Trey and Baz said at the same time.
Reese merely offered a nod of his head.
And now they had their next step.
***
“You know, Tesha, it’d probably be good to have some warm bodies in this place,” JJ told the dog as she stared at her computer screen. “Seems a little too quiet without them here, doesn’t it?”
She probably should’ve felt strange to be talking to a dog, but considering there was no one else to talk to, or to overhear, she didn’t much care. Plus, Tesha was a damn good listener. Especially after she’d ventured over to the house, retrieved one of three dog beds Brantley and Reese had stashed in different rooms, and relocated it to her new loft office. Three. Seriously. They’d had Tesha a week and she was already spoiled.
However, she did seem content with the bed. Ever since they returned, she’d been snoozing away beside her. Every so often, Tesha would open an eye, peek up at her as though to ensure she was still there.
“Too bad I had to reschedule the interviews,” she told him. “But it’s probably smart to have someone around when I invite a stranger here, huh?”
JJ stared at her computer screen, at the images of the four women who’d gone missing. They were all attractive, albeit a little plain, but there wasn’t a single thing about them that was similar. So what did they have in common? Besides the fact they all liked to jog and there were children that resided in their orbit. How would this person—because yes, it could still be a woman as far as she was concerned—come in contact with them and know they all utilized the same jogging path? That was the key, she knew. Something about the jogging path. Or the location as a whole.
As she stared, her cell phone rang, startling both her and the dog.
“Shit,” she mumbled to Tesha. “Sorry, honey. I’ll turn the ringer down. Hello.”
“Hey,” she greeted Baz.
The deep, resonant voice on the other end somehow managed to soothe her nerves. It was almost instant, too, something she wasn’t used to.
“Hey. Sorry, I don’t have anything else on—”
“I’m callin’ to check on you, JJ. Not about the case.”
“Oh.” She smiled, relaxed in her comfy chair. “I’m fine. Me and Tesha are just hangin’ out. I hear you’ve partnered up with Trey.”
“Yep.”
“What do you think? He gonna cut it?”
“Yeah. Takes him some time to warm up, but I think he’ll be fine once he’s been doin’ this for a while. But he’s honest about it. That’s the key.”
“He’s a good guy,” she told Baz. “Solid.”
He chuckled, the soft rumble making her belly clench. “That’s the same thing he said about you.”
“Really?” They had talked about her? “I love Trey.”
“Hey, now.”
She giggled. “He’s gay, remember? I’m not his type.”
“Today,” he stated. “Who knows what tomorrow might bring?”
“You know it’s not a choice, right?”
“Have you met Reese?”
JJ laughed. “He’s an anomaly.”
“I was hopin’ to take you out tonight.”
His comment caught her off guard, but it brought another smile to her face. Perhaps it was because he was so far away that she realized how much she missed him being around.
“Rain check.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that.”
He would, she knew.
Her body suddenly warmed as she remembered the kiss they’d shared, the way his work-rough hands had slipped beneath her T-shirt, sliding sensually over her skin.
“JJ? You okay?”
Shit. She was breathing heavily.
“Good,” she said, coughing to clear her throat. “Great.”
“How ’bout I call you tonight? We can talk more.”
“I’d like that.”
And she realized she really, really would.
Provided she could keep the call PG. God only knew what she was capable of when it came to Sebastian Buchanan.
Ugh.
***
“Where’re we headed?” Brantley asked once they’d made it back to the SUV after lunch.
“I got an answer from Debbie Struthers’s mother,” Reese told him. “I think she was surprised to get my call. Said she’s been waiting tirelessly since her daughter went missing on March eighteenth.”
“She hasn’t heard from anyone?”
“According to her, no. She’s left messages for the detective and he’s left a couple in return, but they’ve never actually spoken.”
Brantley glanced over at him. “Are you tellin’ me she hasn’t spoken to Detective Collins face-to-face?”
“That’s what she said.”
“Hmm.” Brantley steered the truck out onto the road. “I think that’s somethin’ we have to look into.”
“Agree. Maybe we can stop by and chat with the detective after.”
Brantley nodded.
They rode in silence for a few minutes, Brantley following the directions provided by the navigation system. While Debbie Struthers lived in a