Page 409 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

Jacob shut his eyes. She slipped away and he heard the door shut.

Even though he wanted to think of nothing but her—not the pain, not anything but Addie. Still thoughts crept in like those bugs in the vent. He felt them come and couldn’t help the burn of tears at what Celia’s family had suffered.

Sure, they were convinced he’d killed her. The fact he hadn’t didn’t mean anything to them when their daughter was dead.

Jacob felt the tear roll down his face, swiped it away, and realized he needed to shave a couple of days ago. Still, thoughts of that man’s eyes right before the knife slid into Jacob’s stomach.

The nightmare was worse.

Days later, when they released him, Jacob didn’t see Addie until he was wheeled outside to the curb. The sun had setbehind the high rises of downtown. A siren blazed past, and an ambulance pulled into the corner bay at high speed.

“Ready?”

He glanced over at her. She’d gotten some sleep after he sent her home, so she didn’t spend the night in that awful chair again. Jacob nodded. “Where’s Hank?”

Addie helped him out of the chair. “No one’s seen him. He didn’t call into work, but the consensus is he’s out looking for the guy who stabbed you. Or his wife, she packed her things, and no one has seen her either. We think they’re together.”

He concentrated on her voice so he didn’t have to think about how much it hurt to walk. Maybe they shouldn’t be letting him go home so soon. He was useless. All he could do was lay in bed. Doing that at home was preferable to hospitals full of noise and people twenty-four seven.

“Okay. Legs?”

Jacob lifted his feet and folded them into the car.

“We can fill your prescription in the car. Get you the pill you’ll need in…” She looked at her watch. “Two hours.”

He could wait that long. It would hurt, but he could do it. He just needed a distraction. “Tell me what else has been going on.”

“Home front first.” Addie pulled out of the pickup lane and headed for the exit. “Mona and Russ got into it. Her boyfriend is twenty-five. Can you believe that? She’s seventeen. It’s crazy. Anything you can imagine; she’s been doing it.” Addie made a face. “Russ isso mad.He’s taken away her phone, her car. He drives her to school and work, then home.”

Jacob winced.

“Yeah. That was a fun couple of days.”

“What else?”

“The field office in Seattle sent a team of two agents over yesterday. I’ve got backup, and they’re hot on the case.”

Jacob glanced at her.

“Okay, so they don’t like me, and they don’t like Benson. Apparently, they want to be in thebig city.”

“Okay.”

She smiled. “Doesn’t matter. I want this thing solved, and I’m done with either of us being strung along in the middle. So it is what it is, and I took two personal days. Who knows what the two of them will have figured out by the time I’m back in the office in a day or two? Right now, I’m here to help you. Work can take care of itself.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“It’s the right idea. I don’t care if the FBI disagrees.” She gripped the wheel with both hands. “You werestabbed.”

“Is Hank really missing?”

“I’m sorry.” She winced. “I even pinged his phone and got nothing.”

“Maybe he’s at his hunting cabin. There’s no signal up there.”

“You hunt?”

“No, but Hank does.” Jacob had never gone out with him, just to the gun range occasionally.