Jolene wore sunglasses so he couldn’t see her eyes, but from the timbre of her voice he knew desire was there. She liked being with him. And he sure liked the idea of being with her.
Dressed in a red tank top and black capris and high-heeled sandals that took her out of the pixie realm, she was hot!
A car horn blared behind them at the intersection, drawing their attention. Witnessing a near mishap extinguished the flirtatious mood between them and it was back to business.
“That guy ran a red light,” Jolene remarked, shifting to his side.
“It wasn’t a female driver?”
“No. Definitely male. He had a beard. And he was a blonde.”
“Lucky bastard. He could’ve hit someone. The vehicle was a 2010 Saturn. Popular model around here.” Norris looked down at her. Even with her wedge heels, her chin barely reached his shoulder. “I couldn’t see his plate number. Did you?” He’d call the infraction in if she had the number.
“I couldn’t. The shrubbery blocked my view.”
Norris frowned, pissed he hadn’t caught any of the plate numbers himself. He couldn’t have his officer who worked traffic today chase down every person driving a blue Saturn, looking for a blond dude with a beard.
He let the incident go, hoping the guy used better judgment in the future and then Norris refocused on Jolene. “Did you sleep?”
“Yeah. About four hours.” Jolene cupped her hand over her sunglasses and looked up at him. “How about you?”
“I caught a few hours.” He was glad he’d gone home and showered and changed into clean jeans and shirt before coming to the hospital.
The heat from the tarmac wafting up at them suddenly seemed to be getting hotter and he pointed to the coffee shop. “We don’t need to wait for Carter out here. We can go inside and wait in the air conditioning.”
“That does sound better,” she said and grabbed his hand.
Surprised he opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, but she cut him off.
“In case we’re being watched.” She grinned and tugged him forward playfully.
“Ah. Right.” He liked the smoothness of her skin and shifted so Jolene’s hand was wrapped in his. He also enjoyed having her walk by his side into the shop he patronized at least four times a week. The owner took a double take when he looked up from placing warm blueberry muffins in the display case. He had never brought anyone into the café with him and doing so now had the staff glancing their way and whispering to each other.
“I thought this would be a good place to meet.” He suddenly felt self-conscious. “It’s small and blocks away from the ocean, so its customers are mainly locals who want to get away from the summer tourists.” He babbled on and couldn’t seem to shut up. “And at this time of day, it’s very quiet. And it’s not too far from your sister’s.”
“I know.” Jolene laughed.
“What?”
“You’re very cute when you’re nervous, Chief.”
“I’m not nervous. Why would I be nervous?” But he was.
Her eyes narrowed in the sexiest way. “I don’t know. I seem to make you nervous?”
Unconsciously he inhaled, expanding his chest. Then he took her small, soft hand in his again, wanting to prove he was not nervous around her. “You don’t.”
The longer her sparkling almond-shaped eyes remained on him, the stronger the urge grew to kiss her.
He felt himself leaning toward her and jerked away just in time, changing the direction of his gaze to look toward the menu on the wall behind the cashier. “I-I’m going to grab a breakfast sandwich,” he stammered and pushed his sunglasses back on his head. As he stood to walk to the counter he asked, “Do you want one? They make great sandwiches. My treat.”
“Thanks, no. I had lunch. But I’ll take a French Vanilla Cappuccino.” She slipped her hand from his, allowing him to pull his wallet from his back pocket.
After they ordered and received their drinks and his sandwich they took a seat at the rear of the shop away from the other patrons. She studied the half dozen people who sat at various tables reading books or using their electronic devices. He watched as she snagged her glasses from her head and hung them from the scooped neckline of her tank top. Then she carefully removed the plastic lid from the cardboard cup and set it aside. She blew across her drink and rich, aromatic steam rose from the liquid toward her full rose-colored lips.
Norris didn’t want to look away but he had to because his erection would prevent him from standing otherwise.
Goddamn it, he needed to get laid. No, he needed to think about the case...
Instead of thinking about how much he desired to taste the sweetness of her lips, he made small talk. “I would never have taken you for a French Vanilla Cappuccino girl.” It was a weak attempt at making conversation, because his mind was busy going down a different path.
Jolene stopped blowing across her drink and smiled mischievously. “Really. What did you expect me to order?”
“Swiss Mocha. Women love chocolate.” He unwrapped his sandwich and bit off a bite.
“Not all women.”
“You don’t?”
“I do.” She chuckled. “Honestly, I teetered between this and mocha.”
As he watched her sip her drink and lick her lips Norris’ cock twitched. Immediately he glanced away, reminding himself they were working together and he had to keep this on a professional level no matter how much he’d longed to taste every inch of her compact, tanned body.
The front door’s bell system dinged, telling them someone entered the establishment. Both of them looked to the door, expecting to see Carter but instead saw a pair of teenagers walk in.
“He’s late.” Norris’ tone made it clear he was annoyed with the agent.
“It’s tactical.” Jolene leaned back on her chair. A knowing smile curled her lips.
After a bite of his sandwich, Norris wiped the napkin across his lips. “What do you mean?”
