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Less than two minutes later, Edward Jessop, carrying something that reminded Jenny of a tackle box in his right hand, came into the office. In his left hand he carried two bottles of water. The condensation told her he must have gotten them from the kitchen.
“You got here fast,” Dale said. “I’m impressed.”
“We were actually on standby, parked in the driveway for Angela’s house.” Edward handed the bottles to Dale then set his case on a corner of Angela’s desk. He opened the case and pulled out a small stack of gauze pads, each one wrapped. These he handed to Parker. Then Edward donned a pair of latex gloves and turned his attention to Jenny’s injury.
His touch was very light as he used a single finger to outline the affected area. “First degree burn, not too bad. Does it hurt?”
“It stings but not horribly. I’ve burned myself worse, cooking.”
“Me too,” Ed shot her a grin. He opened one of the pads then held it out to Dale. Her love was quick because he opened one of the bottles and poured some of the water onto the pad.
Ed used the saturated gauze to gently soothe Jenny’s shoulder. He repeated the process several times, each time using a fresh piece of gauze, freshly wetted.
Finally, he used a dry gauze pad to pat the area and then applied a fresh larger gauze as a bandage.
“Have Robbie look at that tomorrow, Jenny. I don’t think it’ll blister. ”
“Thanks. It feels better.” Jenny sighed.
“Thank you, Edward.” Kate grinned at him.
“You’re welcome. I was also to tell you that it’s all clear out there.”
“All clear?” That confused Jenny. “What’s all clear?”
Kate nodded. “Yes. That means the man who attacked you, and the creepy one who spoke to you, have left the building.”
Jenny looked at Parker, and then she turned to Dale. Neither of them seemed to have a clue what was going on. And the paramedics had been on standby next to the parking lot! “I think it’s time for some answers.”
“Yes, sweet girl,” Kate said. “I do believe it is.”
* * * *
They were greeted by applause when they stepped back into the dining room. Parker brought Jenny’s hand to his lips and kissed it. One look in his woman’s eyes and he knew she really was all right. He let his gaze take stock of the room. Adam was sitting in the back, talking to the young couple Parker had seen earlier, tourists who had been eating lunch. Also sitting there was a young woman, a lone diner, who’d sat close to them.
Both the man who’d attacked Jenny and the rude one who’d taken on the air of a big shot were nowhere to be seen. Neither were Connor Talbot or Mel Richardson.
Parker spotted one man he needed to speak to right away. He approached Marcus Jessop, with Jenny’s hand still in his left, and extended his right. “Thank you. We owe you, big time.”
“I never saw anyone move so fast,” Dale said as he shook Marcus’ hand, too. “Thanks for protecting our woman.”
Jenny looked up at the man. “Yes, thank you, Marcus. By the way, you’re solid.”
Marcus chuckled. “You’re welcome. How’s the burn?”
“Not too bad.” She gave him a smile.
Parker noticed that Marcus appeared slightly distracted. He was talking with them but casting looks at that new waitress—no, investigator—and then flicking quick glances at Jeremy.
Jenny seemed to notice it, too, and smiled. And then she put her full attention on the woman. Before she could say anything to Nancy/April, Peter Alvarez-Kendall was right there in front of her.
“You said you weren’t going to go all G.I. Jane in his face. That’s a direct quote, damn it!” He reached for her then pulled his hands back. He obviously wanted to hug her but didn’t want to risk hurting her.
Jenny tugged on her hand. Parker let her go, and she wrapped her arms around Peter and gave him a quick hug. She stepped back and looked up at him. “I’m okay, Peter. And I didn’t go all G.I. Jane on him. I think that was more like pure Flo the waitress—you know, that old sitcom, Flo’s Diner?” Then she sighed and stepped back from him. “I don’t know what came over me, I really don’t. I didn’t even think. It was like my arm reacted all on its own, and that was that.”
