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Not if she found Aiden first.
Some people thought they could go through life leaving chaos and heartbreak in their wake. She made it her goal to stop them. To stop people like Aiden.
Chase parked the car in front of a 1970s split-level home on the outskirts of town where Sylvia, Laney, and the missing two women lived. Four rocking chairs lined the front porch along with a matching hanging swing. All had brightly colored cushions next to an abundance of potted plants and flowers.
“Nice place,” Jacquie said as they got out of the car and walked up the steps and toward a large welcome sign standing next to the front door
Chase hadn’t said a word on the drive over.
That was fine by her.
He took out the key and unlocked the front door. In the foyer, a staircase to the left led up to the second floor while on the right a few steps down led to a sunken living room where an overstuffed sofa and small coffee table faced a stone fireplace and a large television in the corner. A few steps up from the foyer led to a dining room and the kitchen in the back.
Jacquie started up the staircase to the second level. “You take this floor while I search upstairs.”
Chase followed her. “I think we should stick together.”
“Why?” She spun on him, her words dying on her lips as she realized her mistake. He was too close in the narrow stairwell, and she was too aware of how handsome he was, and how much her body still responded to him. Warmth radiated off his chest, and his woodsy scent filled her head. Her gut clenched at the visceral memory of that scent, one that she’d used to love breathing in at every opportunity. And it was suddenly like their eight-year gap hadn’t happened. “Don’t you trust me?”
“Of course I trust you,” he said. “But we are coming at this case from different angles. Sometimes those angles can skew perception.” His eyes were locked on hers, and she had to admit, she wasn’t exactly sure what he’d just said.
“Seems like a fancy way of saying you don’t trust me.”
“How about we both start upstairs and see how it goes?” He lowered his voice. “We don’t know if we’re alone.”
He had a point. She needed to get her head back in the game. “I hope we’re not alone,” she whispered. “I hope Aiden is here.” Then this whole situation could end and Chase could go back to Charlotte where he came from.
He cocked an eyebrow, but didn’t challenge her. She remembered that look. She pressed against the wall as far as she could as he passed, her insides melting a little. Sucking in a breath, she followed him, watching the sway of his shoulders and his long gait as he took the stairs ahead of her.
Why did Josh want him there? Checking this house on her own would have been a lot more productive. Concentrating on this case and not on their past was proving to be more difficult than it should be. She swayed a little as she reached the top of the stairs and rested against the wall for a second, remembering she had to take it easy.
Thankfully, Chase didn’t notice as he continued down the hall. After a moment, she turned into the first doorway on her right just to put a little distance between them.
The room was a mess. Clothes were piled in a mound on the bed, books, papers, pens, and sticky notes covered every inch of a desk against the wall. A vanity, scattered with makeup and jewelry, could barely be seen. A few pictures shoved in the crack of a mirror showed a younger blonde smiling with another girl. They looked close enough that they were probably related.
She poked around the desk and found a note with the name Tony’s Bistro Acapulco written on it. She quickly Googled the name on her phone. Looked nice. Chances were the girls went to Acapulco. She opened the desk’s drawers and found a laptop, grabbed it, and put it in her bag. Hopefully they would find airline tickets or hotel reservations. She quickly searched the dresser but found only clothes.
The next door opened onto a large bathroom, one sink tidy, the other cluttered. Nothing of interest in the drawers. Jacquie walked into the next room. This one was neat. Nothing out of place or anything that would help her, except for the laptop sitting on the desk. She grabbed it and placed it with the other one in her bag, then continued down the hall to a large room that must be the master. Chase was searching the dresser drawers.
“Find anything?”
“Only this.” He pointed to a picture of Sylvia and Aiden sitting on top of the dresser. They’d obviously found Sylvia’s room.
“I’d say that’s proof your brother is back in town.” Jacquie picked up the picture and placed it in her bag.
“That doesn’t mean he’s involved.”
“Then where is he?”
Chase didn’t respond as he continued searching the room.
“I found laptops in the roommate’s rooms. Is there one here?”
Chase pointed to the desk. “A stack of notebooks. No laptop.”
Jacquie glanced around the room. It was spotless. The bed made, the corners tight. Not a speck of dust in sight. “I don’t remember Sylvia being this clean when we were kids.”
Chase opened the closet doors. Men’s clothes filled half the closet. “I’m going to guess she wasn’t living here alone.”
