Page 115 of D for Dead

She had ridden in with Sullivan and used a patrol car to visit the hotels in her hunt for Gavin.

Joel was tempted to tease her some more, but it was getting late and he was hungry. Besides, Angell was going to be home alone, and he was thinking about picking up takeout and then working his way through her front door. If Alan was going to keep being out of town, he might as well take advantage of it.

‘Sure. Let me shut down the computer.’

Angell slipped on her jacket and was standing by the door waiting for him when Louise Barton, one of the younger officers in the department, appeared.

‘Hey, Detective Angell. I checked out that guy you asked me to.’ Joel frowned, looking up.

What guy?

‘Yeah?’ Angell was looking interested. ‘You turn anything up?’

‘I did. I checked the cell phone number you gave me with the phone company and got them to trace the signal. You said this guy was in Europe, right?’

‘That’s where he’s supposed to be, yeah.’

‘Well he’s not.’ Barton looked pleased with herself. ‘They triangulated the signal and it was last used right here in Juniper.’

‘No shit.’

‘Who are we talking about?’ Joel asked, irritated he wasn’t in on the loop.

Angell turned to face him, her green eyes glittering with excitement. She had something; had caught a break. He remembered that look fondly.

‘Ryan Caparelli, the friend Amy is dog-sitting for.’

‘What about him?’

‘Amy and her friends think he’s in Europe. They haven’t been able to contact him so I said I’d look into it. Turns out he’s right here in Juniper. Now what are the chances of that?’

34

Jake worked from his laptop at the dining table throughout the afternoon, doing research and making calls, trying his best not to disturb Amy who had crashed and burned on the couch, the coffee she had made untouched on the table in front of her.

She was exhausted – the case now taking its toll on her – and he had slipped a cushion beneath her head, smoothed tawny brown locks of hair from her cheek and left her to it.

When she awoke just after eight thirty, glancing around sleepily, she seemed surprised that dusk was already settling outside.

‘You sleep okay?’

‘Yeah, thanks.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘Wow, sorry, I didn’t realise I’d been out so long. I didn’t mean to doze off.’

‘You needed the rest. Besides I’ve been busy.’

Amy glanced at his laptop, at the pile of notes beside it.

‘It really happened, didn’t it? Officer Peterson is dead.’

‘Yeah, he is.’

She looked thoughtful for a moment before getting up, padding into the kitchen. He heard her rummaging in the refrigerator. ‘You want a glass of wine?’

Jake glanced at the cup of coffee he’d recently made. Although wine was tempting, he needed to keep his mind alert and active. ‘No thanks.’ He looked over at Huckleberry who was lying patiently in his bed considering he hadn’t peed in hours. ‘We should probably take the dog out before it gets dark.’

Amy sat the wine bottle and glass down on the counter. ‘Damn, Huckleberry. Sorry, buddy, I forgot about you.’

‘I’d take him myself, but I don’t think leaving you here alone is a good idea.’