Page 15 of No Room to Breathe
Not a hello or a question.Only irritation coming through loud and clear.The attitude put him at ease for some perverse reason.He smiled.“Hello, to you too.”
“This is absurd.I already told Detective Hoffman—”
“I’m not calling about police business.”Not directly.Her assistance had restored his ability to do his job well.He focused on the gratitude.“I wanted to thank you.”He cleared his throat.“Talking with you last week made a big difference.You’ve really helped me.”
“Oh.”
The subsequent pause stretched for so long, he glanced down to be sure they were still connected.“Ms.Norris?”
“You’re welcome,” she said.“You do sound as if you’re feeling better.”
Better, clearer, and overall less morose.It still floored him.“I’m sleeping again,” he said, sharing too easily.“I even found myself appreciating the sunshine a time or two.”
“That’s wonderful.”She laughed, a soft, merry sound that seemed to dance lightly across his skin like sunlight filtering through the trees.
When the hell had he turned into a poet?“Yeah.”He swiveled his chair to catch the view through the windows.“It is.”
“Well, good.I’m glad.”
He sat there in the awkward silence, watching the wind stir the treetops outside.“Me too.I don’t know how you did it.”
“Explanations won’t make any difference,” she interrupted.“Accepting the help is the important thing.You were on the right track.”
He recognized bullshit when he heard it.“Don’t start lying to me now, Ms.Norris.”
“Call me Devyn.Please.”
Devyn.He tested the name in his head, liking it way too much.He shouldn’t be liking anything where she was concerned.He was probably transferring some emotion to her that was better left buried down deep.So much for professional distance.
“Right.Well, thanks, Devyn.Have a good day.”And a good life.He wasn’t rude enough to say it, but he hoped he never crossed her path again.
He heard a truck in the background.“You too, Cade.”
The call ended, leaving him a little adrift as he stared at the view outside.A truck rumbled, brakes squealing at the stop sign on the corner.
Notes and images from Hoffman’s cases ran through his mind.There was something in the timing, something just out of his reach.
Suddenly, it clicked and he turned to his computer.Methodically, he explored new search parameters.Maybe it wasn’t too late to save Hoffman’s recent victim.With dread and hope twisting in his gut, he kept at it until he had a tighter profile than a male forensics expert.
He jumped to his feet and went to find Hoffman.
