himself step out of the logical, and logical was the first keystone for the Krewe of Hunters. Accept all possibilities, but look to the logical.
Logically they were whistling in the wind, having no idea...
Dozens of groups were involved with the Everglades—engineers, hunters, horticulturists, Miccosukee, Seminole, campers, tourism providers, the stray innocent having no idea what they were doing, the odd hiker who loved Shark Valley. Many law enforcement groups looked after the Everglades, too. Cops, marshals, deputies, FBI—even the coast guard—worked murders in the great sea of grass.
The list of possibilities could go on forever.
But logic could take years.
And they had Raina Hamish.
Logic was good.
And someone like Raina Hamish could be so much more.
He needed her help.
But he admitted, more than that, he needed to be with her. Just in case.
Maybe.
Or maybe he just needed to be with her regardless.
Nine
When Axel arrived, Raina was ready. Titan at her side, she headed out of the house before he came to the door.
He barely had a chance to stop the car before she hopped in.
Titan obediently jumped into the back seat while Raina slid into the front.
“Hey,” he said.
She smiled. “I’ve been restless.”
“Because?”
She turned to him as he slid the car onto the street. “Jordan.”
“Jordan?”
“Jordan Rivera came over with a young woman who needed her dog trained. And I don’t know what I felt. I mean, I meant to actually touch him and I didn’t! I forgot, but when he was gone, I sat on the couch where he’d been sitting. And it wasn’t like last night—that horrible feeling. It was just a little dark. Uncomfortable. I’ve known Jordan most of my life. He’s always been brilliant in school, but nice. Fun, but never obnoxious. I don’t understand why I had that feeling.”
Axel had briefly touched her life and then come back into it. She had no right or reason to suspect Jordan of anything. It had just been that strange feeling.
He was quiet for a minute and then said, “You’ll figure it out eventually. I know that’s not particularly comforting, but you will.” He glanced her way. “And you don’t need to worry. We only proceed against people with real evidence. We just use feelings sometimes to point in a direction. And honestly, I’ve known a lot of cops who don’t see ghosts or have sensations, but have a hunch, an instinct, but no one can prosecute anyone on a hunch. We’re different, and we’re the same.” He flashed her a smile. “You trying on that dress led us to the dress shop. The police sketch led us to an identification. Now, we’re looking into Jennifer Lowry’s life and going from there. We might have a lead. Someone she was supposed to have a date with. We think we know where. We think she met this man at the coffee shop by the dress shop where she tried on the dress. It’s all threads. We follow the threads. And trust me, we’ll be looking into Jordan Rivera, too.”
She let out a little sigh.
“I don’t think I can give you more than I’ve given you.”
“Nigel was checking to see if he can find any cameras that might give us an image of the man Jennifer met. He’ll be meeting up with us at Andrew’s house.”
Raina leaned back. She really wasn’t going to be any help that day. But she hadn’t wanted to be home. She loved her work, but she hadn’t wanted to work. Restless, she needed to be with Axel. She needed to be busy. Or something.
“Maybe I can spend some time with that horse of his.”
“I’m sure that will be fine.”
He glanced her way again, seeming to be worried about her. “I shouldn’t have involved you so deeply,” he said quietly.
“You didn’t involve me. The dress did.” She shook her head. “Last night...”
“Last night?”
“I think the whole thing is making me a little crazy. I kept thinking someone was by my place in the night.”
“And you didn’t call me?”
“I was afraid I was being paranoid.”
“Paranoid or not—promise you’ll call me in the future if something worrisome happens, no matter what.”
“Okay. I will.”
She closed her eyes. Her lack of sleep through the night must have gotten to her; when she opened her eyes, Axel was touching her shoulder gently and looking into her face. He was smiling.
“Sorry. You were resting. But we’re here. Don’t want to just leave you sitting in the car.”
“Oh!” She sat up straight, almost smacking into his face. His reflexes were good and he moved back quickly,