Shadow Dance (15 page)

“Agent Clayborne, I might have some information for you. I happened to drive by Lloyd’s Garage the other night, and noticed a light on in his office. I thought to myself that it was mighty odd seeing someone in the office so late, ’cause Lloyd never worked late.”

“Did you see Lloyd?” Jordan asked.

“I saw a shadow of a man, Jordan, but I don’t think it was Lloyd. I only saw him for a second or two. The shadow didn’t seem to be as big or as wide as Lloyd.” He raised both eyebrows as he asked, “Is that information helpful to you, Agent Clayborne?”

“Yes, it is,” he said.

“Jordan, I really would love to see you again. There’s this—”

Noah cut him off before he could say another word. “She has plans with me.”

Jordan tried to soften Noah’s curtness. “Thank you for asking.”

As soon as Kyle walked away, she whispered, “You were rude to him. What came over you?”

“Jordan, nothing at all, Jordan.”

She laughed. “I told you he was a name-dropper.”

“He’s got the hots for you,” he said. He wasn’t smiling. “In fact, it appears that half the men you’ve met since you’ve been in Serenity have the hots for you.” Noah reached across her and brushed a strand of hair away from her face, his fingers gently touching her cheek.

Her breath caught in her throat. He had merely touched her, and she’d reacted. She’d always thought she was immune to his charm, but she was becoming worried that she wasn’t.

“Me?” she answered incredulously. “I’m not the big attraction around here…you are. Carrie at the police station was all but standing on her head to get your attention. And what about Amelia Ann with her bottles of beer and her cinnamon rolls? She’s definitely sweet on you.”

“I know she is,” he admitted with a grin, “but I think you are too.”

She pulled back. “Oh brother. Not every woman drops to her knees in front of you.”

Too late she realized exactly what she’d said. And she knew without a doubt he wouldn’t let it go.

“Yeah?” he laughed. “It’s a nice fantasy. You think you’d ever…”

“Never.”

Jordan’s cheeks turned bright pink. Her blush was lovely, he thought. He enjoyed embarrassing her because that’s when she showed another side of herself, the side that was vulnerable and sweet and innocent. She was beautiful, no doubt about that, and every man in Serenity seemed to notice.

Why did that bother him? He wasn’t the jealous sort. And he certainly had no reason to be jealous. Jordan was a good friend, that’s all. So why did he get an uneasy feeling when he was with her? He didn’t have an answer. How could he explain what he didn’t understand? One thing he knew: he didn’t like the idea of any man getting close to her.

Ah hell, he wanted her.

J
ORDAN LOOKED THROUGH THE PROFESSOR
’
S PHONE STATEMENTS
while they ate lunch.

“I thought you were hungry,” he said. “You’ve barely touched your food.”

“This hamburger could feed a family of six. I ate as much as I wanted.” She moved on to more important matters. “I called Professor MacKenna when I got into town. This isn’t the same phone number I called. And I remember Isabel told me that she and the professor often talked about the MacKenna clan. Her phone number isn’t here either.”

“I’ll bet he only used throwaways,” said Noah. “Untraceable.”

“Since he moved to Serenity the professor’s life became untraceable.”

She picked up a french fry and was about to take a bite, then changed her mind. She pointed it at Noah. “And why did he move to Serenity? What made him choose this little town? Because it was so isolated? Or because it was close to something illegal he was involved in? We know whatever he was doing was illegal. Who makes a total of ninety thousand dollars in cash deposits?”

He took the french fry and popped it into his mouth.

She thought about the various possibilities and said, “It’s obvious that whoever killed those two men is determined to keep me here. Don’t you agree?” Before he could answer, she said, “Why else would both bodies be put in my cars?”

He loved watching her face as she thought aloud. She was so animated and eager. Over the past couple of years Noah knew he’d become overly cynical, but in his line of work, it was only a matter of time before the calluses formed. He’d learned not to get too close and not to expect anything, but he still hadn’t quite figured out how to leave the work at work.

“Do you know what we need?” she asked.

