Page 27 of Hidden Hero

“No, that’s good information,” Jeremy said. “Like I said, at this point, we’re going for any connection we can find. We’ve got an intern already digging into some bingo places, so we’ll be sure to give her that information.”

With goodbyes offered, they headed back to the station. As Pete drove, Jeremy closed his eyes and sighed heavily. So far, they were getting nowhere with this case. Opening his eyes, he realized what a beautiful day it was. “I’m not going to work late today,” he said. “This feels like a day I need to kayak. Get out on the water, enjoy the sunshine, and give my brain a break.”

Pete nodded. “That makes sense. Clear your mind, then we can come back fresh tomorrow.”

Jeremy agreed, but as he turned the case over in his mind, he knew that sometimes tomorrow wouldn’t bring any answers either.

12

Cora walked along the beach at the back of her property. There was no one else around, just the way she liked it. Her mind rolled to her job, a career she loved, was necessary, and she found it fulfilling. She considered herself fortunate because many people never had that. When dealing with death, it was easy to take on the emotions of the relatives in the first throes of grief. To say grief happened to us all would be accurate, but it didn’t make the pain any less. She knew that firsthand.

There was a nip in the air, but the blue sky and sunshine made her glad she’d brought a beach towel. After spreading it out over the sand, she plopped down, stretched her jean-clad legs out, and leaned back against her arms with her palms at the edge of the blanket. She closed her eyes as she tilted her head back, soaking in the late afternoon rays of sun.

The gentle surf washing up upon the beach almost lulled her to sleep while she was still sitting up. After a while, she began to hear a different sound, almost as though something was hitting the surface of the water. She dropped her chin and opened her eyes, taking a minute for them to adjust to the light.

A lone kayaker was coming closer. She blinked, uncertain why with all the empty beach around, a kayaker would choose right where she was sitting as the place they wanted to land. She was prepared to return to her house, not wanting to be with an unknown man on an empty beach.

She stood, bent to snag the towel, and shook it to loosen the sand. Before she could turn and leave, her name was called out, “Cora!”

She whirled around and lifted her hand over her eyes to knock out the glare from the setting sun, slowly bringing the kayaker into focus.Jeremy!

He climbed from his kayak and walked toward her, dragging it behind him until he had left the bay and stood nearby, water dripping from his wetsuit. The scent of the bay mixed with the faint saltiness of his damp wetsuit and the warmth radiating from him seemed at odds with the coolness of the evening air. His smile was wide as his gaze swept over her from head to toe, and she had to admit it was infectious as she smiled in return.

“Detective Pickett,” she greeted. It hadn’t missed her attention that he’d used her first name.

“Hello,” he replied, grinning. “And surely you can call me Jeremy. Detective Pickett sounds so formal out here.”

She dipped her head in acquiescence and smiled in return. “Okay, Jeremy. But I have to ask, what brought you here?”

His smile remained. “You mean, how did I end up here in all the gin joints in the world?”

She laughed softly at his reference toCasablanca. “Yeah. Something like that.” She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. “Surely, you didn’t come by way of kayak just to spy on me, did you?”

“Nothing quite so devious, I assure you,” he said, moving closer until she had to lean her head back as he approached.

“I needed to clear my head and thought I’d kayak for a few miles since the weather was so unseasonably mild. I saw someone sitting on the shore and almost turned around to head back. But I remembered that you live near here, and taking a chance that it was you, I came closer.”

“How did you know where I live?”

His lips quirked. “I might have looked it up.”

“Should I be concerned that a detective is stalking me?”

His hand raised in mock surrender. “Not at all. If I were stalking, I would be hiding in the trees, not calling out your name.”

“I guess a detective does know the difference between stalking and… um… what would you call this?”

“Interest.”

She blinked. “Interest?”

He nodded with his easy smile still on his face. “I have a confession to make. After we met, I was curious about where you lived. I had no idea if you came across the bridge every day or actually lived on the Shore. So, I checked your driver’s license.” He shrugged, his signature smirk in place, but she found it less irritating and more endearing than in the past.

“I’m unsure if I should be flattered or creeped out.”

He threw his head back and laughed, then dropped his chin and held her gaze. “Please, don’t be creeped out. I assure you, nothing nefarious is going on at all. In fact, if my showing up here has made you uncomfortable, please be honest. Making you uncomfortable is the last thing I would want to do.”

She rolled her lips inward as she stared into his blue eyes. They so often twinkled as though he had just thought of a joke, but now she could see the integrity of his words. “No, I’m not uncomfortable at all.” She looked down at the sand and shrugged. “All I can offer is to share my beach towel.”

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