AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It took a few more minutes, but when Noelle swiveled her chair, the expression on her face was priceless. “Sometimes, the analysis gives you the strangest and most useless pieces of information. The samples taken from Jordyn’s clothes resulted in one particular thing being found. Efflorescence.”
“I think you’re speaking a foreign language.”
Noelle smiled. “Efflorescence is mold, a very volatile one. And the variety found on her is only found in concrete basements, mostly up north.”
“And why is that useless?”
“Well, due to water levels and the terrain, digging basements is impossible around here. It must be an error.”
Brandon hesitated but nodded. “Yes, I can see that’s not useful. Too bad, though, because if we knew where to find that elusive, impossible basement in New Orleans, we could solve our case in a snap.”
CHAPTER 13
“What do you mean she can’t be reached?” Noelle tried hard to resist the urge to reach through her phone and pulverize Dominique’s nephew, as it wasn’t the poor man’s fault her friend had decided to change locations.
Brandon was leaning against his car in the middle of the deserted station parking lot, arms crossed and waiting. Her initial plan was to go to Dominique’s nephew’s place outside of the city. To Noelle’s surprise, when she’d phoned him, she’d discovered Dominique hadn’t been there and had gone to visit an ill friend in Dulac and worse, her nephew didn’t know when she’d be back. Once again, Dominique Chassagne proved she wasn’t the type of woman to justify her whereabouts to anyone.
“So? It’s just a guess, but I take it we’re no longer going to the nephew’s?”
“I’m tempted, but Dominique isn’t there at the moment and there’s no way to know when she’ll be back. Without that, we could spend two or three hours on the road for nothing. I askedhim to get her to call us back as soon as possible. Even though I hate to admit it, it’s not a matter of life and death. We just need to ask her more about the threat hanging over us.”
Brandon nodded. “You know, in any other circumstances, her sudden disappearance would be considered as suspicious.”
Indignation and her protective side were almost unleashed on the man until she saw the twinkling of amusement in his eyes. “Be careful, or I’ll ask Dominique to put a hex on you when she returns.”
Hands in his pockets, Brandon didn’t seem impressed at all. “The lady said she likes me, and you like me, too.”
He was becoming too cocky for his own good, which she found incredibly amusing. “You’re an amazing detective. It takes great skill to guess a woman likes you, especially when she allowed you to put your tongue down her throat.”
“And this man is very grateful.”
Noelle considered elbowing him, but he was saved by his ringing cell phone.
“Hey, Callan, let me put you on speaker.”
Noelle shook her head. “Don’t you ever sleep?”
The deep voice was amused and tired. “It always seems to be that as soon as you’re eyeing your mattress, information arrives. I’m sending you the initial evidence report from the break-in you texted me about. I have to make a complaint to the officer in charge. The man needs to increase his typing speed. Brandon, check the attachment. It’s a picture of a potential suspect for the break-in and attempted arson.”
“Thanks, Callan. I owe you.”
“Oh yeah, man. I’m adding this to your beer count. Good night and be careful, both of you.”
When he hung up, it was Noelle’s turn to cross her arms. “Since when do your squad have their fingers in theft and arson?”
Brandon shrugged. “Callan and I are building our network. He’s made friends with individuals within that department, and I’ve done the same with the CSI team.”
“Yeah, right. Show me what the very efficient Callan found for us.”
The image was blurry on his phone’s small screen, but two things were undeniable: the person on the pixelated image was a blonde woman and a very well-endowed one.
“I hate when image quality is so bad, but the investigating officer says that he showed the picture to onlookers who were still on site, and some of them think they recognized her as a woman living in the neighborhood. They’ll do a canvass, but it may take some time. Maybe it would be an idea to send it to your computer friend.”
Noelle rubbed her eyes. “At this time of night, I wouldn’t ask Roseline unless it’s directly related to Jordyn’s and Leanna’s case. We don’t know if it is or not.”
With a nod, Brandon continued to scroll the file on his phone. “The officer in charge deduced the route the woman took when she fled the site. Maybe we could retrace her steps. Something might pop up as we walk around.”
Noelle started yawning, and Brandon winced. “I’m sorry, I’m used to functioning on so little sleep, I forget about other people. Let’s call it a night. It’s almost dawn, and it’d be good to get some shut-eye.”
