chin jutted slightly, his eyes narrowing as if hiding the wheels turning behind them. He’d always been easy to read.
“Look, to Jo, I’m simply Rowan McQuaid, and I’d like it to stay that way. I won’t be here long enough for involved explanations. And as much as she thinks she knows me, I know her better. Her mouth is inclined to go into self-destruct mode at the most inopportune moments.”
A grin split the sergeant’s face. “You really do know her.”
“Let’s put it this way, it’s not so much Jo I’m worried about, but if Molly Skelton finds out who I am my life won’t be worth living.”
“Got it in one, mate.”
Outside, Jo was saying, “Will you stop looking like a sick puppy, get into the car and shut the door?” Ginny’s pathetic show of reluctance was ruffling Jo’s patience. The girl was lovesick. Jo sighed, then clamped her lips on the smile forming as she watched the teenager’s crablike shuffle. Each time Ginny’s feet crossed, Jo held her breath, waiting the inevitable tumble while doing a mental inventory of the first-aid stuff she carried in her bag.
Eventually the kid made it to the passenger’s seat without taking her star-glazed eyes off the exit, and fastened her seat belt. Heaven help the boys when the girl grew up; Ginny wasn’t backward at coming forward when someone took her fancy.
“He’s not going to come out. He’s too busy. Besides, his car’s parked out front.” And he would pay for pinching her spot. A chance to drive his Jag would just about cover it. A decision punctuated with an ellipse as her car crawled into Main Street. Hers had to be the oldest model in the fleet. Not simply a case of first come first served, more that with her work schedule, they didn’t expect her to be in any high-speed chases. And in the unlikely scenario of them presenting her with a newer one, she’d have to make do with a tune-up.
Finally, Jo had Ginny’s attention, albeit secondhand. “You mean that beaut car is his? Isn’t he just, just too awesome?”
Awesome was hardly a description she would have used herself, but Rowan was definitely something. She just couldn’t make up her mind what. She wouldn’t go so far as to agree with the hoary old saying that absence made the heart fonder, but in her case it certainly beat faster.
“I think your earlier description was more apt, Ginny. The man is definitely a babe.”
It was as if she’d been given a new and improved pair of eyes that saw past the facade he’d used before. Details she’d missed took on a shimmering quality that beckoned her like a light in the window after dark. Like going home.
God, was that it? She was homesick for Auckland?
No way. The rest of her symptoms were definitely hormonal.
“What’s his name, Miss? Has he come to live in Nicks Landing?” The words came out in a breathless rush.
The title Miss hurt, like suddenly being reduced to the status of maiden aunt, or schoolteacher instead of teen idol. “His name is Rowan McQuaid, he’s only in town for a week, and for heaven’s sake, call me Detective…Jo,” she compromised, on the spur of the moment.
“Is he a detective, too?”
“He’s a private investigator.”
“A private eye…wow, even better. Is he here…like on some big case?”
The child definitely watched too much TV. Philosophical at being reduced to second fiddle, Jo got ready to disappoint the kid. “Nothing exciting, a case of arson, is all. We’ll be working on it together.”
She glanced at Ginny to ask, “It’s the next left, isn’t it?” only to find her status had been restored.
“That’s ace,” she said, all big eyed. “Yes, turn here, it’s just two blocks down. Top apartment on the corner.”
Jo pulled up outside a run-down apartment building crying out for refurbishment. It was a shame. A lick of light-colored paint over the sea of won’t-show-the-dirt-khaki could give the whole neighborhood a face-lift and send it rocketing up a price bracket.
“Okay,” she said, catching her breath as the dung-colored entrance door creaked open and a woman with a frown carved into her features came out. No wonder the kid had tried to heist pink barrettes. They were an antidote for living here.
“When I visit your mother at work, I’ll discuss which form your punishment will take. Though I guess grounding would be as good as any.”
“Oh no, not grounding, it’s almost Halloween. My friends and I have something planned.”
“Even better.”
Ginny’s jaw dropped. “Can’t I just help someone? An old lady or something? Granny Monroe lives down the hall from us. I could do some cleaning for her.”
Jo pretended to consider a moment. She couldn’t blame the kid not wanting to miss out on a night of trick-or-treating. “I’d have to check with her that you’d done a good job.”
“Sure. No problem. I’ll go right in and ask her now. I can phone you when it’s done. Will that do?”
“Sounds good to me.” Jo dug into the pocket of her shirt and pulled out a business card and gave it to Ginny. “My number’s on there. That doesn’t mean I won’t talk to your mother, but I’ll tell her I’ve okayed you helping Granny Monroe.”
The weight of the world seemed to pull Ginny’s mouth down at the corners. “Molly’s okay, but Rocky doesn’t like it when people take Mom’s mind off her work.”
“Don’t worry, kid. I’ll flash my badge and tell them it’s police business.” She winked at Ginny. “So, what’s wrong with the inn? Don’t you like her working there?”
“I guess it’s all right, but Dad and I hardly see her. Mom says it’s the only way we’re ever going to get out of this dump.” Unfastening her seat belt, Ginny sat with fingers on the handle as if reluctant to press it down.
“Sounds like a wise woman. I’ll talk to her tonight. Rowan and I were going there anyway, but if I were you, I’d tell my Dad what I’d been up to, before your mother gets home.”
The teenager brightened a fraction, her eyes dreamy at the mention of Rowan. “Have you got a date?”
“No, it’s business. We’re working together this week.”
Ginny’s shoulders drooped as if she’d been hoping to live out her fantasies vicariously. “Have a good time anyway.”
“I’ll try.” And she would; hanging around with Rowan for seven days wasn’t her idea of punishment.
Ginny was halfway out the door, her face glum when Jo attempted changing the direction of her thoughts. “So, what are you and your friends doing at Halloween?”
“It’s going to be real exciting. We heard where the black-magic cult have their meetings. It’s at Te Kohanga National Park, and we thought it would be a hoot to spy on them. They’re bound to be up to something on Halloween.”
Chapter
