Page 22 of Operation: Discovery

“They might be in the back lot, but if they have no one stationed here, saying we can’t be on the property, then we can.” Getting out of Dee’s car took an extra minute since he had to do everything opposite of how he was used to in his own car, but he was soon on the pavement and headed for the spot where he’d parked earlier.

Dee crouched near the passenger side parking line and turned on the flashlight of her phone. “I don’t know what I’m looking for, but if they placed the bomb while we were here, there should be something, right? There are fallen leaves all over. Maybe they’d be pushed out of the way?” She looked back down, as if expecting to suddenly see something she hadn’t before.

“I’m sure the wind took away any leaves from this morning long ago. I think they did it when we were at the coffee shop. That parking lot is very busy. Chances are good that if they left anything behind, it’s been run over hundreds of times by now. The reason I think it was there and not here is because they probably had no way of knowing which car was mine, other than the fact that I parked in the handicapped spot. This spot is right in front of the door,” he tilted his head in that direction, “and would’ve put them at risk of being seen by the parents inside who were looking for something to be nervous about. At the coffee shop, the closest spot is still around the corner of the building, far away from the door. No one can see the parking area from inside the coffee shop since there are no windows facing the lot.”

Dee nodded even as she straightened and headed for the front window. “I know you’re right, but I felt like we should look, anyway.”

She peered through the front door, framing her face with her hands to block the light. “It’s dark in there, but it looks like they’ve cleaned up almost everything.”

“Taken it into evidence. Police don’t usually clean a scene.” Though they sometimes had cleaners come if a scene was particularly gruesome. This scene hadn’t made it that far.

“I wonder if they’ll dispose of all of it or leave it to sit in some storage room somewhere.” She frowned. “We should go look at the coffee shop. The hours said it closes at six on weeknights, so they’ll close in just a few minutes. The lot might be empty.”

He would agree because she was driving and could ultimately go where she wanted to, but he was sure they wouldn’t find anything. They hadn’t been able to pull the device—or whatever was left of it—from his car yet because everything was too hot. Tomorrow, they would comb the debris for clues and send in what they could. “Sounds good.”

He got back in the car while Dee waited. “I know you probably think this is silly, but I feel like I have to be active, doing something, or I’ll succumb to too much energy and let my ideas go wild. It feels like, by looking for clues, I’m helping even if I’m not.”

He shrugged a shoulder. “I’m glad you want to help.”

“But you’re worried I’m being too pushy again.”

He clamped his mouth shut tight until he could formulate the right answer. He’d never told her why he’d left and wasn’t sure where she’d gotten a clue he felt that way. Telling her that her drive and energy had collided with his needs would hurt her. So, he hadn’t done it. He’d just left and dealt with the pain of losing her on his own. He’d told himself he was just a patient to her, even though they’d gotten close, and she would heal just like he would.

Except he really hadn’t. His resolution to keep his reasoning a secret had only made the wound fester, not heal. “We can go look, then let’s get something to eat.” Which was the real reason he’d agreed to come in the first place.

“Great. I just want to look quickly. You don’t even have to get out of the car if you don’t want to.”

He flinched inwardly. Was he being too sensitive or assigning feelings to her that didn’t exist because of their history? Did she think he was too slow to get out and look with her? Was she trying to save him the trouble? Or was he just not quick enough for her? Either way, neither his thoughts nor her dismissal was going to stop him from going where he wanted to go.

* * *

After she’d lookedin the lot at Sacred Grounds and found nothing, Brendon sat across the table from Dee in the back corner of Ahab’s restaurant. He had an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. While the setting was totally different from anywhere they’d shared a meal before, the feeling was the same. There was an expectation of good conversation, of the same back-and-forth they’d shared before. Maybe sentimentality would get him nowhere, but for now, he refused to end the feeling, hoping it would lead him to forgiveness.

She glanced over her menu at him. “What do we do now?”

He set his menu down on the table. “We wait and let the police do what they’re supposed to do. There’s a lot of information to take in at a crime scene and this scene took up a whole building. They took all day to sift through it, bag it up, label it, and send it where it needs to go. Examining it closer will take time.” Though he loved that she was enthusiastic about making the community safer. She wasn’t looking to sit by, waiting and watching, while others did all the work.

“I’m not great at waiting.” As if to prove her point, she searched the dining room for their server who hadn’t been back to the table in a while.

Music blared from the open area of the restaurant where people swayed on a small dancefloor. He’d personally never sat over there, but he didn’t miss the longing glance Dee threw that way.

“You still dance?” he asked.

She smiled for a bare second and glanced down at the table. “I still love dancing, but I haven’t been out in a long time. I don’t have any desire to be held by strangers at this point in my life.”

But if she had a partner who could dance … He had to stop thinking about what could never be with Dee. Especially now that she was a care nurse for people with paraplegia. Why would she want to be married to one if she worked with them all day? As a nurse, she would probably feel like she had to care for him around the clock.

Dee cocked her head. “What are you thinking about? You just screwed your face up pretty hard. Dancing isn’t that bad, you know.” Dee laughed and grabbed her half-empty water glass. “Wonder where the server is? We ordered a while ago.”

He wasn’t about to tell her he was thinking about marriage. There was nothing about that statement that would be taken the right way, even if it was true. “Nothing. Just thinking.”

“It really doesn’t matter.” Dee sighed, then smiled at him. “The music is a nice touch though.”

He found he wanted to know more about Dee. What had changed her over the last few years? What had stayed the same?

“So, if you don’t dance anymore, what do you do in your free time? You must do something active. You still look fantastic.” He wouldn’t be ashamed for noticing. She was, and always had been, incredibly beautiful to him.

She laughed. “Nothing all that interesting. Mostly, I run. Since I’ve worked for elderly patients the last few years, I run early in the morning, then come home and shower before I help them get up. I do most of their cooking too. So, if I’m cooking a healthy meal for them, I’m eating healthy along with them.”

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