Shrugging off the errant musings, she thought ahead to what came next. She was anxious to head to Neva Bolz’s home. In the meantime, she would listen to the rest of her voice mail messages, then she would search the Internet for anything she could find about Neva and the company she worked for.

The next message was from her neighbor, Allie. Uh-oh. Had something happened? She didn’t take the time to listen to the message and instead returned the call.

Allie answered. “Hey, Terra. Did you get my voice mail?”

“I didn’t listen, actually. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, sure. I didn’t mean to scare you. But I wanted to make sure you’re still alive.”

Terra snorted a laugh. “Yeah, about that. I meant to come home sooner. Sorry I haven’t been back. What’s up?”

“Sudoku has been rubbing up against the door. I can tell she really wants to get out. Probably wants to go home and see you.”

“Aw, my cat actually misses me? I didn’t think that was possible.”

Allie laughed. “Of course it’s possible. But don’t worry. I don’t mind watching out for her, but I thought you should know.”

“Thanks, Allie. I owe you. I’m in the middle of an investigation right now. I’ll see you and Su soon. Let her know I love her.” When she’d taken this position six months ago and moved back to Montana, she hadn’t wanted to be alone and had thought a cat would be the easiest pet. What had she been thinking?

Maybe staying with Gramps wasn’t such a great idea, though she’d initially convinced herself that she needed to be there for Owen. It was only forty-five minutes away. But that was still forty-five minutes away. As long as Su was being cared for, she would wait until she had a decent break to return to her apartment.

Footfalls echoed in the hall behind her. As she turned, she reached for her weapon in her shoulder holster, then relaxed when she saw it was Deputy Linda Pendergrass. Linda, who was in her midthirties, greeted Terra in her no-nonsense manner, then entered Dallas’s office. Terra waited in the hallway as Linda and Jack spoke about protecting Dallas.

The door opened and Jack exited, closing the door behind him, a serious expression on his face. He pursed his lips and turned to walk down the hall.

She kept pace with him. “You’re that worried about her?”

He angled his head. “Aren’t you?”

“Actually, I was holding out hope that you would come up with a valid reason she didn’t need to be concerned about her safety.”

“I think she’s smart and leaving town is the right way to go. I don’t know that her life is in danger, but Aunt Nadine always says an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”