Hidden - Laura Griffin Page 0,19
noncommittal.
“That was our deal.”
He smiled. “I don’t remember a deal.”
“It was unspoken. I agreed to get your pictures posted, you agreed to give me a heads-up if anything came of it.” She put her hand on her hip. “Are you backing out now?”
“No.”
He gazed down at her, and she got the impression he found her amusing. She should probably be annoyed, but his smile was too appealing, and she was glad to see him here, even though she was all sweaty from her workout.
“I need to go,” he said.
“Keep me posted.”
“I’ll call you if anything big breaks.”
“If anything breaks.”
* * *
* * *
JACOB LEFT THE lake without a single new lead. They’d interviewed dozens of regulars, but only a few had been there on Saturday morning, and the ones who had said they’d seen nothing suspicious or noteworthy. He walked across the parking lot beside the weathered wooden boathouse with the Texas flag painted on the side. A series of boat trailers lined the asphalt beside the building.
Single scull. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Bailey had an independent streak. As Jacob crossed the parking lot, he imagined her pulling in here at the crack of dawn and walking alone past the canoe racks where anyone might be waiting in the shadows.
Two days ago, he had never so much as talked to Bailey Rhoads and knew her only by reputation. Now he couldn’t stop thinking about her. And bumping into her. Whenever he saw her unexpectedly his mind went blank. Jacob needed to snap out of it and get focused on his case. He probably shouldn’t have gone to her office last night, but he was running out of options, and he’d take any help he could get at this point if it meant getting an ID on his victim.
He approached the old gray Taurus he’d parked along the street near a bagel shop. Kendra was in her own car this morning, and she’d decided to stay to interview the nature center staffers for a second time, hoping to shake something loose. Jacob was ready to cut his losses and see if any forensic reports had come in yet.
He popped the locks and slid behind the wheel. He’d picked up the Taurus from the motor pool at oh-dark-hundred this morning and made it over here as the first of the early-morning joggers were beginning to trickle in. The lakefront was awake now, busy with runners and cyclists and dog walkers, even a few summer tourists on Segways. The coffee shops were busy, too, as commuters stopped in to load up on caffeine and carbs.
Jacob surveyed the sidewalks crowded with people, almost all of them with a phone in hand. A pair of women with matching blond ponytails and yoga mats tucked under their arms strode up the sidewalk together. They looked to be friends, except they didn’t say a word to each other as they stared down at their devices. Another woman with a yoga mat under her arm walked past them going the opposite direction. She stopped at a wrought-iron gate and pulled a card from a little purse looped around her wrist. She swiped the card through a reader and opened the gate.
Jacob’s pulse picked up. He reached for the accordion file in the back seat and fished out the envelope containing the white card with the magnetic strip on the back.
He got out and walked up the street, eyeing the building as he neared the gate. The ground level was a bank. Jacob had driven by here yesterday and noted what looked like offices on the upper four floors, but maybe he’d been wrong about that.
Jacob waited for a break in traffic and darted across the street as a thirtyish man stepped through the gate. He had a computer bag slung over his shoulder and looked to be headed to work. The gate clanged shut behind him.
Beside the gate was a small black card reader. Jacob swiped the keycard through. A light flashed green and the lock made a snick.
Jacob stared down in disbelief. He pushed the gate open and followed a narrow cobblestone walkway into a small courtyard with a gurgling fountain at the center. To his left was a tall glass door with LAKEVIEW COURT etched across it. Entering the air-conditioned lobby, Jacob took off his sunglasses. One side of the lobby had an elevator bank and a wall of mailboxes. On the opposite side was a windowed office. Photos taped to the window showed