Part 19 (1/2)
As soon as Kyle walked away, she whispered, ”You were rude to him. What came over you?”
”Jordan, nothing at all, Jordan.”
She laughed. ”I told you he was a name-dropper.”
”He's got the hots for you,” he said. He wasn't smiling. ”In fact, it appears that half the men you've met since you've been in Serenity have the hots for you.” Noah reached across her and brushed a strand of hair away from her face, his fingers gently touching her cheek.
Her breath caught in her throat. He had merely touched her, and she'd reacted. She'd always thought she was immune to his charm, but she was becoming worried that she wasn't.
”Me?” she answered incredulously. ”I'm not the big attraction around here...you are. Carrie at the police station was all but standing on her head to get your attention. And what about Amelia Ann with her bottles of beer and her cinnamon rolls? She's definitely sweet on you.”
”I know she is,” he admitted with a grin, ”but I think you are too.”
She pulled back. ”Oh brother. Not every woman drops to her knees in front of you.”
Too late she realized exactly what she'd said. And she knew without a doubt he wouldn't let it go.
”Yeah?” he laughed. ”It's a nice fantasy. You think you'd ever...”
”Never.”
Jordan's cheeks turned bright pink. Her blush was lovely, he thought. He enjoyed embarra.s.sing her because that's when she showed another side of herself, the side that was vulnerable and sweet and innocent. She was beautiful, no doubt about that, and every man in Serenity seemed to notice.
Why did that bother him? He wasn't the jealous sort. And he certainly had no reason to be jealous. Jordan was a good friend, that's all. So why did he get an uneasy feeling when he was with her? He didn't have an answer. How could he explain what he didn't understand? One thing he knew: he didn't like the idea of any man getting close to her.
Ah h.e.l.l, he wanted her.
JORDAN LOOKED THROUGH THE PROFESSOR'S PHONE STATEMENTS while they ate lunch. while they ate lunch.
”I thought you were hungry,” he said. ”You've barely touched your food.”
”This hamburger could feed a family of six. I ate as much as I wanted.” She moved on to more important matters. ”I called Professor MacKenna when I got into town. This isn't the same phone number I called. And I remember Isabel told me that she and the professor often talked about the MacKenna clan. Her phone number isn't here either.”
”I'll bet he only used throwaways,” said Noah. ”Untraceable.”
”Since he moved to Serenity the professor's life became untraceable.”
She picked up a french fry and was about to take a bite, then changed her mind. She pointed it at Noah. ”And why did he move to Serenity? What made him choose this little town? Because it was so isolated? Or because it was close to something illegal he was involved in? We know whatever he was doing was illegal. Who makes a total of ninety thousand dollars in cash deposits?”
He took the french fry and popped it into his mouth.
She thought about the various possibilities and said, ”It's obvious that whoever killed those two men is determined to keep me here. Don't you agree?” Before he could answer, she said, ”Why else would both bodies be put in my cars?”
He loved watching her face as she thought aloud. She was so animated and eager. Over the past couple of years Noah knew he'd become overly cynical, but in his line of work, it was only a matter of time before the calluses formed. He'd learned not to get too close and not to expect anything, but he still hadn't quite figured out how to leave the work at work.
”Do you know what we need?” she asked.
He nodded. ”A suspect.”
”Of course. Anyone come to mind?”
”J. D. d.i.c.key's at the top of my list,” said Noah.
”Because he knew the body was in my car.”
”Yes,” he said. ”I had Street run his name, and J. D. did some hard time.”
He told her what he'd learned about J. D. When he was finished, Noah said that if Joe Davis didn't locate J. D. and bring him in for questioning soon, Noah was taking it out of his hands.
”Does that mean you'll stay on in Serenity?”
”It means Agents Chadd.i.c.k and Street will take over the investigation. This is their district,” he thought to add. ”And you and I will get out of here.”
”Will you go back to work for Doctor Morganstern right away, or will you take a few days off and go home?”
”Nothing to go home to,” he said. ”I sold the ranch after my father died.”
”Where do you call home?” she asked.
He smiled. ”Here and there.”
”Uh-oh,” she said. ”Here come the troops.”
Jaffee and Angela were headed to their table. Jordan knew what they wanted, the gory details about finding Lloyd in the trunk. Fortunately, Noah was saved from having to answer a hundred questions because he got a call from Chief Davis.
”Gotta go,” he said. He quickly paid the bill.
They were leaving the restaurant when Angela caught Jordan's attention and gave her the thumbs-up.
”She still hasn't figured out I can see her reflection in the window,” Noah commented, laughing.
”Are we meeting Joe now?” Jordan hurried to catch up.
”He said he's twenty minutes away. That gives us enough time to get the boxes of research to MacKenna's house.”
”Why there?”
”That's where Joe wants them. Probably because the police station is so small. No place to store them until he can go through them.”
”I don't know what he expects to find,” she said. ”It's just historical research.”
”He still needs to look through them.”
”Would you mind if we made a quick stop at the grocery store on the way to the professor's house?”
He didn't object, and while he carried the first two boxes to the car, she stuffed the last two hundred and some pages she needed to copy into her tote bag and carried the empty third box.