Page 37 of Teach Me
A rattle of the doorknob preceded Conlan stepping into the room, Jack following close behind. She didn’t stand. Gaines did, extending his hand for a brief, firm shake for each man before resuming his seat.
Conlan took the seat next to her, pulling the chair close enough that his shoulder nudged hers. He reached over, grabbed the hand currently tapping out a fast tattoo on her pants leg, and settled it with his own on the thigh closest to her. Jess felt the denim of his jeans, the solid heat of muscle beneath the cloth, and let Conlan’s closeness shore up her shaky defenses.
“Jack. Good to see you. And Con.” Gaines’s gaze turned from Jack to Conlan and dropped to the hand held so carefully in his lap. “What brings you two into this fine mess?”
“That’s pretty obvious, Patrick,” Jack said quietly. “Let’s not play games.”
Gaines held his hands up and chuckled, becoming the unassuming accountant once more. “No games, Jack. Just asking.”
Jack took the last battered metal chair around the table. Once settled, his dark brown eyes centered on her. Jess didn’t have a smile left in her, but she managed a nod toward Conlan’s friend. “Jack.”
“Rough night, darlin’?”
“Rough night,” she confirmed.
Jack turned narrowed eyes back to Gaines. “What have you got so far?”
“Now, Jack, you know I can’t share that with you, even if I had it—which I don’t. It’s too soon for anything to be in.” He glanced down at his notes, pulling everyone’s attention to the obscene display of photos still laid out. Jess felt Conlan stiffen before Gaines flipped the file closed. “Con, I understand you were on scene when the unit arrived. Were you with Ms. Kingston when she discovered the open door?”
Jess bristled, reading Gaines’s implication clearly, but Conlan shrugged the question off. “I was on the phone with her when she discovered the break-in. She needed me. I came.”
I wish.
“Because you’re dating?”
Conlan did squirm at that.
Figures.
“We met last week. Brit had her cornered between two cars in a parking lot.”
She’d already told Gaines all this, but he made no mention of that fact.
“So Ms. Kingston told you what she saw, then called 911, but you arrived before APD. Must’ve been close.”
“I was.” Conlan’s fingers tightened on hers briefly. “I was following her home, but had to make a quick stop. That’s why I called. I wanted to have at least some contact if I had to be out of sight for a few minutes.”
The shock of his words took a moment to register. Why? Why refuse to see her again but still follow her? Oddly enough, she didn’t jump straight toI have another stalker. No, if Conlan was following her, there had to be a reason.
Gaines obviously thought so too. “Because…?”
Shifting to one side, Conlan fished his cell phone out of his back jeans pocket. “Because I got a text message from the bastard yesterday, and I wanted to be close in case he showed his face again.”
Gaines turned to Jess. “How about you?”
“I…I did. Not a text. An e-mail. Or, e-mails.”
“What did they say?” Gaines demanded. Jess explained what Brit had sent her. Jack and Conlan cursed in unison.
Gaines rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “And you?” he asked Conlan.
He tapped on his phone, then passed it to Gaines. Whatever it said made Gaines’s eyebrows meet halfway up his forehead. He passed the phone back. “You ran the number?”
Jack was the one who answered. “Of course we didn’t. A friend did.” Jess didn’t believe him and she didn’t think Gaines did either, but the detective didn’t press. “Throwaway cell.”
“Figures. How long were you on Ms. Kingston’s six?”
Conlan related the details of his day, even down to giving Gaines Lori’s contact information to confirm. While Gaines wrote the information down, Conlan asked, “Any witnesses? What about cameras?”
