Page 99 of The Last Close Call

“Not yet,” he said. “I’m heading your way.”

***

Rowan pulled into the parking lot and eyed the neon VACANCY sign. Besides having a pint-size swimming pool, the Lone Star Motor Lodge on I-35 offered free parking and an on-site laundromat. Rowan couldn’t imagine why they weren’t booked solid.

The sight of the black Jeep Wrangler made her nerves flutter. Jack was here. Or at least, his car was. It was parked in front of room 116.

Where a light glowed behind the curtain.

Rowan pulled into an empty space in the middle of the lot and cut the engine. She’d come here on impulse, much like the day she had walked into the police station. One minute she’d been skimming news on her computer, and the next minute she was in her car. It wasn’t until she was twenty minutes down the highway that she started to question the wisdom of showing up here and interrupting his work.

She grabbed the printout off her passenger seat. It was still raining lightly, so she folded the paper in half and tucked it into her purse before getting out. She glanced around the parking lot, then jogged across the wet asphalt and strode up the sidewalk to room 116.

She took a deep breath and knocked.

Her shoulders tensed as she waited. The muffled sounds of a basketball game could be heard from the TV in the neighboring room. But 116 was silent. On the interstate behind her, an eighteen-wheeler blew its horn as it sped by.

Shivering, she pulled the sides of her coat together and glanced back at the Jeep. Then she knocked again, louder.

TWENTY

So, now we’re down to one?” Bryan asked over the phone.

“I’ll go through the list again.” Jack ran the towel over his wet hair and then tossed it beside the sink. “Maybe there’s something we missed.”

“How? We ran down every black Civic in town.”

Jack held the phone against his shoulder with his chin as he zipped his jeans. “I’ll try the university. They issue parking permits, so presumably they have a list of vehicles.”

A knock sounded at the door.

“What good will that do?” Bryan asked. “Unless he’s got a girlfriend who happens to be a university student from out of town and he’s using her vehicle.”

“Hang on. Someone’s banging on my door.”

“That seems like a long shot,” Bryan continued.

“Can’t hurt to try.”

“Well, you want me to do it? You’re on at six in the morning.”

Jack opened the door, and Rowan was standing there in her puffy blue jacket. A jolt of fear went through him. What the hell was she doing here?

“Jack? Hello?”

“Let me call you later.” He disconnected the phone.

“Hi.” Rowan gave him a nervous smile. “Bad time? I wanted to catch you before your shift starts.”

“I just got back.” He paused, waiting for her to drop some bomb on him. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

She gazed up at him, looking uneasy.

“I was about to go get some food before they close,” he said. “You want to come?”

Her eyes dropped to his bare chest, and she hesitated.

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