The Professional (11 page)

But men didn’t look at her and swoon, they didn’t whistle when she walked by, and they certainly never looked at her and lusted.

But Jeb had.

And it thrilled her to her little toes.

She set her basket on the counter, offered him a seat and quickly set to work on their food. “Tell me what you know so far,” she said. “What have you been able to find out?”

She felt his brooding gaze as it followed her around the kitchen. The back of her neck prickled beneath that unwavering regard. “Not much,” he said. “We know from Rose-Marie’s family that her brooch was taken from her safe, so that’s in keeping with what you’ve told me about Lila. That pattern holds with Nanette Hearst as well. I was able to talk to her yesterday and, though it took a little bit of effort—she had me looking at every picture she’d ever taken of her cat—” he drawled with a wry smile “—she finally revealed that she’d been certain that the piece had been in the safe.”

“Were you able to get a picture of it?” she asked. “So we’ll know what we’re looking for.”

“Not of hers, no. I have one of Rose-Marie’s.”

Sophie flipped the bacon, then began cutting up a bit of melon. A quick check of the eggs revealed they weren’t quite ready. “I don’t have a picture of Lila’s, but it would be easy enough to get. She’s wearing it in one of the photographs on her mantle. I would know it if I saw it again.”

“It should be easy enough to snap a picture of it with a cell phone,” he said. He released a breath. “That still leaves Pearl McIntosh. Unfortunately, I haven’t had any luck finding her.”

“She’s been visiting family in the city. She’s supposed to be back today. Her book club is meeting and she’s not going to miss that.”

“Do you think you could talk to her?”

“I can.” A thought struck. “Does Foy know about all of this?”

“He does,” Jeb told her.

“I’m surprised he didn’t offer to help you.”

Jeb hesitated. “I’m not convinced that he actually believes that anything has been taken.”

“You should have told everyone that you were his nephew,” she said. “It’s pretty much common knowledge that he and Annie didn’t have any kids.”

He winced. “Actually, they did. A boy, but he was stillborn.”

Shocked, Sophie turned to look at him more fully. “What?” she breathed. “How do you know that?”

“Because he told me. Last night, while I was waiting for you.” He swallowed, then gave his head a regretful shake. “Sad stuff. Tragic.”

She’d known Foy for years, considered him one of her closer friends at Twilight Acres and, though she’d heard many stories about his Annie, the one he’d shared with Jeb, obviously, was one she’d never heard. She didn’t think anyone else on site had heard it either. Foy was the reigning king of Twilight Acres. News about him travelled fast. Tragic news would have travelled faster.

Jeb arched a brow. “You didn’t know?”

Sophie shook her head, bit her lip. “No, I didn’t, and I doubt anyone else does either.”

Her handsome guest mulled that over. “Oh. Wow.”

“Yes, wow. He must have had a reason for sharing something so personal, something he hadn’t confided in even his closest friends.”

“Would Marjorie know?” he asked.

Sophie chewed the inside of her cheek. “I don’t think so. It wasn’t in Foy’s file.”

He grimaced. “I really need to get into her office.”

“That’s how you caught me, isn’t it?” she breathed. She hadn’t thought about it last night, but clearly he’d been coming to Marjorie’s office for the same reason she had.

He grinned, shrugged. “Yes. When you didn’t come back to the dance, I decided that, rather than waste the rest of the evening, I should try to do something proactive, something I was actually getting paid to do. So I left and went over there.” He leaned forward, considered her. “How did you get in exactly?”

“Through the French doors in her garden. There’s a hide-a-key rock next to the fountain.” She grinned at him. “How were you going to get in?”

He sighed softly, eyes twinkling, and shook his head. “By picking an unlocked door, evidently.”

“We can go back tonight, if you’d like.”

He nodded. “When does Marjorie normally leave?”

“Not until around six, usually,” Sophie told him.

“Why don’t we grab a bite to eat at the diner?” he suggested lightly. “Then when we leave together, everyone will assume that I’m coming home with you and my absence at Foy’s won’t seem so notable.”

His plan made perfect sense, logical and well-reasoned, but she couldn’t help but feel like he was angling for an invitation to spend the night. A thrill whipped through her, swirling around her middle, that “for now” promise ringing in her ears.

She smiled, then turned back to the stove. Ah, the eggs were ready. “Be sure to bring an overnight bag. You can follow me through this gate this time instead of coming over the fence.”

“Right,” he said, chuckling. “I wouldn’t want to risk another injury that required a Band-Aid.” He held up his hands, gesturing to the Disney princess one across his knuckle. “I’ve got to take this off before I get back to Foy’s. He’ll revoke my Man Card.”

