"No personal questions, remember?"
"That's not a personal question," she countered, but he remained silent, unwilling to elaborate.
His behavior was odd; there was no doubt about that, and she wondered about the wisdom she'd shown in getting into his car, knowing so little about him. But she reminded herself that Josie had vetted him, so there was that. She might not trust him, but she did trust Josie.
As she sat back in her seat and stared out the window, she didn't think anything about Jax added up. She told herself this trip wasn't about solving his mystery, but maybe she could do both.
Chapter Five
Ten minutes later, they turned onto the street where the bookstore was located, tucked on the corner at the far edge of downtown where the storefronts began to thin out toward the beach. A gelato shop with striped awnings sat beside it, a handful of people lingering outside with their dripping cones, while across the street a small park spread beneath swaying palms and towering jacaranda trees dusted with purple blooms.
The bookstore itself had an old-fashioned charm. Wide bay windows framed displays of stacked hardcovers, handwritten staff recommendation cards, and a faded poster for an upcoming author event. Six brick steps led up from the sidewalk to a weathered blue door, framed by hanging baskets filled with ivy and tiny white flowers. It didn’t look mysterious in the slightest. Just a cozy neighborhood bookstore. Which made her wonder if their information was wrong. Still, they’d come this far. There was no reason not to check.
Jax opened the door for her with an easy, gentlemanly sweep of his hand, another unexpected contradiction she added to the growing list of things about him that didn’t quite fit together.
As she stepped inside, there was a soft murmur of conversation coming from a reading area off to the side, where three women sat around a coffee table with books and cups of coffee from the urn on the table by the window. Several more people browsed a crowded bestseller display near the counter where an employee was ringing up a purchase.
"Doesn't look anything like a former nightclub," Jax commented.
"I was thinking the same thing. But let's find out." They waited a moment for the young man at the register to finish with his customer, then stepped forward, "Hi," she said. "We were wondering if you could tell us about this store's history. We heard it might have been a nightclub at some point."
"Uh, I don't know. I'm nineteen, and it's been a bookstore as long as I can remember."
"It was probably before that," she said. "Is the owner here?"
"Mrs. Hancock isn't here today. She'll be in tomorrow. Her family has owned the building for a long time, so she would know."
"Okay, thanks." She turned away from the counter, feeling a wave of disappointment. "I guess this was a wasted trip."
"We're here. Let's look around," Jax said, leading the way to the back of the store.
She was surprised he wanted to look further, but she followed him into the back stacks, where more kids and adults were selecting books. A back door marked "Employees Only" was closed but probably led to the back room and maybe an office.
"We're above street level," Jax said, his gaze focused on the window.
"So?"
"I'm wondering if there's a basement."
"Did Walter say something about a basement?"
"No, but he mentioned a dark, intimate club. There are a lot of windows on this floor. Let's go back outside."
As they made their way out of the store, she once again found herself more curious about him than the nightclub. He definitely seemed to have picked up a scent of a story that he couldn't let go of.
"Are you a journalist?" she asked as they left the building.
"No personal questions, remember? But, no, I'm not a journalist."
"You seem like someone who has a good head for investigating. Are you a cop? A scientist? A treasure hunter?"
A faint smile played at his lips. "All good guesses, but I'm just looking for a basement."
She followed him down the stairs and around the side of the building, stopping abruptly as they saw a ramp leading down to another door, a white door. Still, it felt like that door could be the one they were looking for.
Jax was already heading down the ramp. She had to move fast to catch up to him. "What are you doing?" she asked as he tried the door.
"It's locked."
