Marine's Mission - Rebecca Deel Page 0,28
help them locate Ellis.
Two hours later, Owen and Gigi had interviewed the rest of the employees in the software development division. When the last of the workers left the conference room, Owen stretched and stood. He held out a hand to Gigi. “We’ve learned all we can for the moment. Let’s get out of here.”
CHAPTER TEN
Gigi and Owen walked from the conference room and saw Cramer standing in front of his office door, scowling. He reminded Gigi of a wolf lying in wait for his prey. “I’m lodging a complaint with your supervisor,” the man snapped. “You took too much of my employees’ valuable time with your questions.”
“A sloppy investigation could cost Ellis and Ms. Webster their lives,” Owen said. “You’re welcome to voice your concerns, however.”
“What’s your supervisor’s name?”
“David Montgomery, Morgan County Sheriff.”
Cramer blinked. “Are you related to each other?”
“Brothers.”
The supervisor cursed softly. “Don’t know why I expected anything different from a two-bit law enforcement department. Never mind. You need to leave. You’ve delayed our work long enough.” He stepped toward them. “I’ll escort you to the lobby.”
Gigi’s brows furrowed. Did Cramer expect them to get lost on the way to the elevator? More likely, he didn’t want them to question anyone else or search Ellis’s desk.
“We can see ourselves out,” Owen said.
“Unauthorized personnel cannot wander the halls without an escort, Deputy.”
Owen gestured toward the hallway. “Lead the way, Cramer.”
As they passed the cluster of cubicles where Ellis worked, Gigi looked into Chaz’s workspace. His chair sat empty, the desk light off. The remaining workers in the area watched their progress from behind desks and laptop screens.
Man, she’d hate to work in a cubicle farm, especially with Cramer as a boss.
Owen and Gigi followed Cramer to the elevator. Minutes later, Owen unlocked his SUV, helped Gigi inside, and circled the hood. After retrieving his weapons, Owen drove from the lot. “How are you holding up, G?”
“Not bad.”
He snorted. “We’ve been on the go since leaving the B & B. Try again.”
“I’m sore and tired, but I’ll live. I’ll be better when I take over-the-counter pain meds.”
“Do you have any with you?”
Gigi nodded.
Owen tapped the lid of green tea. “If you can’t stomach the watered-down tea, I’ll stop for something else.”
She laid her hand on his forearm. “This is fine unless you need more caffeine.”
“I could use another cup of coffee,” he admitted.
A ball of ice formed in her stomach. He needed rest worse than she did. “You need a solid eight hours of sleep, Owen.”
“Can’t yet.”
“Will you sleep tonight?”
“One of my brothers will stay at the B & B to keep watch. I’ll rest.”
“I don’t know if I have a room available. Emma registered a walk-in guest. If the guests with reservations show up, I won’t have an available bed.”
He flashed her an amused look. “My brother won’t sleep, and I’ll be camped out on your couch.”
Gigi’s eyes widened. He couldn’t be serious. “You can’t sleep on my couch.”
Owen was silent a long moment. Finally, he glanced at her, his jaw hard. “You don’t trust me? It’s no secret how I feel about you, but I would never treat you with dishonor, Gigi.”
Oh, man. She didn’t mean to hurt him. “My concern has nothing to do with trust and everything to do with your comfort. The best furniture in the B & B is available to guests, but I don’t think you want to sleep in the living room.”
Gigi caught the look of satisfaction in his eyes along with the flicker of heat before Owen shifted his attention to the road. The ball of ice in her stomach melted.
“I can sleep anywhere, G. If your couch isn’t comfortable, I’ll sleep on the floor.”
Horror filled her at that suggestion. “I’ll figure something out.” She could borrow an air mattress from one of her friends. She didn’t want Owen sleeping on the floor.
“I’ve slept on worse than a clean floor.” He sounded amused.
After she swallowed the pain medicine with watered-down green tea, Owen asked, “After listening to the interviews, did anything stand out?”
“Ellis’s circle of friends is small. The only people who seem to know him are Chaz and Cassie. The rest of his coworkers are acquaintances. I don’t think he had more than a passing conversation with any of them.”
“Agreed. What else did you notice?”
“Cassie mentioned remote-controlled planes and drones.”
His head whipped her direction for a second before he refocused on the road ahead. “I caught that, too.”
“Did you notice the books dealing with remote-controlled planes and drones in Ellis’s