Page 41 of Cold Case Discovery

He ran a hand over her hair. A sweet, protective gesture as he pressed a kiss to her temple. “Good.”

That simple response almost made her laugh. But this wholedayalso revealed a truth that she was going to have to accept.

Everything was going to feel off-kilter and wrong until they got to the bottom of this mystery that connected to both their pasts. “Let’s go get that scrapbook. I think I need to not have it hanging over my head.”

He nodded. “Keys in my pocket. Let’s head out.”

He drove out to Bent County. They didn’t really talk, just listened to the low strains of the old-fashioned country music he preferred. It suited the mood. Sad, mournful, a little weird.

When he parked and turned off the engine, he got out with her. It wasn’t a surprise, exactly, but she had to fight the knee-jerk desire to tell him to stay in his truck.

They walked in together, smiled at the administrative assistant behind the desk. Sunrise worked with Bent County enough for Chloe to know everyone here by name.

“Hey, Linda. I’m here to pick up the relinquished property Hart left for me.”

Linda tilted her head. “I’m sorry, Deputy Brink. Hart hasn’t told me about any relinquished property. I don’t think he’s here, but Laurel is. Let me call her down.” She lifted a phone to her ear.

Something didn’t set right with that. Chloe looked up at Jack. He was frowning. But they didn’t say anything, just waited for Detective Delaney-Carson.

A few minutes later, she strode into the lobby area. She stopped short and looked at both of them like she was surprised to see them there. “What are you two doing here?”

“Picking up the scrapbook Hart called me about this afternoon.”

The detective’s eyebrows drew together. “He told me he was going to drive it out to you before he went home.”

Chloe exchanged a look with Jack. “That’s not what he told us. He said I could pick it up whenever.”

She nodded. “That was our original plan, but when you didn’t show up, he was going to drop it by the ranch.”

“Maybe take a pass at questioning Ry if he got the opportunity?” Jack offered,soundingcasual.

Laurel studied Jack as if deciding what to say. Then she gave a little nod. “Yeah. Did he?”

“He never came by. Scrapbook or no.”

Laurel’s expression went from a puzzled kind of professionalism to flat-out worry. “I’ll call him.”

She took the phone Linda handed her, dialed the number and then waited. Her expression went from worry to cool, cop professionalism. But Chloe knew that meant something waswrong.

“He’s not answering.”

Chapter Thirteen

“Linda, can you get Hart’s location? I’ll take my cruiser and see if he stopped at home.” The detective spoke calmly, smiled at the woman behind the desk. She gave no outward signs of distress or worry, but Jack could read it on her all the same.

Because this was out of the norm, and he knewhedidn’t like it, and he wasn’t even Hart’s partner.

“What can we do?” he asked her.

“Go home, Sheriff,” Laurel said sharply, but when she turned to walk back into the station, Jack followed and so did Chloe.

“You’ve got two Sunrise deputies right here. Let us help.”

“Sheriff, you know as well as I do you’re both too involved in whatever this is to help in a professional capacity.”

“I actually don’t know that,” Jack replied.

“Besides, I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for all this,” she continued, clearly ignoring him. But she didn’t stop them from following her out the back exit of the station into the parking lot, which had personal cars and cruisers littered throughout.

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