“As long as it’s okay with your parents, you both can be excused for tonight,” Jordon replied. Hannah also flew out of her chair and pulled a cell phone from her pocket.
“Go directly to the house and no place else,” Ted said.
“Where’s the house?” Jordon asked as the two teenagers left the building.
“Across the street. It came with this property,” Ted replied. “It’s a nice three-bedroom with a lake view.”
“And it has a huge detached garage that’s far enough away from the house that I can’t hear the banging and curses or noises that Ted makes when he’s working on one of the cars or in the middle of a woodworking project,” Joan added.
For the next hour Jordon questioned the couple about the murders, the victims and the daily operation of the bed-and-breakfast.
Gabriel was mostly silent during the conversation. She was grateful he allowed her to go over information she was certain he already knew.
The body language between the couple indicated a close, loving relationship, and Jordon sensed no underlying tension other than what would be deemed normal under the conditions.
By the time they’d finished up, night had fallen outside. “Agent James would like to stay here,” Gabriel said when the interview had wound down. A deep frown cut across his forehead. “That wouldn’t be a problem, would it?”
“Of course not,” Joan replied with a touch of surprise.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Ted asked.
“Positive,” Jordon replied without hesitation. Gabriel’s silent disapproval of the plan wafted in the air, but Jordon’s mind was made up.
“We’ll put you in unit seven,” Ted said. They all got up from the table. “I’ll just go get the key for you.” He left the dining room through a door that Jordon assumed led into the main office.
“Breakfast is served from seven to nine. If that doesn’t work for you just let me know,” Joan said. “We’ll be glad to do whatever we can to accommodate you while you’re here.”
“I’d like you to keep things the way you would for any other guest,” Jordon replied.
“And I’ll be here around seven in the morning so that we can begin interviewing the staff at eight,” Gabriel said. “I hope you don’t mind me joining Agent James here for breakfast.”
“You know you’re always welcome here, Chief Walters,” Joan said warmly.
Ted returned to the dining room and handed Jordon a room key. “I’ll just grab my coat and show you to the room.”
“Don’t worry about it, Ted. I’ll see her to the room,” Gabriel replied. He pulled on his coat and Jordon did the same.
“Thank you for the sandwiches. It was very thoughtful of you,” Jordon said to Joan.
“It was my pleasure,” Joan replied.
“And I won’t be needing daily maid service while I’m here. Once a week or so would be fine just for clean towels and sheets, and I can change my own bed.”
Joan nodded. “If that’s what you want. Hopefully the case will be solved soon and you won’t even be here long enough for that.”
“We’ll see you in the morning.” Gabriel picked up Jordon’s suitcases.
Jordon took the smaller of the bags from him. “They seem like a nice couple,” she said when they were out of the building and heading up the stairs to the cabins.
“They are. They have good kids, too. Both Jason and Hannah are excellent students and they work here for their parents after school.” He shifted the suitcase he carried from one hand to the other. “But these murders are quickly destroying their livelihood.”
“So, who would want to do that?” The cold air nearly stole her breath away as they trudged up the stairs to the row of cabins. She sighed in relief as they reached the unit she would call home for the duration of her stay.
“A few people come to mind.”
She set the suitcase she carried down and retrieved the room key from her pocket. Although she was intrigued by any suspects he might have in mind, at the moment all she wanted to do was get out of the frigid night air.
She sighed in relief as she stepped into the warm room. Gabriel followed her just inside the door and set her suitcase on the floor. She shrugged out of her coat, flipped the switch that made the flames in the fireplace jump to life and then turned back to look at him. “So who are these people who come to mind?”
“Actually, I’d rather not get into all that tonight. It’s getting late and I’ll just let you get settled in. Why don’t I meet you in the dining room at seven tomorrow morning and we can discuss it more then.”
It was only eight o’clock, hardly a late night, but it was obvious by the rigid set of his shoulders and how close he stood to the door that he wasn’t comfortable having a long conversation in the intimacy of the room.
Maybe he had a wife to get home to, she thought, although there was no wedding ring on his finger. She pegged him in his midthirties, certainly not only old enough to be married, but also to have some children running around.
“Okay, then I guess I’ll see you in the morning,” she said. “Oh, and one more thing. If it’s possible, I’d like to have a car at my disposal while I’m here.”
He gave a curt nod. “I’ll see to it that you have one first thing in the morning. And we should exchange cell phone numbers.” He pulled his phone from his pocket.
With her number in his phone and his in hers, Gabriel stared at her for a long moment. “You know I don’t approve of you staying here. You need to call me immediately if you feel uncomfortable here or believe you’re in any kind of danger.”
The only danger at the moment was the possibility of getting lost in the simmering depths of his eyes. She’d watched those blue eyes through the course of the evening. She wondered if he had any idea how expressive they were.
As she’d spoken to the Overtons, his eyes had alternately radiated with a soft sympathy and a deep frustration. It was only when he gazed at her that they became utterly shuttered and unfathomable.
“Jordon?” he said, pulling her from her momentary contemplation.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine.” Her hand fell to the butt of her gun to emphasize her point. “Good night, Chief Walters. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He gave her a curt nod and then left the room. Jordon locked the door behind him. There was no dead bolt, only the simple lock in the doorknob. Apparently security had never been a real issue before the murders. She was vaguely surprised dead bolts hadn’t been installed since then.
She sank down on the chair next to the fireplace, her thoughts consumed by the man who had just taken his bedroom eyes and his heady woodsy scent with him.
She had no idea how well they were going to work together. She wasn’t sure yet how open he was to hearing anything she might have to say about the cases. But the bottom line was she had a job to do and she would do her best with or without his cooperation.
She pulled herself up off the chair and opened one of the suitcases on the bed. It took her only minutes to unpack and then place her toiletries in the bathroom.
She set up her laptop computer on the small coffee table in front of the fireplace and for the next half hour typed in notes and impressions while things were still fresh in her mind.
By the time she finished, she was still too wound up even to think about going to sleep. She should just pull her nightgown on and go to bed, but she had a feeling she would just stare at the dark ceiling while sleep remained