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“And… she clearly has the hots for you,” Jade said quickly, keeping her eyes on the knife she was using to spread jam on her biscuit.
He didn’t make any comment, but when he grabbed another biscuit from his plate, she glanced up and saw that he was smiling to himself.
Stupid cocky dragon warrior, she thought to herself. I’m not jealous.
But deep down she wasn’t entirely sure that was true.
11
JADE
Jade stood in the park across from the school the next day, wondering why she would ever have chosen to interview the schoolteacher first.
It was freezing out, a nasty wind wasn’t making things any better, and she and Rafe had been standing out here for over an hour, waiting for the teacher to open the doors for first recess.
At least the baby was warm at home with his doting nanny-bot.
Jade had been so tired from the journey that she’d practically passed out as soon as she hit the bed last night. Rafe had been awake then, and he was awake when she got up. She wasn’t sure he’d actually slept at all.
She glanced over at her dragon companion, who, impossibly, was looking unaffected by the merciless temperatures, in spite of all the skin he was flashing.
Count yourself lucky, she reminded herself. The cold weather means no one will think twice about the gloves.
It was scant comfort, but in a tropical climate she was certain Rafe would have questioned her about them by now. As things were, he would hopefully be released from town and long gone before he ever had a chance to get suspicious.
Finally, a door opened, and students spilled out onto the frosty playground.
The children were of various ages and races, but they seemed to get along famously. There was laughter and happy chatter all over the schoolyard.
Jade and Rafe approached the fence line, and Jade waved to Miss Boone.
“Well, hey there,” the teacher crowed when her eyes landed on Rafe. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“How are you, Miss Boone?” he asked.
Her whole face lit up.
“Oh, please,” she said, giving him a coy smile. “Call me Larrah.”
“How are you, Larrah?” he obliged.
“Much better now that you’re here,” she giggled.
Jade felt a flare of something ugly in her chest and fought it down.
If she wanted to find the killer and clear their names, she couldn’t take anything personally. She needed to be clear-headed and observant.
Jade turned her attention dutifully to the smiling schoolteacher and tried to be impartial.
Larrah Boone was clearly enjoying herself flirting with Rafe. Her torso faced him, and she was patting her hair and smoothing her coat over her hips every few seconds as if she were unconsciously preening for him.
Maybe consciously.
“We’re hoping to gather information that may be helpful to the police in solving Judge Gaxx’s murder,” Rafe told her.
She nodded up and down, probably trying to look smart.
Nothing about her body language said guilt. Her eyes were still fixed on Rafe like she was a starving woman, and he was the butter melting off a hot biscuit.
