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  She looked up, brows peaked, as though surprised he’d spoken.

  What could he say? Nerves brought out the interrogator in him. But more than that, he wanted to get to know her. Again, not something that was normal for him.

  Apparently deciding it couldn’t hurt to give him her name, she said, “My name’s Kyra. And you are?”

  “Case.”

  She gave a little nod of acknowledgement. “Nice to meet you, Case.” Once more she resumed her concentration on his fingers. Now she placed his left hand into the tub and drizzled some sort of creamy looking goop onto each fingernail of his right and rubbed it into the base of his nails.

  He searched for another benign question. “Do you like working here?”

  She tilted her head and thought for a moment as she picked up a metal tool with a rounded paddle on one end. “Yeah, I guess I do. My sister owns this salon and I’ve just worked here to help her out on Saturdays.”

  So she had a sister. He wondered about any other…important people in her life. “You have any other family?”

  She tucked the side of her lower lip between her teeth, a twinkle making the facets of her irises dance. “Just Roscoe.”

  His heart dropped but there was a hint of duplicity in the way she said the name that made him lean closer and ask, “And Roscoe is…?”

  “Oh Roscoe is one of my best friends. He is always there for me. Always seems to know what I need before I need it.”

  “The perfect guy, huh?” Has to be a dog. Please tell me it’s a dog.

  Her sardonic smirk was in full bloom now. “He would be if he wasn’t my sister’s Pomeranian.”

  Bingo. He grinned. “The music is Christian.” He lifted a finger toward one of the speakers. “You go to church around here?” He couldn’t deny that his pulse quickened a little as he waited for her answer.

  She tilted her head slightly and paused for a moment as though contemplating whether she could be revealing too much about herself to a stranger.

  He realized he’d put his nose where it didn’t belong. “I’m sorry. Don’t mind me. I shouldn’t—”

  “No. It’s fine. And the answer is yes. I do go to church down at Bethany Christian. But I got a second job, and will be moving. So I guess I’ll have to find a church near my new home.”

  He wanted to pump his fist but resisted. It was the same large church that he went to on the Sundays he wasn’t working a case. They had four services each week, so it wasn’t any wonder that he didn’t remember seeing her there. They probably attended at different times. But he didn’t want to press for more information that would make her uncomfortable, so instead he took the conversation along its natural course. “And what’s this other job?”

  A passion leapt into her gaze that told him he’d found something she could expound on for hours. He knew that look. The one that said he was about to get a fount of information from his “grillee” as Pack would have called her. He was the griller. She was the grillee.

  “I’m a teacher.” She set to work scraping his cuticles back from his nails with her little torture device and shrugged. “Well, I’m going to be. Just got hired this week and school starts on Wednesday.”

  “A teacher. Nice. What grade?”

  “High school English.”

  “You are a high school English teacher?” He couldn’t hide the incredulity in his tone. And he didn’t even try to stop the next words that crossed his lips, because he suddenly wanted to see her blush, just once. He had a feeling it would be nice. “No English teacher of mine ever looked like you. Bet all the guys will be lining up to ask you for help with their papers.”

  Just as he’d hoped, a pretty pink touched her cheeks.

  But she was all business and didn’t retort to his flirting. “English and PE. It’s a small school so I’ll be doing both.”

  That statement set him back. If she was moving to a small school, it likely wasn’t one around here. At least not a public school. But he couldn’t very well ask her where she was moving to without coming across like a creepy stalker, now could he?

  She worked her way around each cuticle with a little pair of clippers and then pumped some lotion into her hands and stood.

  She started massaging his hand, working over each finger and then circling her thumbs into his palm and the muscled web of his hand. Her fingers interlaced with his and her slender fingers were strong as they slid up and down working the blood flow. But as good as the little massage felt, he realized he’d never been more aware of a woman than he was in that moment.

  He let his gaze linger on her face as she reached to begin the massage on his left hand.

  She worked over each finger and massaged strong circles into the heel and over his wrist, but didn’t meet his gaze.

  Small blue gemstones glittered in her ears. Ears that were turning pink because he was staring like a love-struck teenager, he realized. He tore his gaze down to the cloth between them. “Sorry. You’re very beautiful.” He literally bit his tongue.

  She cleared her throat and carefully set his hands next to each other. “Tell you what. I’m going to give your nails a quick buff that will give them shine, but won’t require polish, how’s that sound?”

  “Uh, yeah, good by me.”

  She sat back down and set to work with another little tool that looked very similar to the first one, but was softer. He managed to contain the barrage of interrogation questions that pestered him for answers and she didn’t offer any more information on her own.

  Inside of ten minutes she had finished. “There, that should do you and satisfy your bet to your buddies.” She offered a small smile that was a bit tight around the edges as she headed for the cash register.

  He’d scared her with his forwardness. As he reached for his wallet and stopped by the front counter he said, “Listen, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to be so forward, or to offend you.”

  She punched in some numbers before she tilted him a look. “First you compliment me. Then you apologize? Now I’m really offended.” She let him know she was teasing with a rapid-fire wink.

