Cold Case Witness. Sarah Varland

like this, yes.” He spoke the words to answer her question and also to remind himself. Putting aside a long list of other reasons he shouldn’t be noticing now attractive she was. He needed to focus on work right now. Matt had wanted to be a police officer since the first day he remembered meeting one. He’d been five, maybe six, and an officer on patrol had found him up in a tree and bought him a Happy Meal when Matt had told him he didn’t know where his parents were right then.

      That was the day he’d decided what he wanted to do with the rest of his life; the day he’d decided what he needed to do to really matter. To be somebody.

      “I saw more officers with you at the crime scene today.”

      So she’d noticed them as he’d seen her running away earlier in the day. Matt nodded.

      “Did they find anything?”

      “I thought we already talked about how you aren’t law enforcement?”

      She was the last civilian it would be appropriate to discuss this case with. It wasn’t against department rules, specifically, to discuss cases, but officers were expected to use common sense and their training to make wise choices.

      “It’s late anyway.” It was a lame excuse to get her out of his house, hopefully out of his head, but it was all he had.

      Gemma’s smile lifted slightly. “So you don’t like to be on the other end of the questions. Interesting, I’ll remember that.”

      The hint of teasing in her tone, the friendliness there, made it even harder not to trust her. Shouldn’t he tell her what Shiloh had discovered, or rather, not discovered? Really, out of everyone she had the most right to know.

      Then Matt pictured Lieutenant Davies, the smug smile that would be on the other man’s face if the chief took this case from Matt and gave it to him. He couldn’t let that happen, couldn’t get stuck working patrol for the rest of his life. Matt was more than just a guy filling a uniform, driving a car with lights and sirens and making sure no one vandalized a construction site.

      He was a cop down to his core. An investigator. Someone capable of helping bring justice when it mattered.

      He just needed everyone else to see it, too, needed Treasure Point to see him for something other than his father’s son. This was his only chance at proving himself.

      And even though he’d been wrestling with attraction only minutes before, what Matt felt now was different. Beautiful as she was, all he could see in Gemma at this moment was her potential to destroy everything he’d worked for.

      When he didn’t respond to her, he saw her face fall slightly. With the night she’d had, he felt a hint of guilt for his sudden lack of friendliness, but he pushed it away. “I suppose you’re right. I’m not big into questions.” He made a show of glancing at his watch, not noticing what it said. “But it’s getting late. You’d better head home.”

      She nodded. “Claire is probably worried even though I told her I was fine.”

      “Was that her who texted earlier?”

      “I’m not sure. I didn’t check.” Gemma slipped her phone out of her purse and read the message.

      Then dropped it into her lap.

      “Your sister? Everything okay?”

      She just shook her head. He noticed her hands were shaking as she reached to pick the phone up, then handed it to him.

      He took it from her, a frown already spreading across his own face. For someone who’d been so brave all day, the thought that a text could scare her this badly...

      Then he read it.

      He doesn’t believe you. None of them do. I win.