Shadow in the Pines (8 page)

She’d stopped leaving the front door open after the cellar incident, and felt a rush of shyness when she heard Noah come up the stairs and ring the bell. Even though nothing had happened, it was still disconcerting to find him in her bed when she woke up. Carrying her dishtowel with her, she opened the door and headed back for the kitchen, turning around half way when she realized he was still outside.

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“Sure,” he wore an odd expression as he stepped just inside the door and stopped.

“What’s wrong?” she felt her heart skip a beat.

“You’ve already started dinner?” he asked.

“Just getting ready to,” she said, trying to read the expression on his face. “Is something wrong?”

He closed the door and rubbed a hand over his eyes as he moved to the kitchen table. “Nah,” he shook his head, taking a seat. “It’s okay. Can we go out to eat, though?” She saw the weariness around his eyes when he looked up at her.

“You sure you want to do that?” she asked. “You look tired.”

“I’d rather, if you don’t mind,” he said. Looking past him out the window, she saw his truck parked behind her car. Usually, he walked over.

“Okay,” she said meekly. “I’ll just get changed.”

She paused long enough to put away the vegetables she’d sat out on the counter, then dashed upstairs. Something was wrong; she didn’t care what he said. Trading her jeans for a pair of khaki slacks and a soft sweater, she stopped at the bathroom mirror to touch up her makeup and run a brush through her hair. A spritz of perfume and she was on her way downstairs, but didn’t find Noah there. He was waiting in the swing on the porch.

“Ready?” he smiled when she came out the door.

She nodded, following him to the truck after she flipped on the porch light and locked the door behind her. Sitting quietly, she stole occasional glances at his face as he drove into town. This was a side of him she hadn’t seen before. Usually he was almost childlike in his openness with her, something she hadn’t expected from a cop. But this, this was different.

“This okay?” he asked, pulling up in front of Steak and Ale.

“It’s fine.” Right now, it didn’t feel like anything was okay.

The hostess that greeted them gave them forced congeniality and ushered them rapidly to a secluded room illuminated only by candles.

“How’d you rate the private room?” Dani asked, looking at all the empty tables in the center of the room.

“Gotta know the right people,” he smiled, looking a little more like the Noah she knew. A waitress materialized immediately, taking their orders and returning with iced tea for both of them. Dani noticed the girl’s eyes giving him the once over. He did look even more attractive than usual. Dark, and brooding. The tight jeans were the only pants she’d seen him in, but instead of the usual snug fitting T-shirt, he wore a dark blue plaid shirt, open at the collar to reveal a significant vee of deeply tanned chest covered with curly golden hair that beckoned for a touch. On top of that, he wore an old black leather bomber jacket that made him look like the quintessential bad boy every girl’s mother warned her about.

“So, what’s up?” she asked bluntly when the waitress moved away.

He surprised her again by pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. “Do you mind?”

“No,” she shook her head, watching as he lit up.

“I’ve been checking things out, today,” he said, exhaling slowly. “Looks like your boss was right to be worried.”

“Really?” she perked up. “What’d you find?”

“Thaddeus Gregory was a lab assistant for Ophidian, and he went to the police several times with ideas, apparently. They did check it out, but nothing came of it. Then, I found a note in one of the files that said he’d moved out of town, so I called to see if I could find him,” he looked serious.

“And?”

“He’s gone,” he said simply. “Never showed up anywhere. I ran his social and there’s been no income or activity since he left here.”

“Well, shoot! What does that mean?” Dani was afraid she already knew.

“I’ve requested his records from the university so I can get his family information, but according to what I saw, he’d been working steady from the time he was sixteen. It’s not likely that he’s alive.”

Dani tried to process what she was hearing, staring absentmindedly at the smoke curling from the tip of his cigarette. “So, what’s your professional opinion of all this?” she asked.

“I don’t have enough to open the case back up, but I think I’ll nose around a little bit.”

She waited, but he didn’t say anything. There was something else bothering him, though, she was sure of that. She’d eaten half of her meal, barely tasting it, when he finally broached the subject.

