Alliance – Chapter 9

The day was a long one for Jackson.  After Dinsley gave him the quick overview on the Raptor case, he proceeded to produce every case file for Jackson to read.  By six o’clock he’d read almost all of the material and decided that he had learned enough for one day.  If Raptor hadn’t struck in over two years, one more night was definitely not going to make much of a difference.

Besides, he was still pissed off that his first assignment was a cold case…

Traffic was light and Jackson made it to the Collin County Prosecutor’s office in less than an hour, which was excellent time for Dallas traffic.  He knew Jenna was keeping unusually late hours over the last few weeks and figured she would still be there.  At least, he hoped she would since she hadn’t returned any of his calls over the last week.

Jenna Monroe, the woman Jackson loved and the woman who still did not trust him, was sitting at her desk, engrossed in a file she was reading when he arrived.  It struck him as odd that, though she changed very little in appearance since he first met her the previous September, things had changed between them so markedly.  Her eyes were a deep brown, taking in everything she looked at.  Her hair was the color of a chocolate bar and Jackson remembered it always smelled as sweet.  As he watched her from the doorway, he couldn’t help but hope she would soon be able to forgive him for everything that had gone on before.

Jenna glanced up to meet his gaze and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.  “How long were you going to stand there before you said something, Jackson?  So far, I have you clocked at five minutes.”

“You looked intent on what you were reading and I didn’t want to bother you,” he replied as he entered the room.

“Don’t worry.  I could really use a distraction right now.  Trista left over an hour ago and I’ve actually gotten to work since then.  I think I’m probably about to cut out anyway.”

“Do you want to grab a bite to eat?” Jackson asked, hopeful.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Oh.”

The look in Jenna’s eyes softened at his obvious disappointment. “What brought you by, anyway?”

“Business, actually,” he lied.  “I’ve been assigned to a case that’s two years old and was never closed.  Do you remember hearing anything about a robbery at First Alliance Bank and Trust?”

Jenna bit her lip in thought. “The location in Frisco?”

“Yes.”

“I think that happened about the time I was moving back from Boston.  I remember hearing something about it, but I was hardly in the frame of mind to retain facts.  All I remember is that a customer was killed.”

Jackson nodded.  “That’s the one.  Oh, well.  I guess I’ll let you get back to what you’re doing so you can get out of here.”

“If you want, I can look in our archives tomorrow and see if we have anything on it.  You would be the one who had jurisdiction, but I’m sure we have some record since Frisco is in our county.”

“That would be nice.  Thanks, Jenna,” Jackson said, before turning to leave.

“You realize this means you’ll owe me dinner if I find anything out for you.”

“I think I can manage that,” Jackson said as he fled her small office.

He just hoped she hadn’t seen the huge smile her comment triggered. Was it wishful thinking or was there something sly in her tone? Either way, this might be the signal from her he’d been waiting months to get.

Continue reading…

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