Page 375 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“I’ll buzz you in.”

“Thanks.” Jacob headed for the entry door that led to the hallway where the residents lived.

He passed a busy common room where a community bingo game was in progress. Most of the residents looked like they were half asleep, but the perky fitness instructor type woman on stage at the front either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care.

The hallway smelled like overly floral perfume.

Mr. Harris had a room in the middle of the hall. Even though Jacob had decided to drop the guy as a subject, he still wanted to see if the man would tell him anything more. Maybe he could pass the information to Hank. The cops would get the idea he wasn’t the kind of person who hurt others.

What if the older man had killed someone else, and Jacob was able to provide answers to a grieving family who needed closure?

That made him think of Addie and the life she had built—the career she’d gone after, like Hank. Maybe it wasn’t so hard to understand why she’d become an FBI agent with a focus on criminal profiling. She gave voices to those whose stories remained silent, in a similar way he did. Except she solved murders that otherwise would’ve gone cold.

He was incredibly proud of the woman she’d become. Even if he didn’t know her all that well, part of him would always love her and consider her family. Seeing her again had reminded him of the bond they shared.

Maybe she didn’t feel it. If she did, then she’d have acted differently in his apartment. Right? He didn’t know how to tell.

Jacob was about at the door to Mr. Harris’s room when the woman herself walked out of a room across the hall.

They both stopped. Silence stretched between them for a second.

“Hey.”

She seemed to shake herself out of the paralysis of surprise and crossed the space between them. “Jake.”

She looked good, FBI pantsuit with a wool coat. Hair braided. Professional. The kind of person who got the job done in a compassionate way. Why was she working with the police department? Right now the only ones he trusted were her and Hank. To an extent, Russ and the pastor. Then there was the counselor he met with on occasion.

“How’s it going?” She glanced into the room beside him.

He wasn’t quite sure how to take her question. “You mean what am I doing here?”

“Fine.” She didn’t smile, just kept that snooty, professional expression on her face. “What are you doing here?”

“Working on that book I told you and the captain about.” He refused to cross his arms, though he wanted to. It would look defensive to her. Like he had anything to hide—from her. They’d been through too much together to have secrets between them.

Still, this wasn’t exactly what he was doing here. The book was done—at least as far as Mr. Harris was concerned.

He ran a hand through his hair. “What do I need an alibi for now?”

Her face flashed with hurt before she squashed it and her expression blanked. He saw it all in her blue eyes. Holding her attention until she blinked first. “Look, I’m not going to talk to you about an ongoing investigation. I’m not working Celia’s murder. I have cases of my own, and there’s enough work tokeep me in Benson for two years. Although, I hope that’s not how long it takes to catch this person.”

He frowned. “Who?”

“I can’t talk about it.” She shifted, so he got a look at the badge on her belt. “Those are the rules, and I’m not going to break them. Not even for you.”

Jacob wanted to ponder that statement. He’d have to do it later, though.

“Please tell me you don’t believe I had anything to do with Celia’s death.”

He didn’t realize until he’d said it how important that was to him. He needed to know that she believed he was innocent, probably more than with anyone else in the world. God knew, but if Addie trusted him then that was at least one person he could rely on.

Someone on his side.

“I have a lot of work to do.” She glanced away. “A pile of cases that’s growing every time I look at a single page of one file. If I want to get through this assignment, I need to work.” She winced, but he didn’t know why. “Leave the investigation alone.”

“When I’m in it? I’m probably the prime suspect. Which means the real killer is going to go free.”

“So you’ll stick your nose in, and it’ll look even more suspicious. Or you’ll jeopardize my standing and compromise what I’m trying to do here.”

---