Sophie chuckled, plating their food. “Hey, that’s all I had on hand. I love Mulan. She’s a warrior, too. Carried a sword. Defeated the Huns. I thought she was appropriate.”

“Bullshit,” he said. “You thought it would be funny to put a girly Band-Aid on my hand.”

Sophie laughed, outed, and slid his plate in front of him. She’d already set butter and jam, salt and pepper on the table. “That might have a teensy, insignificant part of my motivation.”

“Ha.”

She sat down, draped her napkin over her lap and added a smear of butter to her toast. She peeked over at him, noting the grin on his face with a hefty dollop of satisfaction.

“You made eggs,” he said. “With no crispy, gross edges.”

Yes, she knew. “The trick is to cook them slowly.”

“That settles it. You are The Perfect Woman.”

Pleasure bloomed through her chest, pushing a smile it took effort to contain over her lips. “Oh, I doubt that. Perfection is too hard to live up to. I’d rather be ordinary, but skilled.”

“Trust me,” he said. “You’re not ordinary. You’re…remarkable,” he said, his voice strangely thick, a hint of unmistakable wonder and admiration.

Sophie blushed to the roots of her hair. “I’d argue with you, but that would be stupid. So thank you.” She swallowed a bite of fruit. “I think you’re pretty damned remarkable, too.”

She did. And if the tightness in her chest and the happiness tripping through her veins were any indication, she was half in love with him already.

So much for swearing off men, Sophie thought with a fatalistic sigh. It had been a bad idea from the start, one doomed to failure. And if she was going to fail, better it be
spectacularly
with him than with anyone else.

10

“H
ERE
YOU
GO
,” Payne said, handing over a new cell phone. “What did you say happened to yours again?”

“It got wet.” True enough, if not completely accurate. He arched a brow. “Is Charlie around?”

“I think she might be in her office. If not, then you can look for her at the bakery down the street. Raw Sugar. Her sister-in-law, Mariette Martin, owns it and she and the baby spend a good bit of time down there.” He leaned back in his chair. “Any progress?”

“Yes, a bit. I’ve talked to Sophie and she’s going to help me,” he said. He felt a smile tug at his lips. “She was actually investigating the thefts on her own. I caught her in the director’s office last night.”

Payne’s gaze sharpened with interest. “Really? What was she looking for?”

Jeb explained briefly. “She’s going to talk to Pearl today, secure a picture of her missing jewelry, and find out if her necklace was taken from her safe. If so, then that narrows things down a bit.”

“Yes, it does,” Payne said. “And the director is the only person who has access to the codes?”

“Other than the resident, yes, that’s the way it looks.”

“I’m sensing a but.”

Jeb released a small breath and winced. “But I don’t think she’s guilty,” he admitted. “The village is her life. She’s intimidatingly efficient. I can’t see her rolling through a stop sign, much less stealing jewelry from her residents.”

“Is it possible that someone has gotten access to her codes?”

“That’s what Sophie was looking for last night, but she didn’t find anything. The codes are not easily available, but it’s not impossible that someone has managed to get to them. We suspect that the file might be on her computer, but it’s password protected.”

“Charlie should be able to help you with that.” He chuckled darkly. “We all changed the passwords to our computers recently—I changed mine to pure gibberish—and she still managed to get into each one. I had an electronic post-it on my desk top when I turned it on the following morning. ‘Nice try, but no cigar, Chief,’ she’d said.”

Jeb chuckled. Actually, that wasn’t why he’d wanted to talk to Charlie—he wanted to talk to her about Sophie—but Payne had an excellent point. “I’ll find her.”

“Keep me posted.”

Jeb promised to do just that, then left Payne’s office and went in search of Charlie. Luckily, she was in. He knocked on her doorframe. “Do you have a minute?”

“Sure,” she said, smiling in welcome. Married to one of the other agents, Jay Weatherford, and being the first female non-Ranger hired on by the company, Charlie was an interesting woman, one they all seemed to respect. “What can I do for you?”

“Remember how I asked you to dig a little deeper into Sophie O’Brien’s history?” he asked, settling into a chair in front of her desk.

“I do,” she said, hesitating smally. “I’ve got to tell you, there just isn’t that much to go on. From everything I can tell, she’s squeaky clean. She’s never even had a traffic ticket.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve found out a little more about her myself and…I wondered if you could do a little more poking around for me.”

“Of course,” she told him.

Jeb leaned forward, trying to find the right words to explain his request. “She’s clear of any suspicion as far as my case goes,” he explained. “In fact, she’s helping me.”

Charlie’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“This would strictly be for my own benefit.” He cleared his throat, feeling heat climb his neck. “It’s personal.”

Impossibly, her eyes rounded further and when she “oh’ed” again, no sound emerged from her mouth.

