Page 44 of A Touch of Murder
"And Beck knows about the party, so you don't need to hide it from her. She also knows I was going to invite you. She doesn't know about the cheesecake, or the necklace I bought her, so keep quiet on those." Barret stood. "I need to get back to the office. I've left Vance to do all the reports and computer work. If I don't step in and help, he'll be mad."
"You've been doing the leg work. I'm sure he would rather be in the office. Soon enough, this town will be full of tourists and you two will be wishing for a chance to sit in front of a computer for a while." Adam stood as well, coming around the table to walk Barret out front. When he saw Jacey at his desk, he told him, "Go get lunch. I've got this for a while."
"You sure? Might get another group from the local nursing home," Jacey teased.
"Hush, they're paying customers. I gave them a deal. I figure we'll get a few more like them before it quiets down again. Can't blame them for hoping they hold something priceless. Everyone dreams of easy riches." Adam shrugged.
"True." Jacey got up from his desk. "I'm running to Chubby's. You two want anything?"
Adam pulled a twenty out of his wallet. "Get me a double cheeseburger and an order of chili fries." He handed it to Jacey.
"I'm off to the station, but thanks," Barret told him.
"I'll be back in a bit." Jacey was out the door without another word.
"He seems excited," Barret mused.
"New girlfriend. My guess is she's taking her lunch with him," Adam explained.
"Ah, that explains everything." Barret turned to face Adam. "I'll probably see you before the party, but if not, I'll see you then." Then just as he had last night, Barret reached out and pressed the palm of his hand to Adam's cheek. He held it there for just a moment, then stepped back. "Have a good afternoon." He turned and walked out the door.
Adam stared in shock, wondering what the hell he was going to do about the man who was daring to get too close. The problem was, Adam wanted him close, and no matter the problems he saw coming from whatever this was, he wanted more.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Barret stared at his computer screen but didn't see a thing that was on it. His mind was on the shocked look on Adam's face as he'd dared to touch his face again. So far Adam hadn't told him to stop. That was good. He wondered what Adam saw during the brief touches, but he would never ask. That would go against everything he was trying to prove, which was that he had nothing to hide from Adam, and didn't fear him seeing into his past.
He had no idea if Adam would allow it to continue, but Barret hoped he would. He wanted to get to the point where they could hold hands during a movie or a walk through the city park. Hell, he wanted to kiss Adam, but he was sure that wouldn't be happening for quite a while. He had to move slowly so he didn't scare Adam away.
"Whitestone, you alive over there?" Vance called.
"What?" Barret shook his head to clear it from thoughts of Adam. "I'm digging through Stevenson's past."
"I know that. I asked if you were having any luck." Vance narrowed his gaze on him. "What has you so distracted?"
"Nothing, it's just this case. I'm trying to think outside the box. Figure out what Stevenson was up to since getting out of prison. I've got a full history on him from birth to being kicked out of school at fifteen, but from there, it's just pieces." Barret tapped his pen on the notebook he'd been writing info on. "Both parents dead. A sister in Iowa, but as far as I can tell they don't have any contact. I've left a message for her to call me, but so far, nothing."
"His parole officer has promised to forward his file to me, but so far I haven't gotten it."
"Considering it's almost five here, I'm guessing you might not get it today." Barret sighed. "Don't people understand we're working a violent murder?" He knew the parole officer probably had a million things going on, but it was a simple request to have him copy and send Stevenson's file to them. Hell, they'd already gotten records from the prison and even the county jail he'd been held at before being sentenced to prison. He had yet to weed through the case files, but he had nothing better to do tonight. "I'm going to stick around here for a few more hours and look through all this information. If the parole report comes in, I'll see it. Why don't you go home and spend some time with your wife?"
"If she lets me into the house. She claims she's forgotten who I am with the hours we've been working." Vance stood. "You're right. I need to remind her who she's married to. I'll drop by Ally's and get us dinner. She'll like that."
"Tell her I'm sorry I've been keeping you from her."
"You haven't. The job has. We've been married long enough that she knows I have weeks like this. She'll forgive me if I get her a slice of Ally's chocolate cake. Don't you stay here all night. Go home and get some sleep." Vance tapped his fist on Barret's desk. "You're a lot easier to work with when you're not tired."
Barret flipped him off.
"Night, partner." Vance left the office.
"He's probably closer to you than he is his wife with the hours you spend together," Officer Murphy told him from across the room. He was working a double, and like Barret, was trying to find any information on their suspect.
"Hell, if being with him is what marriage is like, count me out of ever walking down the aisle," Barret teased. "Besides, he's too old for me. I'm fine with a small age gap, but twenty years is pushing it." His mind went to Adam, who definitely wasn't too old for him. In fact, Adam was around the perfect age for him.He'd ran Adam's name through the police database when he'd first met him to see what would come up and found out his age and birthday. December second was now marked on his phone calendar so that he didn't forget.
"So, I think I might have something. You want to come look at this?" Officer Murphy pointed at his screen.
"What ya got?" Barret walked across the room and looked over Murphy's shoulder. "Holy shit, you found him." On the screen in front of him was a booking photo from an Arizona county jail. The face staring back at him was almost an exact replica of the younger man that Adam had Maggie draw.
