“Jack’s always loved the old Victorians,” he told her.
Jack’s house was beautiful. They were greeted at the door by his wife, Haley, a lovely woman with brilliant hazel eyes, blond hair and a welcoming smile. She greeted Rocky with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek—she clearly knew him well—but was almost as enthusiastic to meet Devin. She said she had all the Auntie Pim books—she read them to her son—and had been thrilled to hear that Devin had moved back to town.
“Appetizers and drinks are all set up in the dining room already,” she told them. “Go on in. But, please, if anyone starts singing our high school anthem, I’ll beat them with a wooden spoon, I swear.”
Rocky promised her that he would never do any such thing before they headed back to join the others in the large dining room. The beautiful cherry table, large enough to seat twelve, was covered with the promised array of food and drink. As they entered, Devin recognized Angela and Jane, and Rocky introduced her to Jenna and Sam Hall, the other members of his team, and his friends from “the old days,” Vince Steward and Renee Radcliff. Vince was a mammoth man—taller than both Rocky and Jack. Renee was a tiny, well-built brunette with manicured nails and a bubbly personality. She, too, said she enjoyed the Auntie Pim books. She didn’t have children yet, but she loved babysitting for Jackie and read them to him before bed.
Conversation was casual. Sam and Jack talked about a mutual friend, Detective John Alden, who had held Jack’s position a few years ago but had recently left the area to take a position in Colorado. John Alden had been involved in a case of a teen accused of butchering his parents; Jenna and Angela had also worked the case, and the four of them ended up discussing it, along with changes since the Krewe had last worked in the city.
It seemed an incredibly easy meshing of people, the makings of a charming evening.
It might have been any dinner party, except that there had been murders much like the one that had changed the lives of the hosts and many of the guests—and a number of them were suspects.
The two groups mingled nicely. Rocky belonged to both, and though she didn’t belong to either, everyone included her in their conversations.
At one point, Jackie woke up crying; Jack went off to his bedroom and came back with him, and they all oohed and aahed over the little boy.
“Any of you have kids yet?” Jack asked the agents.
“Not us,” Sam said. “Jenna and I haven’t even made it official yet.”
“Angela actually married the boss,” Jenna teased. “So maybe the rest of us will follow their lead.”
“Wait, I’m confused,” Jack said. “You don’t make it official and you don’t act like you’re together, but—”
“We’re coworkers when we’re working and we don’t run around blasting out the information when we’re a twosome,” Jenna clarified. “But we’re not discouraged from being together. We work well together. We just don’t bring it into work.”
“Ah, well, you are special people, huh?” Jack teased.
“For the good or the bad,” Angela said lightly.
“What about you, Angela? Do you have children?” Renee asked her.
“Not yet. We work a lot,” Angela said.
“Well, sometimes you just have to do things, you know?” Haley said.
“Haley!” Vince said. “All you wanted in life for as long as I can remember was marriage and that baby.”
“She used to date Rocky,” Renee put in. “But she finally decided he was a lost cause and gave up.”
Devin turned to look at Jack. He shrugged good-humoredly. “They were the Barbie and Ken of our high school. But they were going different ways, and they knew it.” He grinned at Rocky. “My gain.”
“Absolutely,” Rocky said, lifting his glass to Jack. “You two are perfect. And Jackie is a great kid.”
Devin considered them curiously, but there didn’t seem to be any ill will between them.
It wasn’t until Jackie was back in bed and they’d all helped Haley bring out dinner—clam chowder and broiled scrod—that they sat down around the table and the conversation turned serious.
“I guess it’s pretty obvious,” Vince said, looking at Rocky. “You’re not back to stay—or to vacation. You’re back because of the murders.”
“Yes,” Rocky said simply.
Renee looked at the Krewe, then turned to Jack. “So they’ve taken over. What are the cops doing, then?”
“We haven’t taken over,” Rocky said. “It’s a joint investigation. What we want is the murderer caught.”
“This case is still wide-open,” Angela said. “We have so few real clues that there’s no limit to what we must investigate. We need a lot of manpower.”
“Of course,” Vince said. He drummed his fingers on the table. “God, I hope you get him.”
“We intend to,” Rocky said.
“Could it be the same person who killed Melissa?” Renee asked.
Vince leaned forward, staring at Rocky. “Could it be? That was so long ago.”