kneed and clutched the post to steady herself.

Jayden hopped up from the porch swing and skipped to her. “Ready, Mommy? Let’s go.”

“Sure,” she whispered, her throat tight, her mouth dry.

But Annie held her ground for a moment while she scanned up and down the street. There wasn’t one car out of place or anyone hanging around. She had been letting her imagination run rampant ever since she listened to her cell phone messages and discovered the type of father Bryan had—one who would go to any lengths to get what he wanted. One who could afford to hire thugs to take care of the messy stuff.

Bryan’s killer’s messages unnerved her. His taunts indicated he was getting closer. She knew he was doing that to throw her off balance so she would make a mistake. There was no reason to think anyone had found her here in Christmas. She shook off the sensation that someone was out there keeping track of her movements, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on her.

“C’mon. You promised.” Jayden tugged on Annie’s hand.

“Fine, but we can’t be gone long.” When her daughter started to pout, Annie added, “Caleb could still bring Ralph over today. I’m sure you’ll want to be here when he does.”

Annie followed behind Jayden, who skipped ahead. The feeling she was being watched stuck with Annie all the way around the corner and never ceased, even when she and Jayden started down the road behind Sara’s property. What had happened at her apartment had happened in Florida. Not here.

As she strolled near the curb because there was no sidewalk, Annie glanced around at the houses, smaller than those on the street where Sara lived. Fifty feet ahead of Annie, Jayden paused for a second in front of a place and then darted forward. The border of bushes and trees obstructed her view of her daughter.

“Jayden, wait for me.” Her shout reverberated down the street.

She hurried her pace, rounding the overgrown hedge in time to see Jayden disappear behind a run-down house that appeared vacant. Her pulse rate increased as her steps did toward the place.

“Jayden, come here.”

“Mommeeee,” her daughter yelled, the sound sending a streak of panic down Annie and propelling her into a flat-out run.

Annie came around the side of the house and heard her daughter whimpering. Fear draped her in an icy sweat, and she rushed toward the sound, her heartbeat roaring in her ears. Blocked by a large holly bush up against the wooden structure, Annie didn’t see where Jayden was until she skirted the shrub and found her daughter down on the ground, one leg stuck in a hole that had been boarded over.

Tears in her eyes, Jayden looked up. “I can’t get up. It hurts.”

Part of her wanted to wail at her daughter for running ahead of her, but she kept her words inside for later, when she was calmer. “Don’t move. Let me see what I can do.”

Annie approached Jayden as a large black dog bounded around the corner of the house, barking. Caleb appeared right on his pet’s heels. Surprised to see him but relieved to have help, she knelt next to her daughter and began checking out the situation.

“What happened?” Concern on his face, he stooped beside Annie.

“I thought I saw something inside. I was looking in when I fell.” Tears rolled down Jayden’s cheeks.

“Honey, we’ll get you out,” Annie said, while she couldn’t shake the words her child had uttered. Something inside? What? Again the threat in the message played across her mind. No, she couldn’t show her panic. She wouldn’t give in to what the killer was trying to do. Her call to the police couldn’t have been traced to Christmas. And she hadn’t left a trail to the town.

“This looks like a hole that the previous owner covered up with some boards. It’s been here a while, and most of the wood is rotten. I’ll pull Jayden straight up while you try to keep her leg from being scraped any more with the jagged pieces.” Standing and leaning over, Caleb put his arms around her child. “Are you ready?”

Jayden nodded.

Annie wedged one hand down between her daughter’s leg and the worst broken piece of wood. With the other, she clasped Jayden to help guide the leg straight up. “Ready.”

“On the count of three. One. Two. Three.” Caleb slowly lifted Annie from the hole.

The action pressed Annie’s palm into a sharp, jagged point. Pain flashed up her arm. She bit down and pulled her hand free as soon as her daughter was out. Blood trickled from a cut on her skin.

Ignoring the wound, she angled toward her daughter on the ground, where Caleb examined the gash visible beneath the torn, ruined cotton pants. She moved to Jayden.

Caleb ripped off a part of her daughter’s slacks and tied the strip around her calf to stop the bleeding. “We should have Doc look at this. It might need stitches.”

