But when Orin saw Eli’s momentary distraction, he ran toward the door. Chelsea tried to step in front of him, but he pushed her so hard that she fell against Eli. She knew Eli was furious at her as he worked to get out of the spiderweb of her long hair and even longer legs.
He tossed her onto the bed, then ran to the door. Chelsea was close behind him.
When he stopped in the doorway, blocking her exit or even from seeing outside, she yelled, “He’s going to get away!”
Eli stepped aside to let her stand beside him. In the backyard near the shed, Orin was clinging to the concrete block wall, frantically and futilely trying to get his out-of-shape body over it. Below him was Rex, the Ridgeway family dog, barking loudly as it jumped up, trying to bite Orin’s heels.
“Get it off of me!” Orin shouted as his thick legs fought to get up the wall. “Get it—” He screamed as the dog clamped its teeth into his calf.
Eli stepped forward, but then Melissa came through the side gate, gun drawn.
“Down!” she ordered the dog, and it obeyed.
“I’m going to sue!” Orin yelled as he fell to the ground.
“You’re under arrest,” Melissa said as she put handcuffs on him and began to read him his rights.
“What for?”
“Trespassing. Attempted child molestation. We’ll come up with something to keep you locked up until we get to the truth.”
Orin glared at Eli and Chelsea. “It’s those two who’ve been stalking me.” As Melissa pulled him toward the gate, he sneered at Eli. “I’ll have you in jail for this! I have connections! I have—”
“Shut up!” Melissa said and pushed him through the gate.
Jeff, who had stayed to one side as he watched it all, went to Eli and Chelsea. “You guys okay?”
“Fine,” Eli said as Rex came up to him and he stroked the dog’s head. “You have any safety pins? For Chelsea’s shirt?”
“Give me a break,” Chelsea said. “I saved your life, so what do a few missing buttons mean?”
“You could have—”
Watching them, Jeff grinned and put his hands in his pockets. “I’m going with Melissa. Chelsea, would you help me pick out a ring to give her?”
That so startled her that she quit arguing with Eli. “So soon?”
“When you know, you know. I gotta go. See you later.”
When they were alone, Eli turned to Chelsea and smiled. “We got rid of them all.”
“That we did. You want to go home and . . .” She shrugged.
“I’d love to.” He put his arm around her shoulders. “Home. I like the sound of that.”
“Mmmm,” Chelsea said as she rubbed her bare legs against Eli’s. “So what’s on the agenda for today?”
“I figure you’ll spend every minute on getting dressed. You are planning to go to the dance tonight, aren’t you?”
“You know me so well,” she said as she began kissing his neck. “Dealing with my clothes is just what I’m going to spend the entire day doing.”
He pulled away to look at her. “I don’t like the sound of that. What are you actually planning to do?”
Chelsea rolled to her back. Last night Melissa said she’d turned Peterson over to Dr. Tris, the local physician, with instructions to hold him as long as possible. He’d still be in the hospital during the prom tonight, so there was no danger that he’d show up. As long as whatever he wanted hadn’t been found, he would be a menace. Last night Eli had spent hours on the phone calling people in the government, pulling in favors, to find out about Orin Peterson and the truth behind Gilbert Ridgeway’s death.
Even though no one had found whatever it was that Orin was after, Grace now had a reason to throw him out of her house.
Chelsea knew that Eli was going to try to get her to swear that from now on, the case would be in the hands of the authorities. No more sneaking about in the middle of the night.