Page 14 of Bold Encounter
"I'll be fine."Genevieve tried to project confidence she didn't entirely feel."I have some songs to work on anyway."
Abe hesitated."Lock up after me.An officer will be here shortly to dust for prints."
While waiting, Genevieve thought about Jason watching, planning his next move.The idea made her shiver.
Genevieve picked up her guitar.Music had always been her solace, her way of processing emotion.She closed her eyes and played chords without conscious thought.A new melody emerged, something haunting yet hopeful.
Chapter 3
Abe pulled into the police station parking lot with his mind still focused on Genevieve.It had been fifteen years since he'd been drawn to a woman like he was to her.His divorce had shut down that part of him, leaving him content with his solitary existence as a detective.At the age of forty-five, the last thing he'd expected was to feel a magnetic attraction to a blues singer with soulful eyes and a complicated past.
The memory of her hand in his lingered, along with the way she'd looked at him with those dark eyes when he cooked breakfast in her kitchen.It felt natural and easy, like he belonged there.
Protecting her was his job, and getting personally involved during this crisis could make things messy.But as he parked outside the police station, Abe wasn't sure he could keep those lines from blurring.The truth was, he didn't want to.For the first time in years, he felt something beyond professional duty driving his actions.
He sat in his car for a moment, watching officers come and go through the glass doors.Genevieve had awakened something in him that he'd thought was dead.The trust in her eyes when she'd shown him her tattoo and shared her painful history with Maurice pointed to something deeper than a simple protective detail.
Abe shook his head and got out of the car.He had work to do.Jason Thornton had to be stopped, and Abe's growing feelings for Genevieve only made him more determined to neutralize that threat quickly.
He nodded to the desk sergeant as he walked through the station.The department was busy with officers processing arrests and detectives working cases.No one paid particular attention to him, which was fine.He preferred to work without drawing extra scrutiny.
His first stop was in the evidence room, where he handed over the note and envelope in a sealed plastic bag.
"I need this processed for prints," he said to the technician, "as soon as you can get to it."
The woman behind the counter took the bag and logged it."Should have something for you by tomorrow morning."
Abe doubted they'd find anything useful.Jason struck him as too methodical for basic mistakes like leaving fingerprints.But procedure was procedure, and sometimes criminals had surprised him with their carelessness.
He went to his desk and settled into his chair.The familiar sounds of the station surrounded him as he pulled out his phone and dialed the number Genevieve had given him for the homeowners' association.
A woman answered on the third ring."Canal Commons Management, this is Claudia."
"This is Detective Abe Stewart with the NOPD.I need to speak with someone about reviewing security camera footage from your property."He gave her the address, expecting to wait while she looked it up.He didn't wait at all.
"Oh, detective, I wish I could help you," Claudia said, her tone apologetic."But I'm afraid our cameras in the common areas at that address haven't been functioning for about twenty-four hours.One of our residents reported the issue yesterday morning, and our security company is working to fix it.Would you like me to call you back once the system is operational again?"
"That won't be necessary."
He hung up then leaned back into his chair to ponder.Twenty-four hours would put the camera malfunction right around the time Jason had broken into Genevieve's condo.In his experience, there were very few true coincidences in police work.
Abe rolled his chair closer to his computer and ran Jason Thornton's name through the system.The results were disappointing but not surprising.Only a couple of noise complaints at venues he'd managed over the years and a parking ticket from last year.On the surface, Jason appeared to be a law-abiding citizen.
But Abe knew that appearances could be deceiving.There had to be more to Jason's story.Men didn't escalate from rejected romantic advances to breaking and entering without some kind of progression.Either Jason had been more careful in the past, or he'd been involved in activities that hadn't generated police reports.
What Abe needed was information about Jason's connections, his business dealings, and his personal life.He needed the kind of deep background investigation that went beyond available criminal records.
He looked at his calendar and noted that Gabriel Durand would be back from his honeymoon soon.Gabriel and his partner Weston Lang at Guardian Investigations used methods that the police department couldn't.As soon as Abe could connect with him, he could set Gabriel up as a consultant on this case.
As he'd promised, Abe was taking time off from his regular duties so he could focus on Genevieve's protection.During his remaining time at the station, he handled outstanding issues in other cases, delegated what he could, and put the rest on hold.
He figured he'd still be in and out of the office, primarily to work on building a case against Jason.But his priority was clear.Genevieve's safety came first.
He made a few more calls, checking with contacts in the music industry who might have information about Jason's reputation.Most of the conversations were brief and unproductive, but one club owner mentioned hearing rumors about Jason having "connections" that helped him book venues.When pressed for details, the man clammed up, claiming he didn't know anything specific.
Abe made a note to follow up on that lead.In his experience, rumors often contained kernels of truth.
*****
