Chapter 12 #2
Joel frowned. “Either he changed his MO or?—”
“It’s a copycat killer,” Ethan finished.
“It would explain the escalation from killing every few years to taking four women in twelve months,” Joel said.
Basil stopped at their table. “You don’t like my pancakes?”
Joel looked up. “Love ’em. Just not too hungry today.”
Basil tsked. “One is always hungry for these pancakes.” He moved to the next table.
Ryan leaned forward. “I’m going to see what Ward will share about any DNA found at the crime scene. With any luck, there’ll be a match in the system.”
Joel wasn’t so sure. He had a feeling this killer was going to make them work for every crumb. “What we really need is Jenna’s phone.” He scowled. “But Ward couldn’t locate it.”
Ryan’s jaw clenched. “The asshole who took her likely got rid of it.”
The door to The Pancake Bar opened and Gerome Ward stepped in.
Jesus, just what his morning didn’t need.
He was the son of the sheriff, and since the day Joel and his team had arrived in Deep River, Gerome had spent his time spreading rumors around town about them.
Bullshit about all of them being dishonorably discharged, insinuating that one of them could be the person snatching women off the streets.
Gerome smirked as he closed in on their table. “Hey, friends. I heard we found some bodies yesterday. More people you couldn’t save. Really makes me wonder what the hell you’re doing here.”
“You do realize those women went missing before we arrived in town?” Ryan asked, a scowl on his face.
“And while under your father’s leadership,” Ethan added.
Gerome’s eyes narrowed. “You just love to badmouth him, don’t you? It’s like you forget that he’s been loyal to this town for over thirty years. Your little team of action figures has been here for two seconds.”
“And yet, we were the ones who found Priya and Jenna,” Joel growled. “And it was me and Polly who found those bodies yesterday— not your father.”
A muscle ticked in Gerome’s jaw. “We’ll see how long y’all last.” He spun and walked toward the counter.
Joel shook his head. “That guy’s a dick.”
“I can think of stronger words.” Zac lifted his coffee.
Joel barely took his gaze off the asshole as Gerome picked up food and drink at the counter. He’d just left when the door opened again and a familiar older woman stepped in with a silver-haired man. And behind them…
Polly.
Joel straightened. She looked pale.
They took a seat at a table on the other side of The Pancake Bar. She was so focused on her mother and the fiancé that she didn’t see him or his team in the corner.
Two more minutes passed, and when she didn’t look up, he rose.
He was halfway across the café when Polly finally glanced up and frowned at him.
He stopped beside her chair. “Hey, Sunshine.” Then he looked at her mother and the woman’s fiancé. “Hi.”
“Joel! Hi.” Olivia Mack stood and hugged him like they were old friends, even though he could count on one hand the number of times they’d been in the same room.
When she pulled back, she turned to the man beside her. “Joel, you remember my husband, Jonah?”
Joel’s brows shot up. “Husband?”
“We eloped last night!” Olivia sat again and squeezed Jonah’s arm. “We just thought, why wait? We’re in love, and we know this is forever. I tried to call Polly but, well, she rarely answers my calls.”
Polly suddenly stood. “I’m going to order a coffee.”
“Excuse me,” Joel said, before following her to the counter. “Are you okay?”
“This is the ‘deliriously happy’ part of the cycle. Newly married, still believes it will go the distance.”
“But you don’t believe it will?”
“Would you ? If it never had before?” She shook her head. “Sometimes she guilts me into having a fragment of faith in her marriages. Every so often, I do. And that faith is always trampled on.”
Basil stopped opposite them. “Well, well, if it isn’t my favorite café rival.”
“I’m not in the mood, Basil. Coffee, double shot. No, make it a triple.”
Basil threw a towel over his shoulder. “The last time I sold you coffee, you asked if I ground the beans or just stepped on them in socks.”
Joel bit back a laugh. What bad luck had caused him to miss that one?
Polly rolled her eyes. “And the last time you bought a croissant from Bloom, you called it a crescent moon of disappointment.”
“Well, I don’t know?—”
Her palms hit the counter. “I need coffee, and if you do not serve it to me, I will climb over your counter, kick your barista off the machine, and make it myself.”
He gasped. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
He huffed before writing something on his order pad, tearing off the sheet, and shoving it on the coffee machine.
“I think you hurt Basil’s feelings,” Joel said quietly.
“Basil can kiss my ass.” She shot a look over her shoulder. “I give it a month.”
Joel followed her gaze. “They look happy to me.”
“That’s why it’s called the honeymoon period.” She looked from her parents to his table. “Are you guys talking about…”
“Yes.” He didn’t need her to finish her sentence to know she was asking about the women.
“Any news?”
“Not yet.”
She nodded. It took under a minute for her coffee to appear in front of her. Basil must have put a rush on it.
Before walking away, she faced Joel. “Thanks. For coming over and checking on me.”
“That’s what friends do.”
She nodded. “Yeah. Friends.” One tight smile, and she returned to her mother.
Before she could leave, he grabbed her arm and tugged her back. “You’re staying at the café all day, right? You’re not going anywhere by yourself?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be fine, Joel.”
He sighed before going back to the guys.
The rest of the day was a blur of returning to base, trailhead checks, and patrolling common areas. When he got home, Saint was right there to meet him at the door.
“Miss me? Or just hungry?”
She sauntered to the kitchen and straight to her bowl.
He laughed. Guess that was his answer.
He fed her and took a quick shower. He’d just thrown on a shirt and sweatpants when the doorbell rang.
He wasn’t expecting anyone. Maybe it was a neighbor?
He opened it to find Polly on his doorstep, bag in hand.
“Hey.” He frowned. “I was just going to message you. Is everything okay?”
Without a word, she stepped into his house, toed off her shoes, and kissed him. Her tongue dove straight into his mouth, and she kicked the door closed behind her.
For a second, he lost himself. Then a crumb of sanity came back and he lifted his head. “Polly, what’s going on?”
“It’s been a really shitty day.” She tugged his head back down and kissed him again.
“My mom got married again .” She jerked up his shirt.
“I don’t love Jonah.” With his cooperation, the shirt hit the floor.
“And I wondered if every customer who came into Bloom was the killer.” She pushed him against the wall.
“That does sound shitty,” he murmured between kisses.
“Sex and Chinese. It will turn my shitty day right around.”
His lips twitched as her lips brushed down his chest. “That’s a dangerous combination, Sunshine.”
“Just sex then?”
“No, the Chinese is definitely needed. You’ll need your energy to keep up with what I have planned.”
She yelped as he tossed her over his shoulder and carried her to the bedroom.