Gina paused. “You sure, Rapp? I don’t mind coming in tomorrow.” She frowned.
“You’ve been working nonstop for weeks, Gina. Take a day. Trust me. I’ll get this info to Gambol and see what he comes up with. None of us will get anything done if we burn out. We’ll have trouble getting anyone on the phone with the holiday, anyway.”
She nodded. “Happy New Year.” She ignored Jane.
Determining that they really did have a connection between the victims, other than Gambol’s say-so, gave Jane the warm fuzzies. She smiled at Gina. “Thanks.”
That Gina scowled back made Jane feel even better.
She stood to follow the others out and banged into Rapp. “Hey, quit looming.”
“Sorry.” He wasn’t looking at her, too busy staring at the monitors. “Good work, Jane.”
“Thanks.” She paused at the doorway. “Are you leaving?”
“In a few minutes. Look, I know this wasn’t easy.” He finally turned to look at her. “But I appreciate your hard work. I’ll reach out when we need you back here. Enjoy what’s left of the holiday.” He paused. “Any big plans?”
“Other than not watching TV for another month? No.”
He snorted. “Yeah. The fun box hasn’t been very fun, has it? Well, see you next year.” He turned back to the monitors and scribbled something on the notepad she’d been using.
Dismissed, Jane left, feeling good. She’d made some progress. And with the time off from Rapp’s team, maybe she could circle back to the Mazzucas. Because no doubt they’d made some resolutions. And she was determined to stop them achieving those. No matter what.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jane thoughtabout spending New Year’s Eve alone, but a text from Hal convinced her to join the guys near the Space Needle for fireworks followed by drinks at a bar to celebrate.
The weather cooperated for once, and they enjoyed the fireworks before heading to a popular dive in Lake City. Joe, as expected, got into a fight that Jane solved peaceably with a darts contest.
Hal ended up winning, and the idiot who’d thought he could take on Joe and survive ended up buying Joe, Hal, and Jane a round of drinks. She hadn’t expected to celebrate, tired after a grueling day staring at videos, so the beers hit her harder than she’d expected.
She woke up with the sun hitting her in the face, hanging half off her bed, her headache painful.
A familiar groan from her living room told her the boys had delivered her back home, though she had no memory of it.
“You are such a lightweight,” Joe rumbled with a laugh.
Hal and Joe and Jane in her tiny but spotless apartment. She would have been freaked out about others, even them, invading her space if she hadn’t been distracted by a well of nausea.
Half an hour later, she joined the guys in her kitchen, feeling better after a much-needed shower.
“Aw, look who decided to rejoin the living.” Hal sounded way too cheery. To her bemusement, he looked fine if a bit frumpy in his wrinkled shirt and jeans, not like a guy who’d been groaning earlier, sounding two breaths away from death.
Joe looked the way he always did. A muscled giant with a winsome smile who made killer pancakes. And, of course, his clothes looked wrinkle-free.
“Gimme.” She motioned for the plate of pancakes he’d fixed.
He grinned. “You’re so cute when you’re hungover.”
She glared, and Joe laughed and slid her the plate. She devoured the food and felt worlds better, especially when Joe handed her a cup of her favorite Earl Grey tea.
Hal propped his chin on his palm, elbow resting on the table, and closed his eyes. “How’s the investigation going?”
She filled them both in on what she’d been working on.
They didn’t like what she’d found, and neither did she.
“What’s odd is how Gambol knew,” Hal said. “I mean, did he figure it out after watching hours and hours of video? I doubt it. So who told him?”