“About last night…” he said tentatively, causing her to look up from her plate. “I hope you don’t mind that I stayed. I shouldn’t have, but I was worried you wouldn’t sleep…” his voice trailed off.

Funny, he didn’t look like such an old fashioned gentleman.

“Noah, it’s all right.”

“No, it’s really not,” he argued.

“Noah,” she reached across the table to take his hand. “Just say it, dammit.”

His eyes were drawn to hers and he stared into them for a long time before he spoke again.

“I’m worried about you,” he said, finally. “And I want to be there to protect you. But do you have any idea how hard it was not to touch you last night?”

In spite of the distress on his face, a smile tugged at her lips. If he’d seen her dreams, he wouldn’t be asking that question. Time to lay the cards out on the table?

“So, touch me, then,” she said softly, prompting a groan from him.

“You don’t get it,” he said roughly. “I could make love to you all night, but if I do, I’m done.”

Dani wasn’t sure what she expected, but that wasn’t it. She didn’t even know what he meant. “You’re right. I don’t get it.”

“How can I protect you if I’m not objective anymore? Hell, I sat up half the night wondering if I should pay Abraham a visit, just to make sure he didn’t mess with you! What kind of cop is that?”

Dani had no idea any of that would even be an issue. Secretly, she felt a little thrill at the thought that he was jealous but he was too distressed about it to dare say anything like that.

“So, what do we do?”

Sighing deeply, he said, “I don’t know. I’ve tried to figure that out all day. Every time I decided I’d just back off so I could watch out for you, I’d remember how you looked last night, falling asleep on my shoulder. Then, when I saw you again tonight… I really don’t want to back off.”

Candlelight from the table flickered in his eyes as he held her gaze, making them look like warm, clear brandy.

Dani breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good. Then don’t leave me,” she whispered, fearing that’s exactly what he had in mind. “I don’t……… I don’t want to be without you, Noah,” she said, admitting it to him and to herself for the first time.

He closed his eyes and she waited, holding her breath again until he spoke.

“I don’t want that either,” he said softly. “Some tough guy, huh?” he grinned for the first time she remembered this evening.

“Can we go now?” she asked, knowing she’d be in his arms in another minute, no matter where they were.

Chapter Seven

Dani wasn’t sure exactly when the decision was made, but she knew by the time they reached her driveway that she wanted to be with him more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life.

It wasn’t really even a matter of choice, Dani told herself. It was more a matter of destiny. Any objections raised by her intellect were promptly overruled by her physical responses.

“What are you thinking?” she asked, rolling up on one elbow so she could see Noah’s face.

“I’ll never tell,” he teased, smiling up at her in the moonlight that shone through her bedroom window. “Are you sure about this?” he asked quietly, tracing her jaw line with his finger.

“Make love to me, Noah Russell,” she whispered.

***

“Girl! You look like something the cat drug up!” Beth laughed as Dani set her cafeteria tray down on the table beside her.

“Well, thanks!” Dani chuckled. “It’s that damn microbiology class that does this!” It was the only class she had on Tuesday and Thursday, but she struggled more in there than in the other three combined.

“Ralston’s a bear,” Beth agreed. “I waited till I could get Deaver instead.”

“Yeah, well Deaver’s class was full by the time I registered,” Dani said. “If I can’t make Ralston happier than I am right now, I’ll be sure to get Deaver for the retake.”

“Oh, you’ll do fine,” Beth dismissed that idea. “Ralston’s projects are a pain in the ass, but I hear he grades pretty lenient.”

“I hope so. The instructions are nineteen pages. How am I supposed to remember all that?”

Dani chomped down on her burger, hoping to still the rumbling in her stomach that had gradually increased all morning long. Why was it she was never hungry until she sat down at her desk in the classroom?

“So, you never told me how you like the snake farm,” Beth observed.

“I haven’t seen much of it,” Dani said between bites. “Crane has this system of breaking everybody in on file work for awhile before he lets them near his babies,” she smirked.

Beth laughed at that. “That’s the big secret,” she nodded. “Those snakes aren’t really reproducing, Crane is!”

