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watched him, biting her lower lip for all she was worth.
    “Toward the lighthouse.”
    The faint wail of a siren could be heard in the distance.
    “That’ll be the fire department,” Mrs. Castellano said. She scowled at Christy. “Are they gonna be ticked off or what? Why were you yelling about a fire if there wasn’t one?”
    “Fire department, rescue squad, ambulance, here it’s all the same thing,” Castellano said impatiently. He looked at Christy. “How about we go on ahead and you show me where she is? Aunt Rosa can point the way to the guys when they get here.”
    “No! No.” Shaking her head, Christy took a step backward. The siren was obviously louder now, closer. “They’ll be here any minute, so it’d probably be better if we just waited for them.”
    She was afraid of Castellano, that much was clear. Had they met before? From Christy’s reactions, Luke didn’t think so. But then, as he had reason to know, things were not always what they seemed.
    “Yeah, you’re probably right,” Castellano said, watching her closely. “No point in taking a chance on them missing us in the dark.”
    “Look, it’s been nice getting acquainted, but I can see I’m in the way here, so I’ll just be going on about my business.” Luke had to raise his voice now to be heard over the siren. A woman hurt on the beach was not his problem, and he was anxious to be gone before he had to explain himself to any more official types. The less attention he attracted, the better. He looked at Christy. “Sorry for the misunderstanding.”
    “Hold it.” Castellano fixed those pit-bull eyes on him. His pistol was pointed down, but Luke had no doubt that could change in an instant. “Before you take off, how’s about giving me a name and address? For starters.”
    Shit.
    “Luke Randolph,” Luke said easily, giving the name he had used to rent the cottage. It was uncomfortably close to his real one. He should have gone for something totally different. But then, when he’d used it, he’d never expected to find himself under the scrutiny of a curious deputy. If everything had gone the way it was supposed to, neither the deputy nor Christy Petrino would ever have noticed him. He would have been just one of hundreds of faceless vacationers spending the last few weeks of summer on this laid-back beach, and nothing more. But as luck would have it—and damn Gary anyway, he was going to give him hell when he saw him for that tardy heads-up—she’d caught him red-handed practically coming out of her house. Having been left holding the bag, so to speak, it was up to him to salvage the situation as best he could. Glancing at Christy, he opted for the truth—at least, a small part of the truth—and essayed a lopsided, hopefully charming, grin. “I’m your neighbor. Me and a buddy are renting the cottage next door.”
    Christy did not look charmed. Neither did she look convinced.
    “That’s true.” Mrs. Castellano nodded. “I seen him move in. Him and some other guy, just this morning. Sonny and Nora Corbitt—they generally have thehouse next door to yours in August—won one of them last-minute Caribbean cruises, all expenses paid, and had to change their plans to take advantage, so their house came available just like that. Can you believe the luck? I ain’t never won so much as a stick of gum in my life.”
    “He was on my patio,” Christy said to Castellano, but her gaze met Luke’s, and it was clear she remained suspicious of him. “I never saw a cat.”
    “So what happened? Did you hear him at a door or window? You think he was peeping in at you?” Castellano gave Luke another of those get-ready-to-take-the-perp-walk-you-creep looks.
    “I … wasn’t in the house. I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk on the beach, and when I came back there he was, on my patio.”
    Liar, liar, pants on fire, Luke thought. He knew what she’d been up to on that beach.
    Castellano’s gaze shifted to Luke