Page 16 of Jina

Maybe he was losing his mind. Shaking his head he followed her inside the restaurant. The scent of apple and cinnamon perked him up.

“Jina, lass, it’s wonderful to see you!” A round woman with a distinct Irish brogue and the brightest red hair he’d ever seen hustled over to greet them.

“Hi, Rosie. I was just telling Cole all about you.”

“Ach, you flatter me.” The redhead eyed him critically. “Aye, lad, Cole is it? That’s a fine Irish name.” She winked. “Any friend of Jina’s is a friend of mine. I hope you’re hungry. I have a fresh batch of apple turnovers hot from the oven.”

“Apple turnovers?” His mouth watered. “I’d love one!”

Rosie let out a delighted laugh and gestured to an open booth. “Have a seat, then while I fetch the coffee and pastries.”

He waited for Jina to choose a booth, then slid across from her. “I hope Rosie’s cooking is as good as it smells.”

“It’s better.” She waved a hand at the restaurant. “Usually it’s packed, but we’re here later than usual. Rosie’s is a fan favorite of the tactical team.” She frowned. “Now that I think about it, Rhy mentioned learning about the place from his brother Colin. Ironically, he’s a firefighter, and I think Mitch is their cousin. I really hate that Mr. Glen might lose his duplex over this.”

“Hey. Mr. Glen will be okay.” He reached across the table to take her hand. “He seems pretty resilient.”

“He wouldn’t be in this predicament if not for me.” She held his hand for a brief moment, then pulled away as Rosie returned with a coffeepot and two steaming apple turnovers.

Rosie set one in front of each of them then filled their cups. “There now, just let me know when you’re ready to order.”

“I’ll have the full Irish,” Jina said, before he’d had the chance to look at the menu.

“Ditto.” He picked up his fork and tried the turnover. The pastry melted in his mouth. “Wow. This is the best turnover I’ve ever tasted.”

“Told you.” Jina took a bite too. “All of Rosie’s baked goods are awesome, but her cinnamon rolls are the best.”

“We’ll have to come back to try them,” he said, before realizing how that sounded. “I mean, now that you’ve shown me the restaurant, I’ll be back.”

“I’m sure your girlfriend will love it too.” She sipped her coffee. “We should talk about the case. I understand you want to talk to Shelly in person, but I don’t want to risk this guy finding her. We could try a halfway point, but only if I’m convinced it’s safe.”

He nodded. “First, I don’t have a girlfriend. My wife, Renee, died of an aggressive form of leukemia three years ago. I’m not interested in dating. Second, I think we can start by doing a video call with your sister. Yes, I’d prefer to talk to her in person, but we’ll start with the call to protect her. Third, I need that list of perps you put behind bars so we can narrow down our suspect pool.”

She sat back in the seat, eyeing him thoughtfully. “You’re rather methodical in your approach to investigations.”

“Yep. And I get good results.” Most of the time anyway. No detective solved every case that dropped on their desk. He hoped the cold case wouldn’t be one of the unsolvable ones. “Any other questions?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry to hear about your wife. That must have been difficult.”

“It was. Renee was amazing.” He stared down at his coffee for a moment. “We weren’t that religious at the time, but when she died, she looked up at something in the distance and whispered about how beautiful it was before taking her last breath.” He still got goose bumps when he remembered that moment. “I believe she’s in a much better place.”

“I, uh, that’s interesting.” She grimaced, then said, “We never went to church, and my dad didn’t say anything like that when he died. He was angry about his heart attack and having to sell the farm. I often wonder...” She didn’t finish.

“Faith is an interesting concept,” he said after a long moment. “I understand that it’s not easy to believe in God when you can’t see Him or smell Him. But I will say that since I’ve started praying, I feel Him near me. That’s what keeps my faith alive.”

“Hard to imagine God would allow so many bad things to happen,” she said with a shrug. “But I’m glad your faith works for you.”

“It’s difficult because the Devil walks among us,” he agreed. Then he decided to change the subject. “Tell me about those names. Any of them jump to the top of the list?”

“No. I’ll send it to you once I have a new phone. Or access to a computer.” She straightened. “I forgot; my laptop is in my overnight bag.” She moved as if to stand, but he waved her off.

“Don’t rush out now. We’ll have time to look at the list in more detail when we’re finished.” At the rate these attacks were coming—three in a matter of hours—he wasn’t letting her out of his sight anytime soon. “I was just curious if anyone specific jumped out at you. Someone who made it a point to threaten you.”

“Most perps make threats.” She sipped her coffee, then shrugged. “There was no one that stood out as being angry enough to come after me the moment they were released from jail. Especially if you consider this guy has shot at me, followed me in a car, and started a fire.”

“Yeah, starting a fire is not common for most perps seeking revenge.” He stopped from saying more as Rosie delivered their meals. The full Irish was more food than he’d expected, but it looked incredible. “Thanks, Rosie.”

“Enjoy.” Rosie scurried off to her next customer.

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