A Trick of the Moon by Melinda Barron Page A

a tent, air mattress, sleeping bags, cooking stove, and anything else you might need to survive out here for a while. We'll go back now and pack up some food. Then Dario and I can bring my SUV back out here while you do office work.”
    Something akin to sorrow wrapped around her at the idea of the two of them being out here working while she was at the house. She knew it was the right thing to do, though. She had paperwork she needed to get done, and if she let it pile up while she sat out here and watched the two of them, things could get ugly in the office.
    It was best to act normally while the two of them did what she hired them for. “I can bring dinner out later.”
    “She's sexy and she cooks. Be still my heart.” Dario thudded his hand against his chest, and Maura flushed. She'd never thought of herself as sexy 78
    Melinda Barron

    before. Even the men she'd dated had never used that term. Maybe it was why she'd never dated anyone for long.
    “Perfect.” Declan stood and began stuffing trash into a sack. “Let's get this show on the road. I'm itching to see what else I can find out here.”

    * * * * *
Dario bent down near a yucca plant, running his fingers through the loose soil. Underneath the fine layer of dirt, the ground was hard, and he could make out the faint outline of a footprint. Not that it would do much good.
    This was Charlie Atwell's land, true, but he let his guests roam free. There was no telling how long this print had been here or who it came from. Trying to gather samples to compare it to would be useless, since guests came and went.
    That, added to the time factor, made the print useless.
    He'd checked around where the truck was parked this morning and found nothing, only prints from the boots Declan wore, and the sneakers both he and Maura were wearing. The person who had undone the ladder should have left a clue somewhere. Instead they'd slipped in and out without leaving so much as a smudge in the dirt.
    Since he didn't have a fingerprint kit on him, he couldn't check for that.
    And convincing his boss to run the prints would be a tough trick to pull. Ward would complain about using state money on a private job, and one where a crime hadn't been committed. He'd tell Dario he needed to hurry up and finish his vacation so he could put him back to work.
    It was too bad the person using the kiva had raked the floor. If they hadn't, he could get a print off that, but he'd be back to the problem of finding a sample to compare it to. He couldn't compel people to let him look at the bottom of their shoes. It was a moot point, anyway, since the person, or persons, had cleaned up after themselves. The way he saw it, they did it for one of two reasons: to cover their tracks or to leave the area as clean as possible out of respect for the god to whom they had been praying.

    A Trick of the Moon
    79

    Going back to question Maura's workers could provide some information.
    He could see if one of them practiced the old ways, as Declan called it. If they were all Christians, it probably wasn't one of them leaving the offering.
    He would need to tread carefully while asking people about religion. They tended to get a bit testy. Not that he blamed them, but knowing would help him narrow down the suspects, which would bring them closer to an answer for Maura.
    Thinking about the pretty blonde made his cock stir. He closed his eyes and remembered the feel of her hand on his cock, her stroke firm yet gentle as she jerked him off. He wanted to feel her tongue on him, licking him from toe to head. Then he wanted to flip her onto her knees, slap her ass hard as he pounded into her pussy. Declan's fingers would be on her clit, making her come as they had last night.
    He groaned softly at the idea, surprised to hear Declan call his name.
    “What the hell are you doing?”
    “Thinking about last night,” he answered truthfully. He stood up, stretched his back, and walked toward where his friend sat cross-legged