Where the Forest Meets the Stars(75)

“I don’t think there’s much door left to unlock.”
“Jesus, I need to get over there.”
“Isn’t it a crime scene? Do you think you can go in?”
“I might have to get the sheriff’s help. Will your nest logs be obvious?”
“They’re on the desk in a folder marked Nest Logs .”
“I guess that’s obvious.”
“My laptop and binoculars are on the desk, too. Would you bring them back to campus and put them somewhere safe?”
“I will. And I wanted to ask—do you mind if we finish monitoring your active nests?”
“Mind? I’d be thrilled! But you don’t have the time for that.”
“I don’t.” He rubbed the arthritic left elbow he’d once broken, usually a sign that he was about to say something he didn’t want to say. “Tanner and Carly said they’d come down and monitor your nests while you’re in the hospital.”
“They can’t stay at the house. Like I said, the doors are broken, and I’m sure it’s considered a crime scene.”
“They were going to camp at some nearby place.”
Probably where Jo and Tanner had made love in the stream, Tanner’s favorite campground since a group of graduate students had brought him there. “Are you sure they can take the time off?”
“Are you kidding? When students finish their research, they’ll do anything possible to avoid writing their thesis. They said they’d planned to go camping anyway.”
“If they want to take a working vacation, I’m happy for the help.”
“And Carly knows your study sites—she worked in many of those same areas.”
“The nest cameras can be removed if they don’t want to deal with them. And I have everything clearly marked on maps in the folders.”
“Of course you do,” he said. “We’ll make copies of—”
Someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Jo said.
Gabe walked in. “I’m sorry,” he said when he saw Shaw. “I’ll come back later.”
“No, stay. Gabe, this is my advisor, Dr. Shaw Daniels. Shaw, this is Gabriel Nash.”
Shaw sprang from his chair and shook Gabe’s hand. “Good to meet you!” he said. “Thank you for helping Jo! You saved her life! And the little girl!”
Gabe didn’t deny it, but his eyes betrayed his feelings of guilt. Jo studied Shaw, looking for signs that he saw George Kinney in Gabe’s face. If he noticed the resemblance, his reaction wasn’t obvious.
“I was expecting you a long time ago,” Jo said. “Where’s Tabby?”
Gabe glanced at Shaw. “She’s . . . in the gift shop.”
“What? She better not buy me any of that overpriced crap!”
Shaw wiped his brow in a mock gesture of relief. “Thank god I didn’t buy that Get Well balloon!”
“I was about to say: unless it’s a balloon.”
“Damn it!” He leaned down and hugged her lightly. “I’d better go. I want to get over to Kinney’s and make sure your data are safe.”
“I put her nest logs in the desk’s file drawer to make them less obvious,” Gabe said. “And the police let me lock her laptop and binoculars in the lower drawer that has a key lock. I hid the key inside a paper-clip box in the top drawer.”
“I like this guy,” Shaw said to Jo. “He thinks data safety like a scientist.”
“Rubbed off, I guess,” Jo said, smiling at Gabe.
“I hope to see you again,” Shaw said, clasping Gabe’s hand once more. “Let’s have a beer sometime, and I’m buying.”
“Sounds great,” Gabe said. He was more relaxed with a stranger than Jo had ever seen him. Spending time with Tabby had that effect on people.
“He seems like a great guy,” Gabe said after Shaw left.
“He is. He’s why I stayed at U of I rather than apply for another PhD program. I only wanted to work with him.” She reached her arms up toward him. “Get down here and give me a kiss.”
“You’re only saying that because I’m clean shaven and irresistible again.”
“You know it.” They kissed over her propped-up leg.
“I’m glad to see you’re out of bed.”
“So am I. What’s going on with Tabby? Why did you look nervous when you said she’s in the gift shop?”
“You don’t miss anything, do you? Just like Ursa. I never could make a move around you two.”
“What move were you going to make?”
“I don’t know, because I never tried.” He sat in the chair. “So . . . about Tabby . . .”
“Uh-oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh god, what is she up to now?”
“I had a feeling she does things like this often.”
“What is she doing?”
“She stole a maid’s shirt from a staff room at our hotel—”
“What!”
“She wanted it to look official . . .”
“She wanted what to look official?”
“She’s buying a gift for Ursa in the shop, and she’s going to pretend she’s a delivery person from a florist shop. She’s going to try to see Ursa.”
“Ursa is in the ICU. The door will be locked.”
“I tried to stop her,” he said.
“There’s no stopping Tabby when she gets one of her ideas. Did she tell you she once snuck a lamb into the hospital?”
“Wait—did you just say a lamb ?”