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Small lines crinkled at the corner of his eyes, and Noelle noticed that he was probably older than he appeared. It was those of a man who had worried a lot.
“I have to agree. I’ll have to put it into evidence, confirm it’s Lottie’s handwriting. Do you think we could go as far as to put emotions on this?”
The mix of disbelief and hope on his face softened her somehow. “My friend Marina is amazing. And if she doesn’t have the answer, she knows lots of experts and wouldn’t be shy about using her connections. Get her the note, and I’ll push too.”
“Good! Excellent. Everything you can give me, I’ll take, Noelle.”
The way he said her name, so deep, made her want to lean in, but instead, she stepped away.
Noelle visited each room, but nothing appeared out of place or pertinent to her case. Back by the entrance, she shook her head and grabbed her kit. “I’m sorry I haven’t been of more help. I’ll go through all the data again. Everything is collected as evidence. Maybe something will pop up. But until then, I don’t see what more testing I could do. After all, Lottie was examined by a doctor, her blood tested, and nothing wrong with her has been found. I’ve read the report. I’ll recheck the analysis and see if we can perform other tests. You said she was shaking upon discovery? It could be from some kind of drug in her system. To be honest, I doubt we’ll find anything, but a second look won’t hurt.”
If possible, his wide shoulders drooped a little. “I sincerely appreciate everything you’ve done. If you find anything, and I mean anything, gimme a call.”
Again, after gallantly opening the door, he escorted her out, keeping close. “Let me drive you back to the office unless you’d like to go elsewhere? Or even better, maybe I could buy you dinner. As a thank you.”
Was the man blabbering? And slightly uncomfortable? The handsome Viking looked so adorable, Noelle almost wanted to accept his invitation, but the fading light told her she had an appointment to keep.
“I can’t. Not tonight.”
Brandon looked disappointed, but not as much as she felt, to her surprise. He quickly recovered, but as the man held the car door for her with a smile, Noelle wasn’t sure who between them was the saddest to see the evening cut short. But duty called.
CHAPTER 4
Brandon was far from a Casanova, but women usually liked him, found him attractive enough to go out with him. So why couldn’t he convince Noelle Breaux to do precisely that?
Since she’d examined the Noble crime scene, Noelle had agreed to do another pass on every piece of analysis, even offered new avenues to explore. However, everything had been done via email, and when he’d popped in her office, she was nowhere to be seen—which seemed strange. Brandon had learned that the beautiful but elusive scientist always took off early every Friday, a peculiar habit confirmed by many in the department, but nobody knew where she went. Her friends kept mum, which wasn’t a surprise.
He shouldn’t spend so much time thinking about the dark-haired goddess, and it made him look like a stalker. Brandon couldn’t help himself. Every time his mind wandered in her direction, everything seemed more straightforward, lighter. It was something he sorely needed as another murder case had fallen into his lap. Jarrod Huntington, a local psychologist, hadbeen found dead, stabbed by his secretary. There didn’t seem to be a motive, and Carole Whelan didn’t remember a thing. She said it was like waking up in the middle of a nightmare. It was an accurate description of what the police had found when they’d arrived; she was nearly comatose, although no blood work or a physical examination found anything wrong with the woman.
It didn’t take a great detective to see there was a connection between the two cases. The trouble was, what was it? In this case, as well as Lottie’s, there was no way he could classify them as murderers without going against what his instincts were screaming at him.
He was about to go over everything once more, maybe even review Carole and Lottie’s interrogation videos but was interrupted by his ringing cell phone. “Turner speaking.”
“Well, well. And here I thought you’d say ‘lieutenant’ as you fought so hard and long to get that title. Better use it as often as you can.”
The male voice sounded familiar, but the number didn’t. “Who’s speaking?”
The chuckle on the other end of the line almost triggered a name.
“And here I thought you were an ace detective. It’s Ryland McSheehy.”
Everything clicked, and it was Brandon’s turn to laugh. “You sneaky bastard! How are you? I’m amazed that you called.”
“Yeah, it’s been a long time. Too long. But you know how life can get in our line of work. But I’m not reaching out regarding work. I’m in New Orleans, and I remembered you just got that promotion. Care to join us for a drink?”
“Us?”
“Nico Maldonado is here too. As I recall, you did a couple of missions with him back in the day. And I’d like to introduce to you the love of my life. Nico is here with his lady, too.”
Brandon had fond memories of the time he worked with Ryland and Nico in Houston. If there had been a position available there, he wouldn’t have hesitated.
“It would be a pleasure. Tell me where and when.”
After scribbling the name of the bar where they would meet, Ryland told him that he was welcome to bring someone if he wanted. Immediately, images of Noelle came to mind, but he squashed them down.
“It’ll only be me. But I can’t wait to see all of you.”
Brandon disconnected. The surprise of hearing from his former colleagues, both of which he considered friends brightened his mood. It would do him good to put the murders aside for the evening.