“Stitches!” Jayden’s eyes grew round as a full moon.

Ralph licked her child’s face, producing a giggle. Jayden threw her arms around the dog’s neck and plastered her cheek against his fur.

“Let’s get her back to my house. I’ll call Doc and let him know you’re coming in. Are you ready? I’m gonna carry you, Jayden.” Caleb slipped his arms under Jayden and lifted her in one fluid motion.

Balling her throbbing hand, Annie rose. “We need to let Sara know we’ll be late. She’ll worry.”

“Get my cell from my left jacket pocket. Call Sara, then I’ll give you Doc’s number to dial for me.”

She stepped nearer to reach for the phone. When she pulled it out, he started for the front of the house while Annie called Sara and told her what happened and where they were going.

When she hung up, Caleb stopped and spun toward her. “Doc’s number is—” His gaze latched onto something over her shoulder. A frown descended.

Annie pivoted and saw the front door of the abandoned house open slightly. “Jayden thought she saw something inside.” Annie again felt as though eyes were on her.

His jaw set in a grim line, he handed Jayden to Annie, took his cell, then headed toward the porch. “Wait by the street.” He signaled to Ralph to go with Annie, then he cautiously entered the house.

“Mommy, what if the ghost gets him?”

With Ralph next to her, Annie followed his directions and stood at the edge of the property along the road, comforted by the fact a big dog was with her. “Honey, there’s no such thing as ghosts. If there was someone in the house, he was very much alive. And while we’re on this subject, don’t ever run off from me again. Understood?”

“I’m sorry. The house looked haunted.”

“It isn’t.” Annie inched closer to Ralph.

Caleb emerged from the house and crossed the yard to them. The scowl on his face didn’t bode well. He’d found something he didn’t like.

“Did you see anything?” Jayden asked.

“Nothing to concern you. Let’s go get you patched up. That’s my priority now.”

What did you find? Annie wanted to demand details but clenched her jaw and kept quiet. She would revisit the subject when Jayden wasn’t listening.

Caleb started to take her daughter from her when his gaze caught sight of her injury. “You’re hurt, too.” He paused and took hold of her hand. “You should have said something.”

“It’s nothing.” The feel of his fingers touching her momentarily wiped the dull ache emanating from her wound.

“Doc’s gonna have two patients.” Caleb took Jayden. “I’ve already called him, and he’ll be at his office.”

Two hours later Annie sat in Caleb’s car heading back to Sara’s with a bandaged hand, a sleepy daughter and a sack of food from the café for dinner. Darkness had fallen over the town, but the Christmas lights lit the night.

Annie peered into the back of the vehicle and saw her daughter nodding off until she slumped over onto the seat. “We didn’t get a chance to talk about what was inside the house.”

“Someone was using the house to stay in. I suspect some teens are using it to party. I’ll have a word with them tomorrow and put the fear of the law into them.”

“Do you think they ran out the front while we were in the backyard?”

“Maybe. I didn’t notice if the door was open when I arrived. I was focused on you disappearing around the corner. More likely they forgot to shut it all the way, and the wind blew it open.” Caleb pulled up to Sara’s and opened his door. “Grab the food, and I’ll get Jayden.”

Caleb carried her daughter toward Sara’s, Jayden slowly waking up and rubbing her eyes. Her wrapped leg testified to her “adventure,” one Annie hoped she didn’t repeat. The tears in the doctor’s office as well as the stitches her daughter had were bad enough, but she didn’t know how she was going to pay the bill. Although Doc didn’t seem too concerned, she knew the state of her finances wouldn’t take many more of these little mishaps, especially if she had to start over somewhere new.

“Sara’s probably starved by now. She’s used to eating early.” Annie took out her key and unlocked the front door then entered.

“I imagine she’s more concerned about Jayden than anything.”

Before Annie closed the door, Sara stood in the entrance into the living room. “How’s Jayden?” Worry lined her wrinkled face as she moved toward them.

“Miss Sara, I’m okay.” Jayden yawned, then stuck her leg out. “See. I got four stitches.”

