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“You know what I mean,” Jessie pressed. “You said that the long-distance thing with Chris petered out. Any possible replacements on the horizon?”
“No,” Hannah said, her cheeks turning pink.
“But…?” Jessie pushed playfully.
“Fine, there is one guy who annoys the hell out of me,” Hannah conceded. “I met him at a party last night and he was so self-righteous. It was infuriating.”
“But…?” Jessie repeated.
“But I was kind of a jerk to him, and I think I owe him an apology when I get back after break.”
“If you say so,” Jessie said. “You’ll keep me posted on any worthwhile developments?”
“Probably not,” Hannah told her.
“Fair enough. But generally, things are good?”
There was slightest pause before Hannah answered.
“All good,” she said.
Jessie sensed that might not be the whole story but decided that she’s pushed enough for the first night back. She’d hold off on any additional interrogations until later. She wouldn’t have been able to anyway because at that moment, Ryan walked in the door.
“Hello ladies,” he said, beaming as he walked over to give Hannah a hug. “How are we?”
“Good,” Hannah told him. “You?”
“Better now,” he said, stepping back to take her more fully in before jokingly adding, “you’ve grown so much.”
“Oh my god,” Hannah muttered. “You sound so old right now.”
Ryan cackled happily at the insult. Before he could make her even more uncomfortable, his phone rang. He glanced down, then over at Jessie.
“It’s Captain Parker,” he said. “She asked me to let her know when I got home so she could call us both to update us on the case status. Do you mind if I answer it?”
“Only after you give me a kiss,” Jessie insisted.
“Okay, that’s my cue to go to my room,” Hannah said as she quickly darted away. “Let me know when you’re done making out and talking shop. And don’t forget to keep stirring those veggies in the pan.”
She was out of sight before they could respond. Ryan answered the call as he leaned in to kiss Jessie.
“Hernandez?” Parker asked when she didn’t hear any greeting.
To Jessie’s delight, Ryan lingered on the kiss an extra second before answering.
“We’re here, Captain,” he finally said.
"Great," Parker said. "Sorry to bother you at home, but I got a few updates since you left the station and wanted to fill you both in."
“We’re all ears,” Jessie told her.
“Okay,” Parker said, “your research guru, Jamil Winslow, has been hard at work and re-confirmed the preliminary GPS phone and vehicle data from Monday night. Using that, officers were able to track down the suspected murder weapon that Rhett Kirby used on Ava Martell in a nearby dumpster. It was a glass vase with blood, hair, and prints on it. The lab is working to match all of that as we speak.”
“That’s excellent news,” Ryan said.
“Agreed,” Parker said, “between that and Hunt catching Rhett Kirby red-handed with that knife in the restroom today, we’ve likely got him dead to rights. Locking down a conviction on Nina Kirby might be a little tougher, but I think we’ll get there. Regardless, I wanted to let you know that I received a call from Chief Decker a little bit ago. He wanted me to convey his appreciation for your hard work and wish you a happy Thanksgiving. He would have done it himself, but he’s stuck at some city council meeting for the next few hours.”
“Thanks for passing along the message,” Jessie said.
