Page 33 of Cold Silence
Travis looked at his watch. “You could question them while Gage and I run testing scenarios before lunch. Then I’ll head out to talk to Robb.”
“Okay,” she said, but the thought of Travis leaving left a hitch in her chest.
In less than twenty-four hours, she’d come to depend on him for her safety. A legit thing she supposed, given her situation, and something she could deal with as the need for his protection was temporary.
Just as long as she didn’t start to count on him for anything else. Could she spend time with him and avoid that? She had to.
Her phone chimed with a text. She glanced at the screen. “It’s from Sierra. The blood type from the sample is O positive.”
“The most common type and won’t likely help us narrow things down,” Gage said.
Travis nodded. “It was a long shot anyway.”
“Yeah, but I had my hopes up.” Frowning, Claire took the men to Julie to arrange testing, then went to find Bethany at the front desk.
Claire dug deep for as genuine of a smile as she could find. “Good morning, Bethany.”
The petite redhead smiled at Claire. “Going to be another hot one. Will you go running again or is it too hot for you?”
Was she just making small talk or planning another abduction? “Too hot.”
“I figured as much. And then there was the attack. That would put me off running for sure.”
“It was terrifying.” Claire hoped this could be her way in. “You haven’t had anyone strange try to get in here, have you? Or anyone asking questions about me?”
She shook her head, hair scraped back in a bun holding firm. “I’d have told you and the police if I had.”
“I figured as much, but just had to ask.”And I have to lie to get info on your whereabouts.“I went running Monday night after it got cooler. It was late. Around eleven. I got the feeling I wasn’t alone. Do you live close to here? Maybe saw something that night?”
“I live close, but not really close enough to see anything. Besides, Monday is my painting class, and we go until all hours of the night. That night I was really engrossed in the subject and didn’t get home until two a.m.” She tapped a long purple fingernail on the desk. “We’re painting a seminude male. It’s hard to stop looking at that.” She grinned.
“I can imagine.” Claire cast her a dug-up smile. “Let me know if anyone odd comes in, okay? I’m on edge until the police catch this guy.”
“Oh, I hear you. I’ve started having someone walk me to my car at night.”
“Good plan. I hope others are doing the same thing.”
“Not all of us have two hunky spec ops guys hanging around.” She winked at Claire.
Claire faked a laugh and stepped away to go in search of Ruth. The team’s only software developer, she had a small cubicle in the back of the IT department. She sat at her desk, head down, concentrating on her work. She was a shy woman and working alone suited her. Sure, she was a part of the team, but she didn’t have to interact with them to do her daily tasks.
“Hey, Ruth.” Claire leaned on the top of the low cubicle wall.
She batted her lashes and released her mouse. “What are you doing here? Did I do something wrong?”
Just like Ruth to think she was in trouble. “Nothing wrong at all. Your work is always exemplary.”
Her face reddened. “So how can I help you?”
“I heard you mention that your rent had gone up a lot.”
“Oh, right. Yeah, I was complaining. Sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. I was just wondering where you live. I have a friend looking, and I want to make sure not to have your complex on my list.” Another lie and she hated it just as much as the first.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice complex if they can afford it, but it’s going up to two grand a month for one bedroom. That’s a twenty-five percent increase.” She shared the complex name.
Claire didn’t recognize it, but it really wasn’t important. “That would be in their price range. Is it quiet?”
