He wanted to be there for both stages.
She feels it too.
The previous morning there’d been a look of awareness in her eyes that he hadn’t understood until this very second. A connection. An attraction. It wasn’t one-sided.
Not now. It’s inappropriate.
But why not be there to support her through a difficult time? If something grew between them during this hard experience, it could indicate a durability that was rare in relationships.
“You’re not denying it.”
Evan pulled out of his thoughts and glanced at Noelle. Her lips lifted on one side in a half smile, her eyes glittering with confidence.
“Everyone can see the subtle sparks that fly between you two.”
“Everyone?” he blurted. “There’s nothing . . . I mean . . . there wasn’t, well, I didn’t know . . . it’s new,” he finished lamely. “Doesn’t feel appropriate,” he muttered.
“I get that. You’re the investigator and it’s her family member. But she’s no frail woman falling for the alpha law enforcement detective. And you’re not reacting to some inner caveman wanting to save a damsel in distress. You’re both competent, independent adults. There’s nothing improper with how you feel.”
“It’s not professional.”
“Fuck that. You’re not taking advantage of her. People meet in unusual situations all the time. Paths cross for a reason. You’ve stumbled across something of quality. Don’t let it go just because of a professional-conduct tenet. It’s not a firm rule and it doesn’t apply here. You’re not some horndog cop looking to get laid.”
True.
“You’ve seen us interact once. You learned all this from watching us at a crime scene in the woods.”
Noelle lifted her chin and grinned. “Yep. And I’ve been watching you for days. I see your reactions when her name is mentioned. You’ve got it bad, and I think you’re just now realizing that.”
Noelle was right. “Maybe,” he said. “Shit.”
She elbowed him in the ribs. “It’s all good. Trust me.”
They stepped back into Dr. Peres’s lab. The doctor’s gaze immediately met Evan’s, and disappointment flashed across her face. “Dr. Harper couldn’t make an identification?”
“No,” said Evan. “The films she received are too old.”
“Damn. I was afraid of that.” She took a deep breath and moved to one of the tables holding an adult skeleton. “We’ll move on for now.”
Evan mentally shifted gears. Somewhere there were families of these two unidentified sets of remains waiting for news of their missing loved ones. He could do this. “What do you have, Doctor?”
I won’t give up on finding Malcolm.
But the boy had to take a back seat to the other mysteries in the room.
“Both female,” said Dr. Peres. “Caucasian. Both between eighteen and thirty. Both blonde.”
“You found long, dark hair at the site,” said Noelle. “We saw it.”
“It had picked up color from the dirt. We determined that it was actually blonde.” The doctor pointed at a group of mottled, brownish ribs. “It’s normal for bones that have been buried for a long time to absorb some staining. The color and amount depends on what kind of soil they’re in. Hair can do the same thing.”
“Blonde,” said Evan. “Like the three recent murders.”
“And like Jerry Chiavo’s three victims from decades ago,” said Noelle. “Someone—or some people—has a type. Can you tell how long ago they died?”
“I can’t. Could be as recent as a few years to as old as forty years ago—maybe longer. Taking into account how much color has leached into the bones, it’s been more than a year or two. I don’t have a lot to work with here as far as establishing a timeline. Dr. Harper found composite dental fillings in both of them and believes they both had braces. Both of these things weren’t nearly as common forty years ago as they were in the last twenty. So I have more a likely date range than an absolute.” She narrowed her brows in frustration. “Usually I find stuff with a body. Nothing was found with all three of them.”
“You mean like buttons and zippers,” said Noelle. “You were looking for those the other day.”
“Correct. I especially like it when we find shoes. Shoes can last a long time and aren’t too difficult to research when they were first made. Glasses are good for that too. If there is clothing, we can study the style, and if there are tags, we can contact the manufacturer.”