Jessica gasped. "What do you mean?"
Worth's face was grim. "We tried."
The tears now fell freely, but Jessica said nothing. Surely, he doesn't mean this is it. He can't mean that. He can't.
Worth had his calendar app open. "How about next weekend? Do you have plans?"
Jessica giggled in spite of the situation and punched him softly. "You scared me! I thought, oh, never mind what I was thinking. I'm still not used to you yet. To us really being an us."
"Scared you? And it's not even Halloween." He wiped away her tears, embracing her tightly.
She slapped at his arm playfully. "Oh, you! Yes, next weekend sounds perfect."
"And just so there are no more miscommunications, we are definitely an us," he reassured her.
Jessica smiled as she leaned against him. It was good to hear him finally say that. They were together, and they would face anything that came their way as a team.
Chapter 14
Through the Smoke
By the time they were able to fly back, night had fallen. The fire was mostly under control, although the building was a complete loss. Jessica stood by Chief Henderson's side as his brave men and women did their intricate dance of equipment, axes and hoses. A body had been found, a body that would have been presumed to be the arsonist had she not contacted the chief.
"Just stand here and observe the crowd, Jessica," Chet had advised her. She had told him about the man with the scar straightaway. In the meantime, Worth held back, mixing with the crowd, observing as well.
Jessica peered from face to face in the little clumps of people still watching from behind the barriers law enforcement had set up. It seemed hopeless to pick someone out of a crowd in the dim light, especially someone she had only seen the one time. Suddenly, she gasped. There he was! She was almost certain it was the same man, the man she had seen at the earlier fire. He stood on the outskirts of the little group of spectators and reporters furthest away, conveniently under a streetlight. Turn your head so I can see the scar, she thought. Turn!
The man stared intently away from her, however. There was a fierceness evident in his body language—fists clenched, his shoulders bowed up as if about to hit someone. She followed his line of sight to see what he was so interested in, apart from the fire itself, and when she did, her heart sank.
The man with the scar was staring at Worth.
She willed Worth to make eye contact, but he was glancing here and there, anywhere but where she needed him to look. Chet had stepped away to speak with a reporter. What am I supposed to do? she thought.
Without thinking, she pulled a notebook from her purse. Ducking under the barrier, she trotted over to the man and stood between him and Worth. If Worth saw her there, surely, he would know something was wrong.
"Excuse me, sir, I'm a reporter and wondered if I could have a few minutes of your time? Do you live near here? Were you here when the fire started?" She was surprised by the urgent but confident tone of her own voice.
She'd caught the man off guard. He turned to her; she could clearly see the pronounced scar on his cheek, just as she'd noticed before, just as Worth had traced on his own face when he'd described Todd Granger to her.
"What?" he said. "Who are you?"
"J-Jennifer Johnson for WKLT!" she said perkily, wishing she had worn her press pass.
"Oh." The man frowned down at her, glanced back in Worth's direction, and back to her again. "Name's Tom Graves. I live pretty close, yes. I came as soon as I heard the sirens. Been a long afternoon. I was just about to go get a beer." He cocked an eyebrow, backing away from her with one hand extended. "Care to join us?"
T.G. Same initials. Not very original if this is the same guy. "Us?" Jessica hadn't noticed he was with anyone.
Tom Graves smiled without warmth. "Yeah, I just saw an old, old friend in the crowd. I was on my way to talk to him when you stopped me."
Jessica decided to play along as her heart sank. He must mean Worth. It's Todd! "Sure. Maybe he can add something to the story too." She walked beside him as they sidestepped gawkers, toward the spot where she knew Worth had just been.
Still at a little distance away, Jessica saw Worth find her in the crowd, a look of confusion on his face. She tilted her head toward the man with the scar; Worth gave a little nod.
Eyes round, Jessica stopped abruptly. Graves stopped too. "Anything wrong? He's just over there."
"You go on, and I'll catch up, Mister, um, Graves. I need to tell my camera man where I'm going," said Jessica, ignoring his earnestness. "No, really, go on. I'll find you."
Graves gave a little shrug, unable to hide his relief in shedding the pesky "reporter.” He continued toward Worth. As soon as he was out of earshot, though, Jessica pulled out her phone and dialed 911. As quickly as she could, she asked for help at the scene. Even as she spoke to the dispatcher, she saw an officer close to Worth receive a call, scan the crowd and begin walking toward Tom Graves. Another police officer was approaching him from the other side, obviously mindful of the crowd while trying not to cause a commotion that would alert Graves to impending danger.
Suddenly, an older woman called out from Worth's group and stepped forward. "Todd? Todd Granger? I can't believe it! Is that really you?"
Jessica was horrified, but there was nothing she could do to stop Audrey Scott from moving into danger. Hearing his old name called out, Tom/Todd went on full alert, his head turning this way and that, detecting the approaching officers.
