Her past. The secrets she’d sought for so long—they were all tangled up in what was happening in Camden.
Her breath seemed to burn her lungs. “I don’t have the distance needed for this case. It’s too personal.” She couldn’t separate her own feelings from what was happening. Jenny... Jenny could be me. Only Noelle had gotten lucky. She’d been rescued.
Jenny hadn’t.
“I don’t think distance is what this case needs.” His words were a deep rumble as his finger slid over the steering wheel. “I think you’re what that girl out there needs. If she really was taken, then you know exactly what that is like.”
No, she didn’t. Because she couldn’t remember anything about her abduction.
He hesitated a moment as he studied her, then he slowly inclined his head. “But I’ll talk to the boss, if that’s what you want. We’ll get other FBI agents down here.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“But you need to stay on point. We both do. We can’t blow our cover, because I think this is about a whole lot more than one girl’s abduction. The senator was murdered, and we still need to figure out how he fits into this mess.”
Yes, they did.
Noelle turned from him and pushed against the handle of her door. His hand flew out, stopping her before she could leave the vehicle. “You’re not alone in this, understand? Whatever happens, whatever we discover, I’m going to be right by your side.”
She nodded. “Because you’re my partner.” She’d learned that about the EOD. A partner always had your back. A partner would protect you to the bitter end, a partner would—
“No, that’s not why.” His fingers lifted and curled around her chin. That golden gaze of his heated even more. She saw the need in his eyes. Her heart raced faster. “You can count on me.”
She had to look away from that deep stare because Noelle was afraid Thomas would see too much in her own eyes. She’d been alone for so long. But he was offering her something else. Something she was afraid to take.
She pushed open her car door and the cold air rushed against her skin. The lights from the diner were on, glowing brightly even though it was close to ten o’clock.
Noelle stared at the area around the diner. A few old buildings, which were boarded up. A lone road, which stretched away and disappeared into the darkness.
Camden wasn’t a thriving town, she had read during her pretrip research. It had lost most of its residents as the younger generation moved off to bigger cities. Because the businesses were vanishing and the people were leaving, there just hadn’t been anyone out there to see Jenny.
Before they’d left the station, the sheriff had checked in with all of Jenny’s friends. No one had seen the girl, and the friends had all claimed Jenny had no boyfriend. They’d been adamant she couldn’t have run off with someone.
The snow crunched beneath Noelle’s feet. She saw the open sign on the diner’s door. A man, tall, with dark hair, was inside and heading toward the front.
Thomas was at Noelle’s side. He grabbed for the handle and pulled open the door. The bell overhead gave a light jingle of sound.
“Sorry,” the man inside rasped. “We’re closing.”
Noelle pulled out her ID. “Henry Price?” The sheriff had given her the guy’s name.
The man nodded as his gaze jerked down to her ID.
“I’m Agent Noelle Evers, and this is my partner, Agent Thomas Anthony. We need to ask you some questions about Jenny.”
Henry rubbed a hand over his bleary eyes. “Already talked to the sheriff on the phone.”
“And now you’re going to talk with us,” Thomas said simply. The bell jingled again as the door closed behind them.
Henry shook his head. “I don’t know anything. The girl was here this morning. I told her to go and clear the snow from the front, but instead of doing her job...” He turned away and headed for the kitchen. “She just left. You try to help some people, and they just turn on you—”
“Mr. Price.” Anger snapped in Noelle’s words.
Henry stopped and glanced back at her. A frown pulled down his brows.
“I don’t know what you think is happening here,” Noelle told him, her voice tight with barely held fury, “but Jenny Tucker’s mother is down at the sheriff’s station right now, her heart breaking because she believes that her daughter was abducted.”
He waved his hand. “She’s a teenager. They’re always trying to cut out of this town and find some adventure.”
“None of her friends believe that she cut out of town. And...other evidence...we have suggests that Jenny could be the potential target of a kidnapper in the area.” She wouldn’t tell him about Jenny matching the physical description of the other victims. They still didn’t know what had become of those victims.
Henry blinked as what could have been worry flashed in his eyes. “I didn’t hear anything. I mean, if someone took her, she would’ve screamed right?”
“Not if she didn’t have the chance.” Thomas’s voice was cold.
Henry’s gaze flew to the door. “The shovel was outside. When I went looking for her, it was propped right on the side of the building. Like she’d just gotten bored, left it there and walked away.”
Thomas took a step forward. “We’re going to need that shovel.”
They’d dust it for prints. Maybe they’d get lucky. If the girl’s abductor had touched it with his bare fingers and the guy was in the system, they could get a hit on his identity.
Henry nodded. “Yeah, yeah...” He turned away once more.
Noelle grabbed his arm. “I need you to think very hard for me. When you went outside and you saw that shovel, did you notice anything else?” Snow had fallen since this morning. By now, it would’ve covered any signs left behind by Jenny and her abductor.
Henry frowned down at her hand. “I don’t... I don’t think so.”
“Were there footprints in the snow?” she pressed. “Any vehicles that didn’t belong?”
His eyes narrowed as he glanced back up at her face. “I think I saw one set of footprints leading toward the parking lot. That’s why I thought it was just Jenny leaving.”
One set. Which would imply Jenny had left on her own. Or else her abductor had carried her off.
“You have any customers here who seem particularly interested in girls around Jenny’s age?” This question came from Thomas.