Midnight Exposure (Midnight #1)(68)

“I know. But ‘tall white guy with blue eyes’ isn’t much to go on.” Reed closed the blinds in the kitchen. “With all the Norwegian blood around here, he could be almost anybody.”

“I should’ve ripped off his mask.”

“And taken the chance that he’d get a nice, firm hold on you?”

“No.” Jayne sighed. “But I wish I’d have gotten one good look at his face.”

“Me, too. One thing, though. He’s a better woodsman than me, not that that’s any great feat. I sounded like a moose crashing through the trees. He didn’t make any noise.” Reed switched on the light. “I’m going to review Hugh’s file on that dead teenager again. Maybe something’ll pop out at me.”

Jayne turned the lens on Reed and snapped a picture as he turned. He flinched at the click of the shutter.

She lowered the camera. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK. I don’t like having my picture taken.”

“Understandable.” She set the camera on the table. “I’m going to get dressed, then make coffee.”

Reed wanted to follow her, to peel the robe from her body and forget all about the outside world for a few more hours. But it was too late. He needed to put some distance between himself and his lovely houseguest in order for his brain cells to reactivate.

Jayne’s stalker had been right outside. Less than a hundred feet away while they slept inside—totally helpless. If Reed had been thinking with his brain instead of his hormones, he’d have been awake and standing guard all night instead of curled up with Jayne’s naked body. But he’d allowed his emotions and libido to make the call.

That couldn’t happen again.



Jayne set her toilet case on the vanity. Toothbrush. Deodorant. Hygiene basics had become luxury items. She set her makeup case aside and settled for a quick face wash, rinsing with cold water in the hope it would wake her up.

She dug through her duffel bag for a change of clothes, inordinately thrilled to have her own things. Socks and underwear. Squee!

She yanked a T-shirt and sweater over her head and wriggled into her jeans. Sticking her hand into her front pocket to smooth a bulge, she encountered a small rectangle.

Oh my God. She drew it out and stared. Duh.

Why hadn’t she remembered she’d shoved it in her pocket? Usually she stored memory cards in the zippered pouch of her camera case, but she’d been in a rush to change out of her wet jeans. She’d totally forgotten.

She hurried out of the bathroom. “Reed?”

“Yeah.” At the kitchen table, he raised his head from the file. He swept the photos he’d been studying back into the manila folder. What didn’t he want her to see?

Jayne held up the digital memory card.

He removed his reading glasses and set them on the table. Interest lit his eyes. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Uh-huh. It was in the pocket of my jeans. I totally forgot about changing them after I fell in that puddle.” Jayne froze, realization hitting home. “He killed Hugh for no reason. The camera Hugh took was empty.”

Reed absorbed that information for a few seconds in silence. “Do you know what’s on it?”

“All the pictures I took in town,” Jayne said. “I can’t imagine any of them being incriminating or scandalizing in any way. Most of them were just old buildings and scenery.”

“Cross your fingers. This could be our first real break.” He retrieved the laptop from the living room and booted it up. Jayne stuck the memory card into the SD slot. The computer’s media viewer opened at Reed’s click. “If we’re right, Hugh was killed for something on this card.”

Jayne’s eyes filled. She blinked hard to clear them. Hugh had died for no reason.

“Three hundred pictures?”

“That’s about right,” Jayne said. “No reason to limit myself with digital media.”

Reed clicked the Download button. “I wouldn’t think there were three hundred things to photograph in town.”

“If I like a subject I might take a few dozen pictures of it. Multiple angles, shutter speeds, apertures. There are filters and effects to play with. Light and shadow. Different types of focus.”

While the computer chugged away, Reed poured her a cup of coffee. “Are you hungry?”

“No, thanks.” Jayne’s stomach was doing somersaults. No way could she eat anything until she found out what was on that memory card. “Anything in the file?”

“Not yet.” Reed moved back to the page he’d been reviewing when Jayne entered the kitchen. He froze, frowned, then flipped back a few pages. His finger tapped a photocopied report. “Wait a minute. That cannot be a coincidence.”

Reed’s eyes darted back and forth between the folder and the gold circle laid out in the center of the table. “In addition to the two-thousand-year-old coin, crow feathers were found around and under the body. Normally that wouldn’t be unusual. Birds are scavengers. The body was found in the woods. Stranger things turn up at outdoor crime scenes. But…” They both looked at the odd metal circle, with its mistletoe and feather adornments. “There’s nothing normal about this case.”

The computer emitted a soft chime.

“The pictures are ready to view.” Jayne sank into a chair and opened the folder.