  His hopes rose. Maybe he hadn’t blown this chance all to smithereens. And this might be his last chance to get that date. He held his debit card out to her. “So…since Roscoe seems to be the only other man in your life, would you care to join me for dinner sometime?”

  She angled him a get-serious stare as she swiped his card through the reader.

  He pasted on his most charming smile and gave her the look he’d used on countless undercover jobs to garner intel from sources of the female persuasion. “Come on. What can one date hurt? And you’ll help me salvage my bruised ego with the guys.”

  She snorted inelegantly. “You bruised your little ol’ ego all on your own. And for all I know, you could be a serial killer.”

  “A serial killer?” He thrust one hand over his heart. “You wound me, most grievous, my lady.”

  She laughed and handed him back his card and receipt. “No. Sorry. I am currently sworn off the two-timing, double-crossing, charm-wielding”—she pegged him with a pointed look—“species known as men.”

  He gave her a wince. “Last relationship was that bad, huh?” He tucked the items into his wallet and returned it to his pocket.

  She folded her arms against the counter and leaned into them. “You have no idea.”

  “Well…” He matched her gesture, so he could meet her eye to eye. To his surprise she didn’t pull back. He lowered his voice. “I will tell you that I’m neither of the first two items on your list. In fact, I’m a Bible-believing, church-attending, all around good guy. But…” He offered a shrug and a sly wink. “I might be accused of being charming every now and then.”

  “Well Mr. Bible-believing-church-attender, the answer is still no.” Her dismissive smile widened. “Have a nice day, Case.”

  He eased back and tapped his finger onto the counter in the space between them. “You sure this is your last day? Or is that just something you
tell the guys to keep them at bay?”

  She laughed and raised two fingers. “Scout’s honor it’s my last day.”

  He tried to look dejected. “Well then, I guess I don’t need to figure out a way to lose another bet this week. Don’t suppose I could talk you into giving me your number?”

  She hesitated, and for just the briefest of moments hope soared, but then… “You’re sweet and I’m flattered, but it’s just not the right timing for me.”

  Deflated like a tire that had just run over a spike strip, he still had enough presence of mind to realize it was time to walk away while he could with his head held high. He offered a parting smile to indicate he harbored no grudge. “I understand. Really. And no hard feelings. All the best to you.” And with that, he headed back to his car. As he slipped behind the wheel, he assessed his feelings and was surprised to find that, despite her rejection and his momentary deflation just a bit ago, he felt lighter and freer than he had in a very long time.

  He shook his head at himself in the rearview mirror. You’re losing it, man.

  CHAPTER 3

  Monday morning, Case sat at his desk and glanced over the meeting agenda for the day. He’d actually managed to make it to church yesterday, but though he’d looked for Kyra, he hadn’t found her in the service he’d attended.

  Across the room, his partner cleared his throat. Pack was studying him with a speculative gleam in his eyes.

  Case searched his memory of the past few moments. There was no way he was going to let on to his partner that the manicure hadn’t been as torturous as the fiend had hoped it would be. He didn’t think he’d done anything to give it away. But Pack was like a hound on a scent when it came to sniffing out new information.

  Case snapped the file he’d been perusing closed. “What?” He went for the nonchalant approach.

  Pack steepled his fingers against his lips. “You seem mighty chipper for a man who looked like he was condemned to the gallows Friday after work. Let’s see your handiwork.” He leered, and chuckles emanated from several desks in their vicinity.

  Stalking over to his partner’s desk, Case slapped his palms down, fingers splayed.

  Pack’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not polish!”

  Case tipped his head toward his nails. “Look again. Are they shiny?”

  A noncommittal nod was his only answer.

  Straightening, Case stuffed his fingers into his armpits and leaned into his heels. “Yes, they are shiny. Therefore they are polished. End of story.” He turned and headed for the meeting room glowering at anyone who even dared to smirk in his direction.

  It gave him great satisfaction when a moment later Captain Mick Danielson walked into the room, scanned the occupants, and then thrust his head back out the door and yelled, “Packard, put your donut down and get your butt in here! You’re late!”

  Pack moseyed in a few moments later licking icing from his fingers. Everyone knew that Captain Danielson was more bark than bite.

  Danielson pinned Pack with a look that would have made a newer cop tremble in his boots. “Can we commence now? That alright by you?”

  Easing into casual repose against a desk, Pack nodded. “Sorry, Cap. I’ll try to do better next time.”

  Danielson shook his head and scanned the tablet in his hands. “Okay, so here’s the lowdown. High school out on North Sound Island has been having a big drug problem. At the end of last year, a kid at a local party ODed. Died just before graduation. That was the first incident. But there were two more cases last month. Both kids made it, but it was close. This is your basic meth with a high booster of some sort that their local coroner hasn’t been able to nail down just yet.” The captain looked up and scanned the room. “On Saturday another body was found down near the ferry docks.” The captain examined his notes. “Mason Green. Kid would have been a senior this coming year. The thing is”—he dropped the tablet on the table in front of him—“none of the kids are wanting to talk. So whoever they are getting this stuff from has a pretty tight rein on their loyalty. The local sheriff, Holden Parker, reached out for assistance and wants a team that won’t be recognizable to the locals. Our unit has been tasked with setting up an undercover operation to see what we can find out. Lexington, you’re up to bat, and you are going to need parents. Well…a parent.” He spread his arms in a ta-da motion, leaning back as though accepting applause from a crowd.

