Scene of the Crime: Widow Creek

Marge looked back at Nick, her eyes narrowed. “What’s going on, Nick?”

Nick could feel Lexie’s frustration growing by the second, but he ignored her. “Lexie’s in town to visit her sister, but Lauren seems to have gone missing and we’re trying to hunt her down. Has she been in lately?”

Marge frowned. “I think she was in Monday for lunch, but I haven’t seen her since then. Now, what can I get for the two of you?”

They ordered and once Marge left the table Lexie released a deep sigh. “That was no help. We need to question everyone in here, see who saw Lauren when.”

“Just sit tight. Trust me when I tell you before we finish our breakfast you’ll have spoken to everyone in this place.” He could tell that she didn’t believe him but she settled back in the booth, took her glasses off and rubbed at her eyes. “Not much sleep last night?” he asked sympathetically.

Her eyes were the most amazing shade of green with just enough shadow in them to be slightly mysterious. “I don’t think I slept much more than an hour through the whole night.” She slid the glasses back on. “I just can’t wrap my head around this.” Her gaze held a hint of vulnerability as she looked at him. “I’m scared.”

He could tell what the confession cost her by the way her gaze skittered away from his and from the telltale pulse of a delicate vein in her neck. Before he could respond Jim Caskie ambled by the table to say hello to Nick.

It was just as he’d suspected—as they ate their breakfast almost everyone who was dining in the café found a reason to stop by and say hello. Lexie merely picked at her eggs and nibbled on toast, more interested in what people had to say than in the meal in front of her.

Nick knew the people of Widow Creek were leery of strangers, but he also knew they were a curious bunch. And Lexie, with the pink streak in her hair and her pink sequined blouse definitely sparked plenty of curiosity.

The one thing that didn’t happen was answers. Nobody had seen Lauren since Monday, at least nobody who would admit to it. And nobody had seen Bo for the past couple of days. This information eased some of Nick’s concern.

Even the most levelheaded women occasionally went crazy over a man. It was possible the two had gone off together for a romantic tryst and Lauren had just forgotten to make arrangements for her dogs or had wound up being gone longer than she’d initially planned.

“Do you know where Bo lives?” Lexie asked the minute they were back in her car.

“Yeah, you want to go by there?” He wasn’t surprised when she nodded her head.

After giving her directions, he tried to think of something, anything, he could tell her that might ease some of the tension that rode her slender shoulders and darkened her eyes.

“So, Lauren told me you’re something of a computer geek,” he finally said, wanting to connect with her on a more personal level. “What exactly is it that you do?”

“I work for the cybercrime unit for the FBI. Mostly I hunt down cybercriminals, those who are invading home computers to steal identities, and I try to find the source behind thousands of scams that people receive via email.”

“Sounds fascinating.”

She flashed him a quick glance. “Most people would find it pretty boring, but I like it. I’m comfortable working with a computer. It’s predictable. I type in code and I know what’s going to happen.”

“Unlike people, who can be unpredictable,” he observed.

“Exactly.” She chewed her bottom lip and for just a minute he wondered what it would be like to taste her mouth with his. The thought flashed in his head with a shock. He had no business even thinking such thoughts. What was wrong with him? He hadn’t entertained such a thought about a woman in years.

She was here to find her sister and nothing more. In any case, he was mentally and emotionally unavailable to any woman when it came to his heart.

Still, he grudgingly admitted that perhaps his momentary fantasy about the taste of her mouth meant that he wasn’t quite as dead as he’d believed himself to be.

They pulled up in front of Bo’s place and she cut the engine as she stared at the neat two-story house before them. The front door was closed and there were no vehicles around. “Looks like nobody is home,” he said.

“You can wait here. I’ll go find out.” She got out of the car and walked toward the front door.

Nick remained in the car, his gaze following the slight sway of her hips. Okay, he could admit to himself that he was sexually attracted to her. There was no real explanation for the immediate physical chemistry he felt toward her.

Of course, it had been almost two years since he’d been with a woman. Maybe this was just his body’s way of reminding him that he was a healthy thirty-three-year-old man who had been alone for too long. In any case, it wasn’t something he intended to act upon, just a curious surprise that reminded him that he was very much alive.

He watched as Lexie knocked on the front door several times, then moved to peek through the living room windows and finally returned to the car.

“He’s not here. Maybe she did go off with him for a couple of days,” she said.

“Women have been known to momentarily lose their minds for love,” he replied.

“Not me,” she replied darkly. “Not ever.”

She started the car and pulled out of the driveway. “I’m going back into town to ask more questions, but I’ll be glad to drop you off at your place. I’m sure you have better things to do than spend the day with me.”

“Actually, I don’t.” There was nothing for him at home except the endless silence and loneliness that had gnawed at his heart for the past year. “If two of us are asking questions then we can get it done in half the time.”

She eyed him for a long moment and then shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

The remainder of the ride back into town was silent. Nick couldn’t begin to guess what she was thinking. He didn’t know her well enough, but he was surprised to realize that he wished he did.

They stayed in town throughout the afternoon, drifting into stores, stopping people on the streets and asking about Lauren. By five o’clock it was clear that Lauren hadn’t been seen by anyone since Tuesday.

Nick still held out hope that she and Bo had taken off on some sort of romantic connection, but he could see with each minute that passed that Lexie was growing more distraught.

She nibbled on her lower lip and looked tense enough to shatter if anyone would reach out and touch her. He finally called a halt. “It’s time to go home, Lexie,” he said. “You’ve done all you can do for today and you’re only getting the same answers over and over again.”

For a moment he thought she was going to protest, but then her shoulders fell and she nodded wearily. “You’re right. It’s been a long day and we aren’t getting anywhere.”

Once again she was quiet on the ride back to Lauren’s and Nick wished he had some encouraging words to give her. But there was no question that Lauren’s disappearance was troubling. As the day had worn on his hope that she’d gone off with Bo had faded. If that was the case, then why hadn’t she returned Lexie’s phone calls? Why didn’t she answer her cell phone? Surely she’d know that Lexie would be worried sick.

They had gotten one piece of information from one of Bo’s neighbors who told them that Bo had mentioned visiting some family in Tulsa, Oklahoma. If Bo was with family in Oklahoma, then where was Lauren? The whole thing was growing more and more troubling with each minute that passed.

“Thanks for your help today,” Lexie said as she pulled up next to his truck in Lauren’s driveway. She stared at the house as if dreading going inside.

“Look, we haven’t eaten since breakfast. Why don’t I take you out to dinner?”

She turned to look at him. “Why would you want to do that?”

He shrugged. “Because I need to eat. You need to eat and we might as well eat together. Why don’t I pick you up in an hour?”

She turned and looked at the house again, a frown pulling together her delicately arched eyebrows. “I have a bad feeling about this, Nick. I don’t think she’s ever coming home.”

He reached across the seat and took her hand in his. “You can’t lose hope already,” he said softly. “Maybe she took off with Bo and her cell phone went dead. That would explain her not answering your calls.” Her hand felt small in his grasp.

She stared at him as if desperate to believe his words. “Maybe you’re right,” she finally conceded. She pulled her hand from his. “I guess I’ll see you in an hour.”

They both got out of her car and Nick stood by his truck and watched her walk to the house. There was no question that something about Lexie touched him in a place where nobody had touched him in a very long time.

There was an awkwardness about her that he found oddly charming. The pink streak in her hair spoke of a woman seeking attention and yet he’d never seen a woman who appeared more uncomfortable with any attention she garnered.

As he got into his truck he wondered what in the hell he was doing. He’d spent the day with her and now had invited her to dinner, as if he couldn’t get enough of her company.