A Daddy for Jacoby(35)

A knock rapped on the door.

“Come on in,” Racy called out.

Leeann entered. “Hi, there, I see you found him.”

Leeann was a striking woman, even wearing the standard khaki uniform of the sheriff’s department and her former waist-length hair now cut short.

Noticing the deputy’s hair instantly made him think of that pink streak in Gina’s. Congratulations, Dillon. You managed to go a half hour without thinking about the woman.

“Hello, Justin.”

Leeann’s voice cut into his thoughts. It still carried that ice-running-through-her-veins tone he remembered from years ago. Or was that money? Thanks to her inheritance, the sale of the land where her former childhood home once stood and her modeling career, he’d bet she had plenty of money stashed away.

He wondered again why she was working as a public servant. “Deputy Harris.”

Racy walked around her desk. “I’ll give you two some privacy.”

“You don’t have to go,” Justin said. “You know I’ll just tell you everything later.”

His sister’s smile spoke to how their relationship had changed over the last few months. “Thanks, but if I know Lee, she’s going to want to do this by the book, and that means just the two of you.”

Leeann nodded in agreement and waited until Racy left before she crossed the room. She sat in a chair opposite him, pausing a moment to offer a hello to the dog.

Justin leaned forward. “Did you find Zoe?”

“We’re not sure.” She pulled out a small black notebook and flipped a few pages. “Did you ever know Zoe Ellis by any other name?”

“The weekend we spent together, she told me her name was Susie.” Justin realized he’d never relayed that information to the sheriff’s office. “I confronted her about that when she was here. She admitted she lied. Said her real name was Zoe Ellis.”

“A car matching the vague description Jacoby provided was found abandoned in Reno—”

Justin sprang to the edge of the sofa. “Reno!”

Leeann held up a hand to silence him and kept talking. “A child’s drawing was found in the backseat. It was signed ‘Jacoby Ellis.’”

Justin closed his eyes for a moment, but opened them when Leeann continued.

“I sent a copy of that old photograph of you and Miss Ellis to my contact at the Washoe County sheriff’s office. She took it to local businesses near where the car was found. A second-rate casino came up with a possible match, but said the woman called herself Susie Ellsworth.”

His heart dropped to his feet. “Did they find her?”

Leeann shook her head. “The people at the casino said she told them a sob story about running from an abusive husband and didn’t want to fill out any paperwork. She worked as a cocktail waitress for a few days—all wages under the table—and then took off with a high roller throwing around a lot of money.”

This was unbelievable. Justin dropped his head and gripped his fingers, his knuckles turning white from the pressure.

“You okay?”

Leeann’s soft voice surprised him. He released a pent-up breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding and forced his hands to relax. “Yeah, so what do we do now?”

She shut her notebook and met his gaze. “We keep looking, under both names, for her. Have you had the DNA test done you mentioned last week?”

Justin nodded. “I should have the results in a few days.”

“Good. The sooner paternity is established the better it will be, for you and that little boy.” Leeann rose from her seat. “We’ll be keeping an eye out for Zoe and her friend, if they are still together, as well.”

“You think she might just show back up here?”

“If she thinks she’s found someone to support her…”

Leeann’s voice trailed off, leaving unsaid the suggestion that Jacoby’s mother could snatch the boy away as easily as she left him behind.

Justin stood, too, the urge to pick up Jacoby from the after-school program suddenly very powerful. “Fine.”

The deputy looked at him for a long moment and Justin returned her stare. She’d done the same thing last week at the sheriff’s office when Gage filled her in on the details of the case. He didn’t know if she was testing him, but he held her gaze until she broke free and turned toward the door.

“For what it’s worth—”