Jane Doe's Return Read Online Free Page B

his hands wide and grinned.
    “Fine.” Travis headed for his apartment. “You
    really need a shave.”
    “Yeah. The wife will have a cow if I go home like this. Not to mention the little princess of the house won’t greet her daddy with all this stubble. She says it’s not good for her complexion or some such nonsense.”
    “How old is Katie?”
    “Five, but she’s very high maintenance.” Jake laughed.
    “Because you spoil the hell out of her.” Travis pushed back his door and let Jake pass. The man was built like a tank, but not very tall. Most people were afraid of him because of his gruff exterior, but he was a big softy. And a sap to boot. “I’ve got an extra razor. You can shower here if you want.
    “Thanks.” Jake made himself at home by snagging a couple of beers from the refrigerator and sitting down in Travis’s favorite chair. Then Jake kicked off his shoes and put his dirty, smelly feet on the coffee table.
    “Why don’t you shower first?”
    “OK.” Jake guzzled his beer before thankfully heading to the bathroom. “I’ve been doing surveillance for about three days now.”
    “Yeah. I can smell it.”
    Travis tossed Jake a few towels and then headed to his room. He stood on his bed and taped the pictures of the girls from his office to his bedroom ceiling. Never again would he allow himself to lose focus.
    After all the pictures were in place, he laid down, resting his head on his pillows and stared at the constant reminders. He hadn’t learned anything new by showing an old case to his new partner, except that his partner was probably smarter than him. It certainly hadn’t constituted a test, not in the eyes of his employer, but having a different set of eyes always helped add perspective, especially when there was no biased attached to her viewpoint. However, it still proved to be a futile attempt at trying to find the missing piece.
    “What the fuck are you doing?” Jake’s voice boomed across the room. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re weird?” Jake glanced at the ceiling.
    “All the damn time.”
    “Does the murder from the other night fit into your theory?” Jake stood at the foot of the bed.
    “You almost look like a normal, upstanding guy,” Travis said.
    “Don’t change the subject. I know you.”
    Travis understood Jake’s concern. He’d seen Travis in some of his darkest hours. “Some of the case fits. There are so many inconsistencies, but that’s the least of my problems right now.”
    “Yeah, I heard about the no-go on the promotion.”
    “You talk to my family way too much.”
    Jake laughed. “What’s bugging you, besides the same old shit?”
    “Got a new partner.”
    “And?”
    “A first and a skirt.”
    “Nice,” Jake said.
    Agent Morgan had been a little more than Travis had bargained for. The moment he spied her at the airport she’d had an effect on him. And not just his brain. Not a great way to start a partnership.
    She’d impressed him by knowing exactly who he was, without him having to approach her. She hadn’t been timid in her approach or in her demeanor. Shauna Morgan had proven herself to be one smart lady. She knew within five minutes that something wasn’t right with the case he presented. He hadn’t planned on giving her that test until they were in the office. And certainly not with that case. He told himself it had all been about trust, the key element in being good partners and it had to come quickly.
    “What? No comeback?”
    “Thinking, that’s all.”
    “Either you’re letting your obsession rule your overactive mind, or this skirt has you thinking with the other brain.”
    “Neither. Just a long day.”
    “Bullshit,” Jake said leaning against the wall. “Is there something wrong with your new partner?”
    Travis did his best not to smile. Shauna had accused him of being underhanded. If she only knew. He’d been tested with a textbook case, not a case his superior had been secretly working on. Was he so