“I think she’s in some sort of danger, only I can’t get it out of her,” he added. “Every time I ask her a question, she finds a way to avoid telling me anything. I don’t want to press her, but—” He shook his head. “—something’s not right. She’s afraid of someone. Her father, I think, quite honestly.” He told Charlie about the scar on her arm, the double fence, the near panic attack when she thought he’d been hired to spy on her. “She told me last night that her grandmother had kept her maiden name and that she’d taken it. The grandmother she’s talking about was her paternal grandmother, so—”

Understanding dawned in Charlie’s eyes. “So she purposely abandoned her father’s name.” She nodded once. “Right. I’ll look into it and get back to you.”

He breathed a small sigh of relief, caught her gaze once more. “Thanks. And I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t mention this to—”

“Mum’s the word,” she said. “I could blackmail every one of y’all if I was a dishonest woman. There isn’t a man working here who hasn’t had me do something similar.” She smiled and waved him off. “Don’t sweat it.”

“There was one other thing,” he said. “I need to get into a password protected computer and I was told that you were the woman to see about that.”

“Piffle,” she said. “It’s child’s play.” She reached into her desk and handed him a simple USB drive. “Plug this little baby in and it’ll do the rest.”

He whistled low. “Really?”

“Really. I wrote the program myself. You can even save the files you’re looking for onto it.”

He looked at it once more, then glanced at her and smiled. “You’re a little scary, you know that?”

She preened. “Thanks.”

Confident that things were finally moving in the right direction, Jeb left the building and made his way to his truck. Because he knew he couldn’t put it off much longer, he decided to go ahead and let his brother know that he was fine. He punched in the number, called up the message screen.

Other phone is dead. New number. I’m fine
. He paused, winced. Swore.

It’s a woman.

There, Jeb thought with a smile. That ought to explain everything.

And it wasn’t just any woman, either. It was possibly
the
woman. Because he grimly suspected that she was going to ruin him for anyone else, that after everything was said and done, she was going to be the one he wasn’t going to be able to let go.

He’d just shifted into reverse when his cell phone rang. “Dammit, Judd, I don’t have…” He frowned, not recognizing the number. But it wasn’t Judd. “Jeb Anderson,” he answered.

“Yes, yes, I know!” Foy snapped. “I called you, didn’t I? Why wouldn’t I know who I was calling?”

Foy? “But I just got this—”

“Phone,” Foy finished. “I’ve been trying the other number for hours, but you didn’t ever answer, so I just called your boss and got the new number from him.”

Brilliant. “What did you need, Foy?”

“I need you to get over here and figure out who has stolen my Annie’s engagement ring out of my safe, that’s what I need! It’s gone.” Panic and despair made the older man’s voice break. “Gone,” he repeated. “Someone’s taken it. Someone’s taken her ring.”

Jeb felt his expression darken. “Have you told anyone, Foy?”

“No,” he said. “I thought it was best to talk to you first.”

“That’s right. Keep it to yourself and let me do my job. Sophie’s helping me now and we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

“Do you have any idea who it might be?”

“Not yet, no,” he admitted, unwilling to lie. “But I know who it’s not and sometimes that’s more important. We’ll get Annie’s ring back, Foy. I promise.”

“You shouldn’t make promises it’s not in your power to keep, son,” Foy told him, his tone weary. “It only makes you feel helpless when you break it.”

“I have no intention of breaking it,” Jeb said determinedly. “I’m on my way. Stick around the house because there are some more questions that I need to ask you.”

Foy sighed heavily, the sound laden with heartache. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He wasn’t either, Jeb thought, until he’d nailed this bastard to the wall.

* * *

U
NABLE
TO
EAT
,
Sophie pushed her food around her plate and kept glancing toward Marjorie’s office, waiting for the lights to go out.

“Looking every few seconds isn’t going to make her leave any faster, Sophie,” Jeb told her, shooting her an indulgent smile.

She grinned, tucked her hair behind her ear. “I know. I’m just impatient.”

She still couldn’t believe that Foy had been a victim. Everyone knew and loved Foy and more importantly, everyone knew how much he’d loved his late wife. It was a shameful thing to take her engagement ring from him. Utterly horrible. She glanced around the diner, took in the beloved faces around her and realized with a sickening since of dread that, more than likely, one of these people was responsible.

Looking more than a little pleased with herself, Cora strolled up to their table. “Evening, Sophie, Jeb.”

Sophie nodded at her, returned the grin. “Evening, Cora.”

“Y’all are looking like quite the pair,” she remarked. “I couldn’t help but notice that both of you left the dance a little early.”

Sophie was surprised Cora had been able to notice anything at all from last night, all things considered.