“He’s testing you. He wants to see if you’ll wait for him to make decisions concerning the case. And when he gets here he’ll make suggestions, expecting you to go along.”
Again, the woman impressed him with her working knowledge of the Feds. “He’ll be disappointed then. This is my case. I’ll bring you both up to speed if he ever decides to join us. In the meantime, how’s Lia doing at your sister’s?”
“Amazing. She and my niece were best friends forever before I even woke up. She ate really well and right now she’s playing house with Clara.”
“That’s good.”
Her smile faded and her expression turned serious. “How did the Mr. and Mrs. Burgess take the news?”
“Not good. Carter calmed them down when he stated he had doubts that Lia was their child. They seem to trust him.”
“Did they stay here or go back home?” She mixed her cappuccino with a wooden stirrer.
“Oh, they’re here. At least for a few days. They’re hoping DNA results will come in quicker than what we told them. They’ve seen the news reports saying rapid DNA results are now available to law enforcement agencies.”
“They haven’t heard about the long waiting list however.”
“No.” Norris frowned. “They ignored that part when we spoke to them. I’m going to continue to approach this case as if Lia isn’t their child. It might be counter-productive if she turns out to be theirs, but in the meantime I don’t want to miss or lose any other leads.” He took a swallow of his own coffee and welcomed the swift rush of caffeine.
“I agree.” She tapped the stick on the cup, laid it aside and then propped up her head with a fist pressed to her temple and stared at him. “What has your team learned?”
He swallowed a bite of his egg and sausage sandwich and wiped a napkin across his mouth. “So far my team learned that all boats launched within a fifty-mile radius and during the seventy-two hours prior to finding Lia have now returned to port. So the possibility of a small craft sinking is unlikely.”
>
“But not impossible?”
“No, if they sank after putting to sea outside the fifty-mile radius or from a private dock. I’ll have one of my staff check further. Maybe the Coast Guard can help us out but I don’t see a small boat carrying a child—”
“Or children,” Jolene added.
She was right. There could have been other children aboard. Lia might have been the lucky one to survive. “Or children, making that kind of a trip. Again, not impossible.” Norris pulled his cell phone out and tapped a note into it. “The Coast Guard and beach services are still watching for wreckage.”
“No one has come forward looking for a lost child?” Jolene asked.
“No. So I’m crossing off the possibility of her wandering away on the beach.”
Jolene’s charm bracelet jangled against the tabletop. “What if whoever was caring for her—her mother or babysitter—can’t report her missing? This case could be as clear-cut as an estranged father killing Lia’s mother and taking off with her.”
Norris arched a brow. “If he wanted the child for himself, why dump her?”
“Self-preservation. He didn’t mean to kill, but now that he did, he had to get rid of her and any witnesses who might’ve seen him take her. He’ll need to disappear and try to set up an alibi because he knows he’ll be the first name on the police’s suspect list. Sadly, it’s happened before.”
“Shitheads.”
“You’re being kind.” Jolene picked up her cup.
“I’ll have my people request information on any homicide cases occurring within the last forty-eight hours and going forward, just in case a body hasn’t been discovered yet.” Norris brought his phone to life again. Only this time he sent Pickett a text then popped the last piece of his sandwich into his mouth. He wiped his mouth and hands off on the paper napkin, rolled it into a ball and tossed it into the plastic basket sitting in front of him. “You sound like you’ve seen a similar case or two.”
“No. My cases are a little off the wall. How about you? Did you handle any homicides when you worked in Norfolk?”
“Two. And quite a few domestic violence cases. None of them led to a homicide however.”
“When children get involved it’s a different game.”
“Definitely.”
“And seeing what we do is hard on relationships, makes it hard to get close to anyone, doesn’t it?” Jolene said, and quickly looked away.
Norris stared at her, wondering if she wanted to share something personal. Before he had a chance to ask, Jolene pointed out the window. He followed her gaze. She waved as Carter crossed the parking lot.
The federal agent had easily caught Jolene’s eye and for a second Norris felt jealous.
“He finally made it,” he said, snuffing out the sting he knew too well and that threatened to unleash memories he’d purposely buried. He took a swig of his rich coffee and waited.
Jolene’s eyes finally slanted his way and she must have recognized his reaction because she said, “Remember, we agreed to play nice.”
He licked the coffee from his lips, telling himself he didn’t care if Jolene was interested in the man. He wasn’t looking for a relationship. “Haven’t I been nice to you?”
“I found the girl first.” Jolene grinned.
Damn he liked her smile. “Whatever.”
SA Carter seemed to ignore them when he entered and headed straight for the front counter. Only after he’d place an order did he turn and nod to them.
He approached them a minute later, carrying a large iced coffee.
“We thought you got lost,” Norris said after Carter pulled up a chair to join them at their round table.
What did it say about their trust issues that none of them sat with their backs to the storefront? Norris looked from Carter to Jolene as she peered at Carter over her cup.
“Nah. I don’t get lost. I only take detours.” Carter chuckled before sipping his drink. “It’s damn hot out there today.”
“You could take off your jacket,” Jolene said.