He nodded. “A suspect.”

“Of course. Anyone come to mind?”

“J. D. Dickey’s at the top of my list,” said Noah.

“Because he knew the body was in my car.”

“Yes,” he said. “I had Street run his name, and J. D. did some hard time.”

He told her what he’d learned about J. D. When he was finished, Noah said that if Joe Davis didn’t locate J. D. and bring him in for questioning soon, Noah was taking it out of his hands.

“Does that mean you’ll stay on in Serenity?”

“It means Agents Chaddick and Street will take over the investigation. This is their district,” he thought to add. “And you and I will get out of here.”

“Will you go back to work for Doctor Morganstern right away, or will you take a few days off and go home?”

“Nothing to go home to,” he said. “I sold the ranch after my father died.”

“Where do you call home?” she asked.

He smiled. “Here and there.”

“Uh-oh,” she said. “Here come the troops.”

Jaffee and Angela were headed to their table. Jordan knew what they wanted, the gory details about finding Lloyd in the trunk. Fortunately, Noah was saved from having to answer a hundred questions because he got a call from Chief Davis.

“Gotta go,” he said. He quickly paid the bill.

They were leaving the restaurant when Angela caught Jordan’s attention and gave her the thumbs-up.

“She still hasn’t figured out I can see her reflection in the window,” Noah commented, laughing.

“Are we meeting Joe now?” Jordan hurried to catch up.

“He said he’s twenty minutes away. That gives us enough time to get the boxes of research to MacKenna’s house.”

“Why there?”

“That’s where Joe wants them. Probably because the police station is so small. No place to store them until he can go through them.”

“I don’t know what he expects to find,” she said. “It’s just historical research.”

“He still needs to look through them.”

“Would you mind if we made a quick stop at the grocery store on the way to the professor’s house?”

He didn’t object, and while he carried the first two boxes to the car, she stuffed the last two hundred and some pages she needed to copy into her tote bag and carried the empty third box.

She didn’t have to wait in line at the store. As soon as she walked in, shoppers scurried to get away from her. They stood in clusters staring at her while they whispered. She heard one woman say, “She’s the one.”

Jordan plastered a smile on her face and continued on to the photocopy machine. There had been a line—one woman and two men had been waiting—but as soon as they saw her coming, they scattered. Jordan was mortified. Noah thought the attention she was receiving was quite funny. She didn’t. After all, she hadn’t done anything wrong. She made that comment to him once they were back in the car.

“People do tend to die around you,” he pointed out.

“Just two.” She sighed. “Oh, God, did you just hear what I said? Just two? I’ve become insensitive about the death of two men. What’s happened to my compassion? I used to have some.”

She finished separating the professor’s papers from the copies and handed Noah the originals. “Would you please put these back in the empty box?”

“You’re afraid to open the trunk, aren’t you?”

“No, of course not. Just do it, please.”

She really wasn’t afraid, she told herself. She was just skittish. She didn’t want to admit it though. She stuffed the copies into her tote, put it on the floor, and sat back.

She was suddenly weary and feeling out of sorts. “Nick should be back in Boston by now,” she said when Noah got back into the car.

He started the engine before he answered. “I’m sure he’ll call when he gets home.”

“And when he does, you’ll tell him about Lloyd?” she asked and then promptly answered the question. “Of course you will.”

“You don’t want me to?”

“I don’t mind. I just don’t want him to get on another plane and come back. I also know he’ll tell the rest of the family, including my parents, and they have—”

“Enough to worry about,” Noah finished for her. “Jordan, it’s okay for them to be concerned about you every once in a while.”

She didn’t comment. Instead, she stared out the window at the desolate landscape. The yards on the street they drove down hadn’t weathered the heat well. All the lawns had burned patches of brown weeds and dirt.

What had Jordan been looking for when she came to Serenity? Her brother and Noah had both challenged her to step outside her comfort zone, but she wouldn’t have paid attention to any of their suggestions if she hadn’t been so discontent in the first place.

