“No thanks. You want to know what I think?”
“No thanks.”
“I knew you did. I think we should talk to more of AJ’s neighbors. Maybe some of them went to the funeral and saw her there. If you don’t want to go, I’ll do it while you stay here and do … whatever it is you’re doing.”
Luke spun around in the desk chair, hands folded behind his head as he arched his back to release the tension from sitting for so long. “How kind of you.”
Lake leaned up on her elbows. “I know, right? We could be like Holmes and Watson.”
“Mmm … brilliant, my dear sister. But something tells me your little investigation has more to do with a certain football player and less to do with interviewing the residents of Peaceful Woods.”
She failed to contain her grin. “Seriously, did I mention he’s not freaked out by my leg? And he called me hot. Hot, Luke. He didn’t have to call me that. It’s as if he wanted me to know that…” she shrugged “…that … well, that he thinks I’m hot.”
Luke smirked.
“Don’t. Don’t ruin this for me. Just let me have this dream … this fantasy. Let me play this out in my head. Can you see it? NFL quarterback shrugs off a throng of groupies after winning the Super Bowl to get to the love of his life and wait for it … she has a prosthetic leg, but he only sees her as perfect. This dream might be it for me. I need more to take back to San Francisco. Thirty minutes, forty tops. Then I’ll say goodbye forever. Oh, and of course I’ll question the neighbors too.”
“I’m so happy that in the midst of my tragedy you can find your own little fantasy.”
“So that’s a yes?”
“I think Jackson’s the only one who will lead us to Jessica.”
“Then you should talk to him again.”
Luke shook his head. He didn’t really trust Jackson to contact Knox. He didn’t trust Jackson in general.
“I don’t know. If he didn’t have Ryn, I’d worry about him skipping town. They’re here under new identities for a reason and us being here probably makes him nervous. He’s easily paranoid.”
“Maybe we should stakeout his place.”
Luke nodded. “Exactly. And we could use Cage’s bathroom.”
Lake rolled her eyes. “Hardy har har. I’m serious.”
Luke spun back around in his chair. “I’m not.”
“Ugh! You drive me crazy.”
The feeling was mutual.
“Okay. I’ll make you a deal.”
“I’m listening.” He typed in his screen password.
“If you let me go ‘investigate,’ I’ll fly back to San Francisco in the morning.”
He whipped around in his chair. “Then go. Do you remember how to get there?”
“Yes.” She pulled on her boots, her smile stealing her entire face. “I’m going to find the missing clue, Sherlock.”
She wasn’t going to find any new information, but it didn’t matter. His sister would be on a plane back to safety in the morning. That’s all that mattered.
*
Lake parked in one of the guest spots several houses down from AJ’s.
“Brilliant. Now what?” she mumbled to herself while checking her hair in the rearview mirror.
The bathroom request wasn’t going to work twice in the same day. It was a house, not a 7-Eleven. She decided the best plan was to question the neighbors first and maybe he would see her outside in the cold and invite her in for a cup of hot coffee or cuddling with him under a warm blanket.
Three strikes in a row, no one was home. At the fourth house, an elderly gentleman named Marvin Housby told Lake his wife, Greta, might know something, but she was in the bathtub with strict instructions to not disturb her. He grumbled something about “damn new toys.”
Lake froze midway down the Housby’s driveway. Both Jackson’s and Cage’s garage doors opened. A truck with tinted windows pulled into Cage’s garage. Jackson opened the door to the most offensive vehicle Lake had ever seen. Just as he started to get in, he zeroed in on Lake. She could feel his laser stare from across the street. However, the hunky guy getting out of his truck stole her attention, and so did the girl getting out of the passenger’s side.
Jackson stalked toward her with a menacing scowl. His approach seemed to catch Cage’s attention as he stood inside the garage looking at her. She considered fleeing for the Housby’s front door again and begging Marvin to let her in to wait for Greta.
“Little Jones girl, what the hell are you doing?” Jackson stood toe-to-toe with her, using his height advantage and deep voice to intimidate her. His freakishly defined muscles and tattoos did that all on their own. He didn’t need to invade her space too.
She gulped. “I’m seeing if anyone in the neighborhood went to the funeral.”
Jackson looked over his shoulder at Cage still watching from his garage.