  Case sat up in his chair. He was ready to do his job—anytime he could put a slimy drug dealer in jail was a good time, but… “I’m going in as a student?”

  Danielson nodded and dropped a file in front of him. “Here’s your cover. I get the pleasure of being your father, so, I hope you’ll be a well-behaved young man, and”—he grinned and bent down to pat Case’s cheek patronizingly—“that you won’t cost me an arm and a leg for manicures.”

  Everyone in the room busted up laughing, including Case. That was one thing he’d learned early on in the force…if you couldn’t take a ribbing and still smile, you’d better find a different job.

  Still chuckling, Case rolled his eyes and ducked away from Danielson’s teasing. “I’ll do my best, Pops.”

  Danielson turned to Packard. “Damian, since I’ll be out in the field, you’ll be running point back here in the office and doing most of the communicating with the sheriff on the island.”

  Pack nodded.

  “Alright, school starts on Wednesday so let’s move, people. We have a lot of work to do before then. We are going to start our investigation in the high school itself. Likely the seller is one of the students. Or at least someone close to one. But if we have to we’ll expand our search from there. Any questions?” No one seemed to have any so the captain dismissed the meeting with his typical brusque instructions to each person on what he wanted them focused on.

  Case sighed and flipped open his file. Might as well get to know the new him.

  Probably was a good thing that he hadn’t been able to change the mind of the pretty Miss Kyra about that date.

  Wednesday morning, Kyra stood in the teacher’s lounge and pulled in a long slow inhale before forcing it out between pursed lips. Her first class started in fifteen minutes. To say she was nervous would be like saying this island was surrounded by water.

  This was her life’s dream. She so wanted to make a good impression, not only on her co-workers, but also on the teens she felt certain she’d been sent here to reach. Love was so lacking in most kids’ lives these days. And she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had called her to teach so she could help kids see how special and wonderful and important each of them were, even in the grand scheme of things.

  She was thankful to have found a house to rent on the island just this past Monday. She had already been partially packed for a move in case she did find something before school started. But still, after the last few days of whirlwind packing, cleaning her old place in Everett, and moving out here via several trips on the ferry, she was exhausted. In the end though, it felt good to finally be seeing her dreams come to fruition.

  She smoothed her hands over her turquoise blouse and scanned it once more for wrinkles. Her black slacks had been hanging in her closet so they hadn’t given her too hard of a time at the ironing board this morning. But her top had been suffocating in the bottom of a box for days and she just hoped in her haste to iron it she hadn’t missed something obvious, even though she’d double checked several times already. The suede turquoise Jeffery Campbell booties were probably a bit much, and she’d be lucky not to have cramps in her toes by the end of the day since it had been an age since she’d worn such high heels. But they’d been the first shoes she could find that matched her outfit and besides she wanted to make a good impression on the kids.

  “Hey, you must be the new teacher?” The masculine voice had a slight southern drawl and was warm enough to send a shiver up her spine.

  She spun around. The man wore dark gray slacks and a green striped button-down with a solid green tie knotte
d smartly at his throat. A gold tie tack glimmered against the green silk.

  He smiled and stretched out his hand. “I’m Simon Hall. Shorty to my friends. I’m the chemistry teacher here.”

  Kyra took his hand, noting that in her heels she did have to look down at him just a bit and she was only five four. He had nice brown eyes behind his glasses. Just not as nice as the dark-lashed gray-green eyes of the man she hadn’t quite been able to get out of her mind since Saturday. She forcefully thrust Case’s image aside and squeezed Simon’s hand. “Kyra Radell. Yes, I’m the new English and PE teacher.”

  His gaze skimmed to her heels and he grinned as he pushed his glasses up on his nose with one finger. “Hope you won’t try to teach gym class in those things.”

  She chuckled. “No, I have gym clothes.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s really nice to meet you, but I’d better hurry to my classroom.”

  “Yeah, me too, I guess. But listen. Just be aware that a lot of the kids are a bit high-strung these days what with all that’s going on. So if anyone gets rowdy, or whatever, my classroom is just across the hall from yours. I’m happy to help, anytime.”

  Kyra searched her memory for anything the hiring committee might have said that could correlate to his statement but came up blank. “Going on?”

  The man’s eyes widened a bit. “You haven’t heard? Oh man. I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you. One of our students was killed just a few days ago. He ODed on an as-of-yet unidentified drug.” He pulled a face. “Kids. You tell them and tell them how dangerous those kinds of things are. And…” He paused to sniff and blink a couple times. “I’m sorry. He was a good kid. Too much potential to go out like that. Anyhow…as you can see, the whole community is a bit shaken up.”

  Kyra’s heart pinched. “I’m very sorry to hear it. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll call on you if I need anything.”

  As if her first-day jitters weren’t bad enough! This was the very reason she’d wanted to be a teacher. To prevent these very kinds of things if she could. God had dropped her right into the heart of the battlefield. She hoped she’d be up to the challenge.