Page 36 of Half Baked

As though reading my mind, he took the bag and tucked it into the box. “I meant it, Maddie. The killer’s name may not be engraved on the necklace or signed on the note, but we’ll find something. This isn’t a dead end. We still have people to talk to. They might give us something that’ll point us in the right direction.”

“Okay.”

He turned onto Main Street. “So do you get you can get off work the rest of the week?”

“It’s short notice. And I just took off three weeks with my shoulder,” I said, sitting back in my seat and staring out the windshield. “It’s Wednesday, right?” This week already felt like it had been nine days long.

In response to his nod, I said, “I work tomorrow and Friday, then I have Saturday off. But I have to work Sunday morning. I traded with Trista so she’d cover for me when I went to Nashville. I can possibly trade for Friday, but Sunday will be harder.”

“Don’t worry about tomorrow morning. There are plenty of things that I can’t do with you.” His eyes narrowed, probably because he could read my expression. “I’m not leaving you out. I plan on chatting with the coroner’s office and the sheriff’s department.”

“I thought this was unofficial,” I said. “I really don’t want you to get into more trouble, Noah.”

“Don’t worry. I have a few friends who will look into things off the books. In the meantime, if you could make a list of teachers and some students who knew your mom, I can try to set up some interviews for us for tomorrow afternoon.”

That made me feel less guilty about choosing work over finding my mother’s murderer. “Most of the teachers Mom worked with are still at the school. They won’t be able to talk with us until midafternoon anyway.”

“See?” he said with a soft smile as he turned onto the side street next to Déjà Brew and pulled into the lot, parking next to my car. “There’s no reason for you to take off in the morning anyway.” He turned serious as he shifted his car into park. “I know you’re worried about money, especially with Deidre’s nursing home expenses looming over your head.”

“I don’t want you to think my mother’s not a priority,” I said, feeling sick.

“Maddie,” he said emphatically, reaching over to cup my cheek and turning me to face him. “That’s the last thing I’d think. The sad fact is your mother was murdered almost two decades ago. It won’t matter if we spread out the investigation over a few weeks.”

I knew weeks were nothing compared to the years I’d already waited, but I was getting impatient for answers. “On second thought, maybe I should take the time off anyway.”

He was silent for a moment. “I’m not gonna tell you what to do. If it were my mother, I’d feel the exact same way. But I plan on spending tomorrow morning making phone calls to the crime lab and detectives in the sheriff’s department. Other than listening in on those calls, there’s nothing for you to do.” He paused. “When I said I wouldn’t hold anything back, I meant it. I swear.”

Tears stung my eyes. I felt so close to finding answers, but I was still so very far from getting them. “Okay.”

He leaned closer as though he were about to kiss me, and then seemed to realize he was still touching my cheek. He dropped his hand, looking chastised. “You’re sure you’re okay with this plan? I don’t want you to feel pressured or think I’m going behind your back.”

I read the sincerity in his eyes. “I trust you.”

“Even though I’ve given you every reason to think otherwise, you mean a lot to me,” he said, looking broken to admit it. “As you’ve likely suspected, things didn’t go well with my father on my trip home over Christmas.”

Was he finally opening up to me? “Can you tell me what happened?”

“I can’t.”

I nodded, but it was a bitter disappointment, because as long as there were secrets between us, this would never work.

“But I’m working through it.” He drew in a breath and seemed to choose his words carefully. Grimacing, he added, “I’m kind of a moody asshole if you hadn’t figured that out yet.”

I released an exaggerated gasp. “You?”

He rolled his eyes. “I deserved that.”

I gave him a mock glare. “You did.” I shrugged. “Turns out I apparently have a thing for moody assholes.”

A smile spread across his face. “I really don’t deserve you or your patience, Maddie Baker.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said with a hint of a smile. “Just keep reminding yourself of that.”

“I want to work things out with you, Maddie. There’s nothing I want more than to be with you…if I’m not holding you back. I understand why you want to keep our relationship platonic while we work on this,” he said. “I don’t want you to think I’m going to pressure you into anything.”

I nearly laughed. Noah had never pressured me into a relationship. If anything, it had probably been the other way around.

He looked serious. “I prefaced that before my next statement because I don’t have a right to ask you what I’m about to ask you, but I’m going to ask anyway. I will completely understand if you say no.”

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