“We did,” Jeb said. “We ended up at Sophie’s place so that we could have a proper chat.” He made “a proper chat” sound wicked and depraved, as though they’d done things Cora had only ever read about.

Cora’s brows winged up her forehead and she shot a knowing look at Sophie. “
Really
?” she drawled knowingly. “Well, isn’t that nice?”

Jeb glanced across the table at her, his gaze so hot she felt her skin scorch. It might have been for Cora’s benefit, but it was sending her heart into arrhythmia. “Oh, it was,” he remarked, his voice rife with innuendo. “I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed an evening more.”

Though there was a hint of truth in that last statement, Sophie nevertheless grinned and kicked him under the table. He grunted with pain and his eyes widened. “It was harmless, really.”

“I spent the night,” Jeb confided, evidently to punish her for the kick to his shin.

Before Cora’s eyebrows completely disappeared, Sophie quickly interjected, “In the guest bedroom. He spent the night in the guest bedroom and I slept in my own room. We did not sleep together, at all.”

Her older friend’s expression fell, clearly disappointed. “Oh.”

Jeb gestured to Cora, who leaned down and he whispered something in her ear.

Cora gasped delightedly, drew back and shot him a wink. “Atta boy,” she said. “I knew you had it in you.”

Smiling happily, Cora grinned at her and then twinkled her fingers in goodbye.

“What did you say to her?” Sophie asked suspiciously, her smile taking the heat out of the question.

“That’s between me and Cora,” he said. “It’s a secret.”

“You told her you were spending the night again tonight, didn’t you?”

His blue eyes twinkled with devilish humor. “I might have said something like that.”

She lifted an unconcerned shoulder. “Oh, well. I might have told your brother the same thing, so it’s all good.”

He choked on his tea. “What?” he wheezed. “My brother? Why are you talking to my brother?”

“Strictly speaking, we’re not talking.” She popped a fry in her mouth. “We’ve been texting.”

His expression went comically blank. “You’ve been texting my brother. But—” His eyes widened as understanding dawned. “I texted him from your phone,” he said with a resigned nod. “Right.”

“He’s concerned about you,” she told him, eyes twinkling. “He says he’s been picking up some weird vibes.”

Jeb chuckled darkly. “Oh, he did, did he? Wonderful. Brilliant. I appreciate that.”

“I couldn’t ignore him,” Sophie protested. She withdrew her cell phone from her purse and held it up so that Jeb could see. “See? He even sent me a picture. Isn’t this gorgeous?” she said. “That’s the view from his apartment. Look at that water. It’s so blue. It reminds me of your—” She stopped short.
Oh, hell
.

Naturally, he hadn’t missed the slip. A grin tugged at both corners of his lips, making that increasingly dear dimple wink in his cheek. “It reminds you of my what?” he asked.

She took a sip of her drink, looking at a speck on the table. “S’not important.”

“What?”

Oh, geez. “It’s not important.”

“That’s cruel,” he said. “I sense you were on the verge of paying me a very sincere compliment and now you’re refusing.” He tsked under his breath, as though he was heartbroken.

“Oh, please,” she said with an exasperated sigh, feeling the tops of her ears burn with humiliation. It was a constant state where he was concerned. “I was just going to say that the color of the ocean there reminds me of your eyes.” She met his gaze, drawn in, as usual. “You have the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.” Her breath thinned in her lungs. “They’re quite…compelling.”

He swallowed. “See? I knew it. A compliment.” He looked away and drummed his fingers on the table, almost as if he was embarrassed. “Thank you.”

She leaned forward, studied him a little closer. A hint of pink stained his cheeks, confirming her suspicions. For whatever reason, that little bit of color cheered her, made her feel like she wasn’t alone in
this
—whatever it was—happening between them. If she could make this badass former Ranger blush with a little compliment about his pretty eyes, then anything was possible, right?

“Can I get you anything else?” Ethel asked, her plump face wreathed in a smile. She looked particularly happy for them, as though she, too, had been a part of the match-making scheme. “A slice of cake? A cup of cobbler?”

Jeb shook his head. “Nothing for me, thanks. I’m fine.” He glanced at Sophie and lifted a brow. “Would you like something?”

Sophie shook her head. “No, thanks.”

Ethel frowned at her, put a hand against her forehead, checking for a temperature. “You all right, Sophie? You’re not getting sick, are you?”

“Er…no,” she said, mortified. “I’m just full.” Geez, it wasn’t like she’d
never
turned down dessert before. Granted, it wasn’t often, but it wasn’t such a damned phenomenon either.

“But you love my chocolate cobbler,” she persisted.

Jeb’s lips twitched with humor, the wretch. “I do,” Sophie admitted. “But I’m going to pass tonight, all the same.”