Jax scowled at his interfering hostess. Underneath her apron, she wore emerald green and yellow in an outfit little better than a swimsuit. It was hot and he appreciated the view, but so would every other male in town. “There is nothing we can do about Loretta’s parents. That’s police business.”
She beamed sunnily. “Of course it is. I’ll just have a word with Sheriff Troy when I take his pug out later. Have fun with the microfiche.”
“It was much easier when the only women in my life shared my bed and nothing else,” Jax muttered, refilling his coffee cup and leaving her to taunt the town in short shorts barely covering a bodacious booty.
Carrying his coffee in a travel mug, Jax strolled downtown in the relative coolness of early morning. The place was small enough that Evie’s house could be considered the suburbs, even though she was only a few blocks from the main drag. Since his goal was on the far end of Afterthought, he had a pleasant walk past her mother’s shop, the café, the hardware store, a flower garden in an empty lot, a tearoom, and a line of offices for the lawyers and other businesses associated with the courthouse. The other side of the street wasn’t much better.
But for city dwellers looking for cheap housing and safe streets, Afterthought would look idyllic.
Knowing the location of the registrar’s office now, Jax entered the back door of the courthouse and went right in. Emma Blue looked up a little warily but pushed her glasses up her nose and glanced at another customer.
Jax studied the big older man leaning against the counter as if doing no more than passing time. He didn’t recognize the face, but judging by the jeans, work boots, and company shirt, he was with a construction firm. The name Titan was imprinted on the back of his work shirt.
Emma came to the counter to greet Jax. “You found the property you want to build your ice cream shop on?”
He’d forgotten that convenient story. He suspected she knew who he was by now, but he nodded as if agreeing. “That’s not why I’m here today, sorry. I need to look up a few deeds, if you can direct me to the right files?” He showed her the deed numbers, not the deeds.
She whistled. “Those are oldies. If you’re lucky, they’ll be on microfiche. Some of those files were too old to even film. Come on back, and I’ll show you the drawers and the machine.” She glanced back at the other man. “Emmitt, I’ll see what I can do when I have a minute.”
Emmitt, her brother? Was this the Emmitt Blue who owned the construction firm his father had sued decades ago? Jax tried not to look too startled but surreptitiously watched the other man as he removed himself from the counter and lumbered out. What kind of favors could a clerk in the registrar’s office perform for someone who worked at—or owned?—a construction company? Although, wasn’t Titan the name on the surveyor’s work orders? Bells chimed.
He texted Roark with the name Emmitt Blue and Titan, then settled in with headache-inducing piles of film.
* * *
Loretta was happily finishingup her book report onThe Sorcerer’s Stonewhen the principal entered the classroom, looking worried. She handed a folded note to Mrs. Wright, stopped a moment to listen to Loretta’s report, smiled, and departed.
The principal’s bubble was transparent, but there had been aworriedaspect to it. Or maybe she thought that because the lines on her forehead had been troubled. Whichever, Loretta was already anxious by the time Mrs. Wright gestured her over to her desk.
“Here’s a hall pass for the principal’s office. Your guardian is waiting for you.” Mrs. Wright looked as cheerful and unconcerned as always.
Mrs. Wright thought Loretta’s guardian was Evie. The principal might be concerned that the person in her officewasn’tEvie. Why would Jax come looking for her?
Loretta stopped at her locker in the hallway and picked up her backpack. If she had to run, she wanted her books and Harry Potter. She donned a ball cap she’d found on Evie’s hall tree. No one checked her hall pass as she slipped outside and past the principal’s windows. She tried to see in but the angle and sun and blinds were all wrong. She didn’t see Jax’s Jag but a long black sedan sat in the bus parking zone.
She could walk back to Evie’s, but anyone could find her there. She didn’t think she wanted to be found until she knew who was looking.
Climbing had always been a useful tool. Skirting around the school building, she found what she needed. With the help of an overturned bucket, she reached the lowest branch of a tree that overhung the flat school roof. It was only a one-story building, so that was an easy climb. Once up there, she ran around the edge until she saw the parking lot. The car was still there. No one was out looking for her yet.
She wished she had a phone to call Evie, but then, Evie didn’t have a phone either. She was probably out by the pond walking dogs. Loretta decided Jax had to buy them phones once she came down.
She shouldn’t be so suspicious, but her parents weredead. Both of them, at once, and probably not on their yacht. She knew Evie thought they’d been killed. That was pretty awful scary, so Loretta didn’t plan on taking any chances. Harry Potter got in trouble when he did dumb things like trusting people. More scared than the first time she’d run away, she sought one of the cameras Jax’s team had to have installed up here.
Right over the entrance, of course, just below the roof line. Leaning way over, Loretta turned the camera up and made an awful face into it. Then she pointed down at the entrance. She didn’t think they’d bother with microphones way up here, so she didn’t bother trying to explain.
Confident she had done all she could, she sat with her back to the wall, dug into her backpack, and found her lunch. She didn’t want to die hungry.
It didn’t take five minutes for Roark’s van to roar into the parking lot. She recognized the noisy muffler. Munching an apple, feeling a smidgeon better, she leaned over and saw the sheriff’s car following the van. Huh, had the guys been speeding or had they actually called for help? When Roark and Reuben jumped out of the van, she waved.
They saw her at once. It felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted from her shoulders, and she hastily wiped away her tears. She could be brave, if needed, but she really liked not being alone.
Reuben ran for the back of the school before the sheriff could climb out of his car. To Loretta’s delight and concern, she saw Jax jogging down the street. He only needed a camouflage uniform to look like a military commando on TV. So if it wasn’t Jax in the office, who was it?
Reuben strode up behind her. “This ain’t Bubble Witch, girl. Whacha doin’?”
“This ain’t the ghetto, boy, whacha think I’m doin’?” She liked Reuben, but he needed to get over himself.
“You don’t call nobody who looks like meboy, got it?” He watched over the edge with her, not sounding particularly peeved. A man wearing a bone in his topknot ought to be scary, but he wasn’t.