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I sloughed my backpack to the floor. “First, I need a Coke.”
She obliged with an ice cold can. “So?” she asked, clearly amped up.
I sank into the loveseat. “It’s going to take a while,” I explained. “He spent four weekends using the microfiche reader to look at old copies of theGazette.”
She parked herself next to me and pulled her knees to her chest. “What was he looking for in the paper?” Before I could answer, she added. “I took him there for a lot more than four weeks.”
I’d been thinking about that as well. “I don’t know what he was searching for, or if he found it. And even if I run across whatever it is, I might not notice it. But the weekends after he stopped checking the paper, my best guess is he was using the library computers.”
She blew out a breath. “So what do we do now?”
I pointed. “You do nothing. Once I have a clue what he found in the paper, I’ll check the browsing and site history on each of the computers, cross reference them by the days he was there, and maybe figure out what he was looking at.”
“You can do that?”
I gave her a smug look. “Like nobody’s business.” If I knew what I was looking for, it would be straightforward, but since Lee had started with the oldGazettearticles, I might need them as a starting point. In that case, I’d be lost until I found the common thread.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean—”
I shrugged. I was used to everybody doubting my abilities when it came to the ’net, even other women. “No biggie. But this is going to take a while. If I can’t figure out what’s in the paper before I leave, maybe you can send Callie and she’ll figure it out. Once we have that, I can do the computer stuff remotely.”
She moved to hug me. “I don’t know how to thank you. What can I do to help?” When she pulled back, her eyes were wet with unshed tears.
“Nothing yet. Just act normally for now.” If Lee’s caution meant anything, that was important. I handed her the spiral notebook I’d used at the library. “You should keep my notes here, away from prying eyes.”
CHAPTER33
Boone (three dayslater)
Even though thiswas a twisty dangerous road, I had to sneak a glance over at Angela in the passenger seat of my truck. Every time I saw her, I thanked my lucky stars that she’d returned to Clear Lake. My heart sank as I remembered Grace would be back in two days, and then I’d have to settle for hearing her mostly on the phone for a while.
“Okay,” she said. “Now that we’re driving, can I at least have a hint of how far we’re going?”
“Not far.” I’d held firm, refusing to tell her the plans for tonight.
We drove on, with her only asking another three times before I pulled into the parking lot of the Rusty Dinghy, what passed for a seafood restaurant in this town.
Tonight she’d dressed provocatively—unusually sexy compared to her regular style—and I was not complaining one bit. The peek down her blouse I got over her shoulder made concentration hard.Difficult. I meant difficult. Just thinking the wordhardmade too much blood rush south.
After we arrived, I guided Angela ahead of me through the door with my hand at the small of her back. We were three blocks from where it had all gone wrong.
Angela hadn’t looked twice at the old Peterville High building as we passed it before arriving at the restaurant. To me, the campus was a reminder of how I should learn from prior mistakes rather than repeat them. As Einstein said, insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Once at our booth, I took in the beauty that was Angela seated across from me. I knew this time we’d have a different outcome because I wouldn’t repeat my mistakes. I’d avoid Einstein’s insanity. I repeated his saying in my head as I watched the gentle heaving of her chest when she breathed.
“What about you?” she asked.
I jerked my eyes up. Like a dumbass, I’d missed the question. “Pardon?”
“I said I’m feeling like the seared rockfish,” Angela said, closing the menu. “What looks good to you?”
My eyes drifted down to her chest and back up. Yup, classy as fuck. My mind was back in high school and equally immature. Yes, I’d had her naked in my bed, but somehow the barely covered woman in front of me was a temptress destroying my self-control.
She blew out a breath. “And I’m not talking about dessert.” She winked.
With that simple gesture, I had to close my eyes and count to five. I coughed and looked down at the menu I’d opened. Fish sticks was as adventurous as I normally got with seafood. “I think I’ll go with the chicken.”
“Are you sure you don’t want some oysters? I hear they can be very good for the…” She toyed with me by not finishing the sentence.