Her life was so regimented, so organized…so mechanical. She knew what she wanted. The wow factor. The problem was, it didn’t exist. At least not for her. She needed to get back home and stop thinking such crazy thoughts. Her life was mapped out for her. Structure. That’s what she was used to and what she needed. Everything would be in perspective once she was in Boston again.

There was just one little problem.

Noah noticed her disheartened expression. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m never going to get out of this town, am I?”

P
ROFESSOR
M
AC
K
ENNA HAD LIVED ON A QUIET
,
DEAD
-
END
street about a mile off Main Street. It was a dismal setting.

There were no trees or shrubs or grass to soften the ugly tract houses, most of which were in dire need of repairs.

Chief Joe Davis was waiting for Noah and Jordan. The front of his shirt was soaked through. As Jordan and Noah walked to the front door, the chief pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the back of his neck.

“Were you waiting long?” Noah asked.

“No, just a couple of minutes, but damn it’s hot. Pardon me, ma’am, for using a curse word in your presence.” Joe unlocked the door. “I’ll warn you, it’s even hotter inside. MacKenna kept all of his windows closed and his shades down, and he never turned on the air conditioner far as I can tell. It’s a window unit, but it wasn’t plugged in.” He held the door open and cautioned, “Watch your step. Someone really trashed the place.”

Jordan fought the urge to gag as she entered the living room. The smell of overcooked fish mixed with some kind of metallic odor permeated the air.

The entire house couldn’t have been more than eight hundred square feet. There was little furniture. A gray plaid sofa, so dilapidated Jordan thought the professor must have found it on a curb somewhere, had been shoved against the wall facing a picture window that had been covered with a white flat sheet. A square oak coffee table sat in front of the sofa, and there was one small round table with a lamp and a torn shade. An old Philips television set was on a crate in the corner.

She couldn’t tell if there was a rug in the living room or not. The floor was covered with newspapers, some yellow with age, and there were also ripped notebooks and shredded textbooks everywhere. Some piles of papers were a foot high.

They waded through the trash to get to the dining room around the corner. A large desk was its only piece of furniture. The professor had used a wooden folding chair, but someone had hurled it against the wall. It lay in fragments on the floor.

A power strip on the desk had five cell phone charge cords plugged into it. The cell phones were missing. Jordan nearly tripped over an extension cord. Noah grabbed her around the waist before she went headfirst into the desk.

“Whoa there,” Joe said.

She nodded as she pulled away from Noah and walked toward the light-deprived kitchen. The smell was getting stronger, even fouler. There were dirty dishes in the sink, a feast for the roaches crawling over the counter, and trash overflowed from a shopping bag the professor had been using as a trash can near the back door. Garbage was decomposing in the sack.

Jordan backtracked through the living room and went down the hallway. There was a bathroom on one side—surprisingly clean, considering the condition of the rest of the house—and on the other side was a small bedroom. The drawers in the dresser had been ripped out and dumped on the floor. The double-bed mattress and box springs had also been overturned, both shredded with a knife.

Noah came up behind her, looked at the mess for about five seconds, turned around, and strode back into the dining room.

“Do you think whoever trashed the place found what he was looking for?” Jordan asked as she followed him.

“He? There could be more than one,” Joe said.

“What’s missing, Jordan?” Noah asked.

“Besides cleaning supplies? The professor’s computer.”

“That’s right,” said Noah.

“The cables are still here,” Joe said. “See? On the floor behind the desk. And look at all those phone chargers. I’ll bet the phones he was using were untraceable.”

Jordan thought she saw something moving under one of the newspapers. A mouse maybe. She didn’t freak. She wanted to, but she didn’t. “I’ll be outside…getting fresh air.”

She didn’t wait around for permission. Once she reached the sidewalk, she rubbed her arms and shivered over the thought that one of the insects might have gotten into her clothes.

Noah and Joe came outside ten minutes later. As Noah walked past her he whispered, “Mouse spooked you, didn’t it, Sugar?”

Sometimes Jordan wished Noah wasn’t quite so observant.