“I don’t think so.” Carter leaned against the chair spindles and they moaned in protest. “So, what have I missed?”
“Chief Norris’ team hasn’t received any new reports of missing children.”
Norris knew it shouldn’t, but Jolene’s statement made him feel incompetent. He and his entire small force were working as hard as they could to gather any information which might help them learn something, anything.
“Which leaves us with an earlier kidnapping or abandoned-child scenario. Don’t you agree?” Carter asked.
The man placed his hand on the table near Jolene’s.
Norris shifted on his seat. “We’re still checking on missing boats,” he stated flatly. “That might take another day, since some ships go to sea for a few days.” He hooked his thumb toward Jolene. “Agent Martinez suggested we consider the girl’s guardians. She said we need to consider that her mother, father...grandparents could be dead.”
“And they haven’t been found yet,” Jolene interjected.
“Custody battle.” Carter nodded. “Good thought.”
“If that’s the case, I think we’ll hear something within the next twenty-four hours, if a missing person report is filed,” Norris added.
“What’s your game plan in the meantime, Chief?” Carter asked him.
Norris drank his coffee before he answered. “We need to find out if any locals saw Lia in the last few days and who was with her.”
Carter shifted on his chair and rested his elbows on the table. “Then you’ve decided to release her picture to the media?”
“No. I think—”
“Why not?” Carter interrupted him. “That would be the fastest way to get leads.”
“This is a tourist area. People come, and go. They don’t get to know the people around them. They’re on vacation and they see what they want to see. If we put her picture out to the media, we’re going to get hundreds of sighting calls. Yes, it could be possible that one would be a genuine lead, but by the time we weed through all the calls it could be too late. We need to go old school first.” Norris sat forward on his chair. “I think we can assume Lia is not from here or close by. We would’ve heard something by now which means she has to be from somewhere else. There aren’t many places to stay in Cape James. We have ten hotels and eight bed and breakfasts, and a campground ten miles north. Plus, the surrounding towns also have a few places to stay. I want to get my people out to those places and see if any staff recognize her.”
“You’re assuming too much,” Carter said. “You have miles of beach fronts with private homes. What’s to say someone involved isn’t renting one of them?”
Norris sighed and set his cup down. “I’m sure you know I’ve only been chief here for nine months.”
Carter nodded.
Norris knew the man had run a check on him. He would’ve done the same thing if their positions were reversed. “With the exception of me, every man and woman on my staff have lived here all their lives. They have connections to almost every family in town. They’ve told me that there are only two houses on the beachfront for rent. We’ve already contacted the listing agencies to get information on the people renting them now. We’ll also do checks on them.”
Carter leaned toward Norris’ space. “And if whoever had Lia merely drove by to drop her off in the ocean, how will you find them?”
In his peripheral vision, Norris saw Jolene shift on her chair. She didn’t lean forward. Instead she reclined back, informing him she was enjoying the game he and Carter played.
“If that was the case, we might never know who dropped her off. However, we’ll also check with the local gas stations and restaurants. Our service stations are very busy. People fill up here before they head home instead of waiting until they get nearer the turnpike or Interstate.”
“I still think you should release her picture, Chief,” Carter pressed.
Norris gripped his cup in his hand. �
�And I disagree. I want solid tips right now. I don’t want my people running around searching for leads that don’t exist.” He could see Carter was chomping at the bit. Regardless of what Carter said about not stepping on Norris’ toes with this case, it was obvious the man wanted to take the lead. And Norris wasn’t going to let it happen.
“I agree with Chief Stiles,” Jolene said.
Norris shot her a look of thanks.
Carter rested back on his chair. “Of course, you would.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, continuing to play with the little tab on the lid of her cup.
She was used to the games the FBI agents played.
“It means you want this case as much as I do,” Carter said.
“What I want, SA Carter, is to learn who put the child adrift on the ocean to die. I don’t care who heads the case. I want to help.” She sat forward and with her arms on the table top leaned toward the federal agent. “We’re on the chief’s turf. He hasn’t asked for our help yet. He asked us here to review what he’s learned and tell us the steps he plans to take, as a courtesy.”
“From my view, you’re already involved with the case. You’re guarding the girl.”
“I was the one who found her.”
Even though he was enjoying the sparring match between the federal agents, Norris’ flat palm hit the top table with enough force to cause them to look at him. Unfortunately, he also gathered some curious looks from other customers. He smiled, relaxing his features, and looked directly at Carter. “There is no argument here. As long as I hold jurisdiction over this case, I’m going to work it my way. You both can offer advice and I’ll consider it, but my decision is final.”
“Until we learn the girl is the Burgess child.”
The man needed to have the last word it seemed.
“Agreed.”
Norris held Carter’s glare until the Fed pushed his chair back and stood.
Carter looked down at Jolene. “Thanks for setting me up with a room.”
“No problem.”
“I’ll call you when we get the DNA results. Call me if you learn anything.” He turned and walked out.
Jolene and Norris sat in silence, watching the FBI agent exit to the street and climb into his car.
Loved by Darkness Page 8