Sara made a production out of examining the bandage. “Doc did a great job fixing you as good as new.”

Annie headed for the kitchen. “I’ll have dinner on the table in a few minutes. Jayden, go wash up.”

Caleb gently set her daughter down, and she limped toward the small bathroom under the staircase.

“Annie, let’s have a picnic in the living room.” Sara moved toward the room. “I already have a blanket spread on the floor in front of the fireplace. Caleb can fix a fire.”

Ten minutes later Annie sat on a large red-and-green plaid blanket eating fried chicken and all the fixings, from biscuits to coleslaw to green beans. With a huge grin, Jayden put her drumstick down on her paper plate, grease smeared around her mouth. Annie handed her a napkin, which her daughter swiped across her face.

As Annie settled next to Caleb, the fire warming her back, he captured her gaze and held it. Her stomach tightened at the gleam that glinted in his eyes. She searched for a safe topic of conversation—one that didn’t make her regret her decision to leave after the New Year, all brought on by her fearful feelings and the messages she’d received. She couldn’t stay long in any one place. That would give the man time to find her. How she was going to be able to disappear with her daughter was still a question she couldn’t really answer.

This town had taught her one thing. If she had to disappear, she needed a place where she could keep to herself. It was much easier that way. There were too many times she wanted to confide in Sara and Caleb. The burden of an unknown enemy out there was taking its toll on her. Especially when she had to seem perfectly fine so as not to arouse any suspicion.

If Nick Salvador or one of his goons were after her, she never wanted to subject the townspeople, especially Caleb and Sara, to someone like him with unsavory connections and accusations of murder in his past. They had all been so kind, accepting her and her daughter.

“How did you know we were on the other block earlier today?” Annie finally asked, although her words held a whispery quality at the intensity flowing from him, all directed at her.

“Sara told me. I just missed you.”

“I’m glad you came,” Jayden said before Annie could open her mouth. “You saved me.”

The admiration in her daughter’s eyes probably mirrored her expression, Annie thought. She wasn’t good at relationships. The one person she’d really fallen for in the end hadn’t been who he’d first appeared to be. She’d thought Bryan was kind, honest and caring, but the only person he’d really cared about was himself. He’d been in Jayden’s life when it suited him. And she’d caught him in enough lies while they had dated that when she’d discovered she was pregnant she knew she couldn’t marry him. So why was she responding to Caleb? She’d learned her lesson, hadn’t she?

“I hope you know now not to go off exploring on your own, especially vacant buildings. They can be dangerous,” Caleb said in his police officer voice.

Jayden hung her head. “I won’t.” She lifted her chin and looked right at Caleb. “I wasn’t gonna go in. Promise.”

Sara leaned forward and gave Annie her plate. “Remember those marshmallows I got at the store the other day? Let’s roast them over the fire. I used to do that as a kid.”

Caleb rose then tugged Annie to her feet. “Do you have some metal coat hangers?”

“In the hall closet.” Sara waved her hand toward the foyer.

“I’ll get them while you get the bag of marshmallows.” Caleb picked up the trash Annie couldn’t, snagged a mint from a jar on Sara’s end table and headed toward the foyer.

After rummaging through the cabinet in the kitchen, Annie found the chewy treat and pulled the bag out. She turned to go back in the living room and nearly collided with Caleb standing behind her.

He hadn’t needed to steady her, but his hands clasped her upper arms anyway. The smile deep in his eyes warmed her more than the fire had earlier. Tired of being alone and doing everything herself, she wanted to snuggle into his embrace and feel its protective touch about her.

“How’s your hand?” He slid his down her arm to clasp her injured one. Turning it palm up, he peered at it.

“It’s quit throbbing,” she managed to whisper, although her words came out breathless.

“Good.” His gaze stole the rest of her breath. “I worry about you.”

The huskiness in his voice constricted her throat, and the intensity in his expression seized her and held her motionless. Worry about her? Bryan certainly hadn’t. Somehow he’d dragged her into a mess that might cost her life. “You don’t need to. I’m fine.” She tried to interject conviction behind that declaration, but Caleb gave her a slow appraising glance.