“Hey, Jordan, you want to open the trunk?” Noah called from behind the car.

“Not funny,” she called back.

His grin suggested otherwise. After he opened it, he turned to Joe. “Are you sure you want to store the boxes here? They’re going to be covered with bugs in no time.”

“I’ll seal them up tight,” he said. “A couple of deputies will help me go through everything in the house including the boxes, page by page. I’m not sure what we’re looking for, but hopefully something will stick out.”

Jordan suddenly remembered. “Chief Davis, I have a flash drive the professor gave me to take home. Will you need that?”

“I’ll need everything that will give us a clue to the professor,” he answered. “I’ll see that you get it back.”

He picked up one of the boxes and started up the sidewalk. “I guess when we’re finished with all this, I’ll send it to a relative. That is, if I can find one,” he added.

“He’s part of the MacKenna clan,” Jordan said, “but I can’t imagine any of them would claim the professor. He was kind of a nutcase.”

She immediately felt guilty talking about the dead that way, but she was only being honest.

Joe paused at the doorway. “Did you get a chance to read all of those papers?”

“No, I didn’t. I read a few accounts from each of the boxes, but that’s all.”

Noah opened the car door for her and handed her the keys. “You go ahead and turn the air on. I’m gonna be a minute.”

“You sound angry.”

“Not angry, irritated. I’ve been real accommodating, and as you know, that’s a stretch for me, but I pulled it off, didn’t I?”

She didn’t smile, but she wanted to. “Yes.”

“I know Joe talked to Sheriff Randy Dickey, but he still hasn’t said a word to me. That means he’s made some kind of deal. So…”

“Uh-oh.”

“I’m through being accommodating. Get in the car.”

Joe came outside then. Noah headed toward him as he locked the front door.

“Did you forget to tell me what Randy Dickey had to say?” Noah asked.

“No, I didn’t forget. I thought maybe we could talk about it over a beer later.”

“Tell me now.”

“You’ve got to understand. Up until the time his brother got paroled, Randy was doing a good job as sheriff. Folks were happy with him. But J. D.’s a hothead, and Randy would like to give him a second chance to redeem himself. I agreed with him.”

“That’s not your call.”

“Yes, it is,” Joe said. “Unless Jordan presses charges against J. D. for that hit she took, there’s not a whole heck of a lot you or she can do. I’m not being contrary. I’m just telling you the way it is. And like I said before, I have to live in this town, and that means I’ve got to get along with people in authority. Sheriff Randy can make my life miserable. It doesn’t matter that he’s in another county. He’ll still do it.”

“Oh, yeah. He sounds like a real good sheriff.”

“That’s not what I mean. He just wants a favor, that’s all.”

“And if he doesn’t get that favor, then he’ll make your life—”

“Okay, okay,” he said with his hands up. “I know what I said. But J. D.’s his brother,” he repeated. “And he’ll get bounced back to prison before you can snap your fingers if she presses charges, and Randy will be beholden to me if she doesn’t.”

“I thought you didn’t want this job to be permanent.”

Joe looked sheepish. “My wife says I shouldn’t let my ego get in my way. I did get passed over before, but now I’m chief,” he said, “and I could be talked into staying on if that’s what the council wants.”

“I want to talk to Randy.”

“I mentioned that to him, and he’s okay with it.”

“He’s okay with it?” Noah could feel his neck getting hot.

“Where is he now?”

“The truth?”

“No, Joe, lie to me.”

“Hey, no need to get your back up. Randy’s out looking for his brother right now. Honest to God, he really doesn’t know where J. D. is, and he told me he’s worried sick that J. D. might do something foolish.”

“J. D.’s way past the foolish stage.”

“He’s going to turn up, and when he does Randy will bring him over to have a sit-down and work this out.”

“Work this out? J. D. is a suspect in a homicide investigation.”

“But it’s
my
homicide investigation,” said Joe.

Noah ignored the statement. “The timetable hasn’t changed, Joe. Randy has until tomorrow to bring J. D. in.”

“And if I can’t find him?”

“Then I will.”