Dani choked on her soda at the wicked gleam in Beth’s eye. She’d thought the disparaging rumors about Dr. Crane were exaggerated until she met him. Tall and heavyset, his white lab coat was so tight that she feared the buttons on his belly might pop off at any moment and wondered curiously why he didn’t just buy a bigger one or leave it unbuttoned. When she turned her attention to his face, she was taken aback by the intense look of displeasure he wore and studied his face carefully, trying to figure out just what was wrong with it. His once dark hair was now smattered with gray and his eyebrows were nearly white. She’d never seen such long eyebrow hairs and was momentarily mesmerized by the way the hairs seemed to stand up and wave in all directions each time he frowned, which was often. But, she finally figured out it was his eyes that captured her attention. Dark enough brown to look black from across the room, they were incredibly close set for such a large face and she choked back a laugh when she realized they reminded her of the gorilla poster hanging in the zoology room.

“He’s a real prize, isn’t he?” Dani snickered. Fortunately, after that first interview, she’d hardly seen him. What she’d heard from Joe, coupled with her own first impressions, convinced her she wouldn’t learn anything from him about the students’ disappearance.

“I don’t know how you can stand it,” Beth agreed. “He’s creepier to me than those snakes.”

“I hear you,” Dani mumbled around a mouthful of fries. She only had ten minutes to get to the lab, but thankfully it was one of her short days and she’d be out by four instead of six. “I’ve gotta run,” she got up, gathering her trash on the tray. “See you later!”

“Laters!” Beth’s melodic voice followed her as she rushed to the door, stopping to drop off her tray.

She’d intended to get to the lab early today, but with her stomach growling and her microbiology paper lacking there was just no way.

“Hi, guys,” she said to no one in particular as she hurried into the lab. Several of the students were already waiting patiently at their stations. Without stopping to put on her lab coat, she dropped her stack of books on the desk and picked up a marker to start writing the day’s instructions on the board.

“Okay,” she turned to face them when she was finished. “Today’s the big day,” she smiled. This group was composed mainly of freshmen, most of whom had no real interest in Biology other than meeting the degree requirements for their diplomas. It was amusing at the beginning of the semester, but as the weeks turned into months and the work got more challenging, her amusement faded fast. “For the next four weeks, you’ll be dissecting fetal pigs, mounting and labeling the organs, making wet mounts of each one, and writing a paper to describe your findings,” she said. “Those of you who still haven’t finished your frogs need to do so today. I want everyone’s pig signed out before you leave here. Got that?”

Ignoring the murmurs and groans, she hoisted a plastic pail containing the specimens up on the table closest to the desk and said, “I’m ready when you are.”

About half the students lined up holding large dissection pans with gloved hands and she watched as they each selected a specimen from the pail. Once everyone settled in, she started her rounds, observing each student in turn and helping out when it was needed. It promised to be a long and tiring day.

***

“I’ll be right back,” a frazzled young man called over his shoulder, exiting the back door of the office as Noah came in the front.

Scanning the office with a practiced eye, he noted the sparse furnishings and lack of storage. Only one small file cabinet in the corner gave any indication that it was an office at all. He stepped up beside the desk and placed a large hand on the calendar that covered it, twisting it until he could read the handwritten notes. Nothing of consequence there. With one hand in his pocket, he paced back and forth in the small waiting area, idly glancing at the photos of snakes that lined the walls.

He’d finally gotten Thaddeus Gregory’s family records from the university’s stored records office and the results were pretty much what he expected. Thad’s father died last year of a stroke, but Noah reached his mother by phone late this morning. The last time she heard from Thad was six years ago. At that time, he was thrilled with his new job here at Ophidian and never mentioned anything about moving away. Noah’s heart sank as he heard the hope in her quivering voice when he introduced himself. It made him all the more determined to find some answers and give the poor woman the closure she needed. The next stop, after getting the records he wanted from the lab, was the dorm where Thad was living prior to his disappearance.

“Sorry I took so long,” the young man came back in the same door he’d exited a few moments before. “Can I help you?”