He took the magnifying glass and angled it downward. “Look at her wrist. She’s wearing a bracelet.” He looked again. “It might be the one Penny was wearing in the photo from the private investigator. Both of them are white with a big red bead, and Penny isn’t wearing hers here.”
“We weren’t sure it was Penny,” she said. “It could be Tracey Jefferies.”
“Ifit was Penny, thatmightbe the bracelet,” he said. “Which means theymighthave been closer than Penny is admitting.”
“Possibly.” Valerie snatched the photo album to her chest.
“In any case, it’s something new and we’re getting somewhere,” said Nico.
“If we can talk to Tracey, I bet it’ll all come together,” she said. “I was starting to worry.”
“Roger said being a detective wasn’t your job,” he reminded her.
“I don’t like being useless,” she said stubbornly.
Neither did he, so he didn’t argue this too much. “Just because something isn’t going as quick as you want, that doesn’t mean it’s a problem.” He took a breath. “You’re perfect as you are. Not useless.”
Valerie’s mouth dropped open as if this was not what she’d expected from Nico, who knew himself to be more of a you-missed-your-targets rather than a great-job guy. “Did you give me a compliment?”
“I suppose so.”
“Perfect, you say?”
“Almost perfect.”
“What? Only ninety percent perfect? Eighty?” She gave a theatrical gasp. “Seventy?”
“At least ninety.”
As they were debating the scoring, he’d moved closer to her, wanting to recapture the moment before she’d walked into the books. Valerie smiled, a crooked, knowing thing that told him she understood what he was up to. She lifted one hand to flatten on his chest. Could she feel how his heart thumped under her touch? He wanted her to know how she affected him. He wanted it to affecther.
The door opened. “No, Penny. I don’t know but I’ll find… Oh.” Jenn stood staring at them. “Sorry.”
“Jenn? Did you find it?” Penny’s voice was near and Jenn gave them an unexpected wink before stepping back and shutting the door.
“It’s not here,” Nico heard her say. “Let’s try the storage room near the gym.”
“That was close,” Valerie said, her hand still on him.
“Close for what?” he teased.
She gave him the tiniest push before stepping away. “What did you deduct my perfection points for?”
He indicated the chessboard. She and Roger were still on the first game, since they only managed a few moves whenever they played. “Because you’re going easy on Roger so he’ll win.”
Valerie laughed. “He’s trying so hard.”
Nico turned off the lights as he followed her out. “It does him good to lose once in a while.”
“Hey, Nico?” She paused as she was about to climb the stairs. “You’re about ninety percent perfect too.”
He tried to maintain an imperturbable expression. “What did I lose points for?”
She grinned. “Not marking me at a hundred.”
Nineteen
The next day, Nico found Valerie on the dock wearing an exasperated expression. “I’ve looked everywhere for David,” she said. “His car is here, but he’s not.”
