Page 26 of Homicide in Water Creek

King’s office was quiet for the first time in days. In fact, the entire town was finally quiet. Everyone must have had enough of the lifestyles of the rich and famous and stayed home. Jacks wasn’t complaining as she sat at the Water Creek Sheriff Department, trying to help King keep the place running.

She shuffled more papers off the desk and into the recycling bin, then opened the borrowed laptop. She’d been answering correspondence, allowing King to do what he was paid to do: work the case. It was a job she could handle, and it gave Maverick and King less to worry about.

“I got it!” came the voice she’d come to realize she’d fallen in love with when she was nine. The first time she met King, he was eleven. She was the pain-in-the-neck little kid from the next-door ranch, but he hadn’t treated her that way. He’d always invited her to be part of his day, whether on the ranch or in town.

King ran out the door of his office, his eyes wild and his hair sticking up, a paper waving in his hand.

“You got what?” she asked, standing.

He grabbed her and kissed her square on the lips. “I found the missing piece. Look,” he said, laying the paper on the desk and tapping a name.

She read it aloud. “Vonnie Queen, 4473 S. Latin Road, Las Vegas.” She glanced up at him. “Who’s Vonnie Queen?” She slapped her forehead. “Vonita King.”

“Bingo.” He was grinning, his thumbs hooked in his belt loops, his eyes shining. “Apparently, she used it as an alias when she didn’t want anyone to know what she was doing.”

“How did you figure it out? Did her agent know her aliases?”

“No. A doorman remembered Vonita getting into a courtesy car the morning after the cast party. He said she’d tried to disguise herself, but he still recognized her.”

“Which led you to believe she rented a car rather than going to the airport?”

He sat on the desk, swinging his leg. “Exactly. I asked for car rental records from rental places not attached to the airports, and the name stood out like a sore thumb. After they sent me the surveillance footage from the hotel, I knew immediately it was her.”

“She rented a car and was headed to?”

“The rental agreement doesn’t specify. She rented it for two weeks and would return it to the Vegas location.”

“Dammit,” she sighed. “That doesn’t help us.”

“As for her destination, no, but it does tell us she had no intention of returning to California.”

“The car rental place didn’t have a tracker in the car?” Jacks asked, surprised.

“According to this place, they track only their high-end vehicles, and Vonita rented a basic model.”

“Probably for that reason,” she said. “How far is Water Creek from Vegas?”

King arched a brow, and she had to bite back a moan at how damn sexy he was. “Great minds think alike. We’re separated by about twenty-six hours. I’m not sure she was coming here, but she never returned the car.”

“If you find it, you will know where she was killed.”

He touched her nose. “Bingo. I’m officially as far as I can go on this until tomorrow. What do you say we get something to eat and relax for the rest of the night?”

“You want to get something to eat? With me?”

He stood and pulled her into him, his lips hot, wet, and powerful as they met hers. In seconds, he had her moaning, her body pressed tightly against his.

“I’d rather eat you, but since that’s not going to happen yet, food it will have to be.”

“You’d rather eat me?” Jacks asked, her breath coming in short bursts.

“See, there’s this thing where—”

She smacked his chest, then buried her forehead against it. “I know about the thing!”

He laughed, and the sound rumbled through her. “If you know, then at least you have something to look forward to. In the meantime, how about some chicken wings or a burger? Considering all the time you’ve been putting in here, dinner is the least I can do.”

She ran her hand down his chest, then let it fall to her side. “Truth be told, I’m avoiding the ranch. Keene is there all the time, and I don’t want to talk to him.”