Darker Than Midnight by Maggie Shayne

Author:Maggie Shayne [Shayne, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781460399415
Publisher: MIRA
Published: 2005-08-24T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

Jax couldn’t focus on work all morning. She couldn’t believe she was worrying about a grown man—a cop, for heaven’s sake—the way a nervous parent might worry about a child. But she was doing exactly that and it was out of character. She wasn’t a caregiver. Wasn’t a nurturer. She didn’t want anyone depending on her and she didn’t intend to ever depend on anyone else.

And besides, she knew damn well River could take care of himself. Even if he was still on the weak side. A little underweight. Probably running on very little sleep and a whole lot of tension.

She closed her eyes. It was almost lunch hour when the phone rang, and Rosie handed it to her as Jax passed the desk with her fifth or sixth cup of coffee.

Her mind hoped it was River. It wasn’t.

“Hey, Jax. It’s Beth. I’m taking you up on that promise to spend some time catching up. And guess who else is backing me up on this?”

She frowned and couldn’t come up with an answer.

“Dawn, of course,” Beth chirped, before Jax could have replied. “She wondered if you wanted to slip away for lunch with her and me. She’d love to see you.”

“I don’t know…I’ve got a lot going on, Beth.”

“I know you do. I’d kill to know what. Listen, we can make it quick—maybe meet at the diner across from the station? Grab a sandwich and a coffee? Half hour, tops. And you’ll be within shouting distance if Blackberry suddenly erupts in a major crime spree. Come on.”

From somewhere close to Beth, Dawn’s voice called, “Pleeeease?”

Jax smiled. “Tell the kid I’m not buying the girlie voice.” She wasn’t. Dawn was way older than her birth certificate claimed. She’d been through more than most women three times her age. “All right. I’ll come.”

“Great. Ten minutes?”

“I’ll be there.” Jax hung up the phone and smiled her thanks to Rosie. Then she went into the chief’s office. “Hey, Frankie. I’m going to take lunch.”

“In a minute. Close the door.” Frankie looked up, frowning, her graying eyebrows bending together.

Jax closed the door and took a seat.

“You’re a nervous wreck today. Any particular reason?”

“Nothing I want to talk about.”

“And your folks will confirm what you told me about your car, if I ask them?”

“If you ask them. Though I might resent you checking up on me like that.”

Frankie sighed. “I just had a call from Burlington PD. There was a break-in early this morning.”

“So why is that our problem?” Jax asked.

Frankie pursed her lips. “It was at the private office of Dr. Ethan Melrose.”

Jax brought her head up fast.

“Yeah, I thought that would get your attention.”

“Did they catch him?” Jax was almost breathless, until Frankie shook her head slowly.

“No. No witnesses. A little damage. They’re not sure yet if anything was taken. The incident was confined to Melrose’s office itself—desk was rifled, file cabinets broken into.” She drew a long, deep breath. “Any ideas?”

“Yeah, I have ideas—the same ideas you have, the same ones any halfway decent cop would have.

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