Page 12 of Colton's Second Chance
And now, with her back in town for a few days, he had his chance to repair the gulf between them. He had the chance to right whatever had gone wrong all those years ago.
Chapter 4
At her rented hotel room that night, Noelle stewed over Eli’s dogged insistence not to share case information with her. She knew she had skills that could prove useful to the investigation if she could just convince Eli.
She meditated on what her next steps should be. She’d come all this way to Alaska and didn’t want to waste her time here. She couldn’t schedule the funeral for Allison until the medical examiner and forensic specialists had finished gathering all the information they could and released her remains. She’d cleared her work schedule before leaving Seattle, so she had a few days, maybe even as much as a couple weeks to devote her time to another project. She wanted that project to be finding Allison’s killer.
She knew she wasn’t magically going to come up with an answer that Eli and all the law enforcement professionals, with their training, databases and specialized equipment, hadn’t found. But deep in her bones, she believed she could offer a fresh perspective on the information they’d gathered that might be of use to the investigators. Or…she hoped.
The killer had to be caught. Not just to save the lives of any potential new victims, but to give his previous victims justice.
Noelle punched her flat pillow in the too-soft bed and tried to get some sleep. The snippets she knew about the case taunted her. Fake engagement rings. Three years of killing. An intelligent and patient killer.
Intelligent and patient. Those words could be used to describe Eli. She’d admired his sharp mind when they were students together at the University of Washington. And when she’d seen the writing on the wall, when she’d begun to pull away from him, he’d been infinitely patient with her mercurial moods. Her swings between the deep passion she felt for him and the indifference she had to muster in order to leave him behind would have driven most men away. But Eli’s devotion to her and patience with her hadn’t faltered.
Noelle’s heart, which she’d believed healed, stung. Seeing him today had been a blessing and a curse. While she’d been happy to see him doing so well, in a lead position in his chosen field, the intimate lunch had opened old wounds. Looking into his beautiful blue eyes, hearing the mellow baritone of his voice, feeling the warmth from his smile… Dang it. She’d had to fight not to tumble right back into his arms. She’d have to do a better job of steeling herself if she were to survive the next several days. She knew her quest to learn more about Allison’s death and the investigation meant she’d run into Eli. Repeatedly.
The next morning, after a strong cup of coffee and thirty minutes of yoga to prepare herself, Noelle went to the ABI office and asked to speak to the forensic specialist in charge of the Fiancée Killer case. She was somewhat used to the winter darkness clinging to the night in Seattle, but here in Shelby, even at 8:15 in the morning, the sun had yet to rise. The lingering night added to her sense of disorientation and surrealism.
Allison was dead. Having not seen or spoken to her sister for so long, the loss was difficult to wrap her head around. Her absence wouldn’t be significantly felt, yet the tragic nature of her death was unsettling.
When Noelle finally muddled her way into the state troopers’ offices, the woman working the front desk seemed prepared to deny her request to meet with the forensic specialist or, at aminimum, grill her about her purpose for being there. But, as luck would have it, a tall, blond man was filling a mug at the coffeepot in the lobby and heard her request.
Grinning broadly, his green eyes bright, the handsome man strode over to Noelle and extended his hand. “I’m the ME on the Fiancée Killer case. Scott Montgomery at your service. How can I help, Ms.—?” He let the title draw out, asking her to fill in the blank with a lift of his brow.
She took his hand and gave it a firm shake. “Harris. Noelle Harris. And I’m interested in learning more about the case.”
His expression grew skeptical, the way Eli’s had yesterday, and her stomach sank. She braced herself for being turned away, mentally calculating the best argument to be allowed access.
“Are you a journalist, Ms. Harris?” Montgomery asked.
“No. I’m a family member of one of the victims. I’m just trying to get a better idea of what happened to my sister and where the case stands.”
“Of course. I can understand that.” Montgomery paused a moment, his expression belatedly shifting to one of sympathy. “And my condolences on your loss.”
She smiled politely. “Thank you.”
He offered her coffee, which she declined. “What exactly is it you wish to know about your sister?”
“Anything and everything you can tell me. Reports in the media have been—”
“Noelle?”
Her words died on her lips as she pivoted to find Eli and another woman standing just inside the front door.
The woman’s gaze flicked to Scott, and a smile lit her face. “Good morning, Scott. Stealing the visitors’ coffee again, I see.”
The forensic specialist’s face glowed as he greeted the woman. “Kansas! Hi.” He lifted his mug to her in a sort of salute. “Youhave to admit, it’s far better than the witch’s brew back in the office.”
Eli stepped forward, his attention fully focused on Noelle. “What’s going on here?”
“This is Noelle Harris,” Scott said, brandishing another handsome smile. “She’s—”
“I know who she is,” Eli said, not unkindly. His mouth twitched in a lopsided grin.
The woman Scott had called Kansas gasped. “You’re Noelle?TheNoelle?”
Noelle blinked and divided a look between Kansas and Eli. “I’maNoelle. I’m not sure if that makes metheNoelle.”
