Second Chances(35)

She shivered at the sound of his voice. Was he ever in a good mood?

"It's Linda."

"I know."

"I've made contact," she said, then as an afterthought added, "she's here."

"I assumed that is what you meant by making contact."

She winced. Damn, he made her so nervous. Just make the damn report and hang up.

"Is that all?"

"Umm...no."

"Who is she with?"

"A guy. His name is Nathan. They j..."

"Nathan what?"

"I haven't managed to get that far yet."

"What does he look like? What does he do?"

"I don't know yet"

"You don't know what he looks like?"

"No, I meant I don't know what he does yet."

Linda wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Cute. About five-eleven, maybe six feet tall. Brown hair, blue eyes, decent build without being too muscular. I snapped a picture," she said as she fumbled with her cell phone. "I am dumping it to the address Jimmy gave me, he'll be able to retrieve the image for you."

"What's he like?"

"Nosey," she responded immediately.

"Nosey? How so?"

"Kind of hard to put into words exactly. He has done almost nothing but ask questions since they arrived."

"How is that unusual? How else do you get to know someone you just met?"

No shit! Why don't you let me explain before you try and belittle me.

"True," she said with a sigh. "And if he were asking questions about me I wouldn't think twice. But he isn't, not really. I don't know. It's like he is asking questions about Paige. It is like he is quizzing me or something. Like he doesn't believe that I am her friend or that I know her."

"What?" The tension, controlled anger really, was audible.

"Yeah. He wanted memories about school. Hell, I am glad I had that picture of the two of us. That seemed to at least shut him up."

"A picture of you two? That was good thinking. I'll have to commend Jimmy."

"Jimmy? Hell, that was my idea."

"Really?"

What? You don't believe me?

"Yes, sir. This entire thing seemed so off that after talking to Paige earlier I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea."

"You apparently thought correctly."

Sure, don't even try and hide the surprise in your voice.

"Jimmy did a convincing job?"

Jesus Christ! What are you, the fucking president of the Jimmy Hanson fan club?

"No sir. That is, Jimmy didn't have anything to do with it. I was able to do it myself."

"Really?"

"Yes, nothing to it really. With computers today and basic photo editing software it really isn't that hard."

"I see. It looked real?"

"Yeah, it looked fine. Even roughed up the picture to make it look old."

"I didn't ask if it looked fine. I asked if it looked real."

"Yes, it looked real. Listen, I better get back to them before they wonder what is holding me up. I'll have a full report sent to you before the end of the evening."

"I look forward to it. Good work, Linda."

Good work? Such high praise, be still my heart.

She had to stop herself from saying those words out loud. She reminded herself that she had challenged him earlier and was sure he hadn't forgotten that. She also reminded herself that this assignment was almost done and that her much needed vacation was almost upon her. Maybe when she got back she could get herself quietly reassigned. The benefits weren't worth the stress.

"Thank you, sir."

She hung up the phone and leaned against the bar. Her hands were trembling and she grabbed a hold of the bar to stop them. Anger and fear raced through her, jockeying for top billing.

"Come on Linda, just keep it together for a little while. Hawaii awaits. Sex. Sun. Sex. Sand. Sex. Drinks served in coconuts with little paper umbrellas," she murmured to herself. And of course more sex, maybe even with her husband.

She smiled at the thought. She turned and headed back for the patio, a smile playing on her lips as images of hard bodies in Hawaii ran through her mind.

Her new good mood lasted exactly forty-three seconds. On second number forty-four all thoughts of sex in Hawaii abandoned her. She stood staring across the patio. The empty chairs mocked her. She could almost hear them laughing at her.

"Oh, fuck me."

She hadn't yelled it, but had said it loud enough to draw more than a little attention from the tables around her. Well screw them and their delicate ears. If they knew Kassar, they might have thought her comment was the ultimate in understatements.

She shivered as she broke out in a cold sweat.

What the heck had it been? Where had she screwed up? Nothing, right? Everything had gone fine. Sure, the guy had been on edge, but she'd put him at ease. Hadn't she? Well maybe not, but she had at least shut him up with the picture.