Ivy sipped her tea and shook her head. “I just woke up. I’m fine.” This time her voice was much clearer.
“Oh, well ... that’s great.” Jack couldn’t hide his disappointment so he went back to staring at his computer. “I was going to wake you up … eventually. You still had another twenty minutes to sleep, though.”
“I’m good,” she reassured him, moving to a spot where she could see the screen over his shoulder. She wasn’t surprised to see Jason’s file up. “Anything?”
“Well, I was able to dig a little deeper on my laptop,” Jack replied. “The mobile system is slow and buggy. There were files I missed ... and they’re interesting.”
Ivy was practically salivating. “Tell me.”
“I will if you cook breakfast.” Jack shot her a flirty smile. “I was going to cook because I know you have a rotten day ahead of you, but I’m terrible at it and I want to make sure you have a full meal inside of you when you leave this house. If you make omelets, I’ll tell you the whole story.”
“I guess I can manage that.” She dropped a kiss on top of his head. “Do you want some of the frozen morels I have in yours?”
“Oh, that is just cruel.” He playfully swatted her behind as she danced past him, grinning at her back as she dutifully moved to the stove. Even though she was going through a terrible time, very little could keep her down. He loved that about her. “So, the reason Jason’s mother didn’t notice he was taking the car is because she was an addict.”
Ivy stilled next to the stove, a frying pan clutched in her hand. “I guess that’s supposed to make me feel bad for him, huh?”
Jack shrugged. “You can feel bad for the neglected child, but he’s an adult now and knows better.” He spent the next twenty minutes laying out a sad tale of a boy who was basically ignored by an addicted mother and a jailbird father. When he was finished, Ivy was divvying up the omelets and hash browns onto plates.
“On one hand, I feel sorry for him,” Ivy admitted as she carried the plates to the table. “On the other, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that he killed Sasha ... so I believe he’s probably a jerk, a potential murderer, but one who had a bad childhood. No matter what, I don’t trust him.”
“I don’t trust him either.” Jack used his fork to pick at the omelet. Ultimately satisfied with what he found, he cut into it and forked a huge portion into his mouth, chewing and swallowing before speaking again. “Because of that, I need you to be really careful when you’re out with your team today. If he shows up, I need you to contact me.”
Ivy was quiet for a beat and then shook her head. “First off, did you just check that omelet for morels?”
Jack recognized he was caught. There was no sense denying the charge. “Perhaps.”
“Such a trusting soul.” She poked her index finger into his cheek and grinned before turning to her own breakfast. “Secondly, as you’re well aware, I’m not allowed to keep my phone on me while working. How do you suggest I let you know if he shows up?”
Jack hadn’t considered that. “Well ... Deacon might be out there again. I’m not sure if they finished collecting evidence. If he’s there, and you see Jason, ask him to call me.”
“And when Greg threatens to report me for not following the rules?”
Jack flexed his fingers, frustration bubbling up. It wasn’t directed at her but Greg. He didn’t like the man and he hated how fearful Ivy sounded when discussing him. “Maybe I will find a reason to go out there myself. That will probably be best for both of us.”
Ivy had her doubts but kept them to herself. “Jason would be an idiot to show up. I’m betting he doesn’t.”
“It would be better for my heart if he didn’t,” Jack agreed. “I don’t want him anywhere near you.”
“He probably already fled the state.”
“Maybe, but where would he go?”
Ivy didn’t have an answer so she merely shrugged. “That’s your job. You’re the top cop in Shadow Lake. I’m going to leave that for you.”
“Make sure you tell Brian I’m the top cop the next time you see him.”
“I’ll get right on that.”
IVY WAS EARLY, WHICH ALLOWED her to get a good spot to watch the arrivals. As she suspected, Jason wasn’t with the group by the time Greg joined them and started roll call.
“Where’s Jason?” he asked blankly, glancing around. In Ivy’s mind, it was almost as if he expected Jason to jump out from behind a bush and yell “surprise” while laughing like a loon. “Does anybody know where Jason is?” he pressed when nobody answered his initial query.
“He’s obviously not here,” Betsy pointed out. She had less patience for Greg’s shenanigans than the rest of the group. She felt she was too old to put up with petulant children — something she had explained to Ivy on more than one occasion — and the look she shot the crew chief was something of a dare.
“Well, where is he?” Greg looked flummoxed, making Ivy wonder if he’d never dealt with a no-show before. That seemed unlikely and yet his tone was growing increasingly more screechy.
“It’s not like we hang out when we’re done here,” Alison pointed out. “We don’t all go to a coffee shop and talk about our days. We have no idea where Jason is.”
Greg’s eyes sought — and found — Ivy. The way he focused on her caused her skin to itch. “Do you know anything about his whereabouts? I saw you and him exchanging words when you were leaving yesterday.”
“That doesn’t mean we’re friends,” Ivy pointed out. “I don’t know what to tell you. He seemed agitated that I heard whatever that woman was saying to him and he told me to mind my
