would grow out and got me a hat to wear until it did.”
Her words echoed back to her. Startled, she stared at Tom. Her tone changed abruptly. “How did you do that?” she asked.
“Do what?”
It was too late to pull back. The damage had been done. She’d let him see her vulnerable side. “How did you manage to wheedle that out of me?”
“I didn’t wheedle anything,” he told her calmly. “I just listened to you talk.” His eyes were kind as they held hers. “You were the one who volunteered all that information. I didn’t twist your arm.”
Kait pressed her lips together. She wasn’t about to beg, and she knew that a threat was out of place here. Annoyed and flustered with herself, all she could do was appeal to his sense of honor.
“I’d appreciate it if you kept what I just told you to yourself.”
She was lucky that LaGuardia hadn’t been within earshot, Tom thought. The other man had a terrible penchant for not being able to keep secrets.
“Wasn’t planning on having it pop up on my Facebook page.”
Her eyes widened.
“I’m just kidding.” Tom bit his lower lip as he struggled not to laugh at the look on her face. “I was just being flippant.” He looked at her pointedly. “It’s a habit I seemed to have picked up just recently.”
Kait released the breath she’d been holding. “Point taken.” And then she mumbled a near inaudible, “Thanks,” before asking him in a louder voice, “So now what do we do?”
“We go back to the fake driver’s license and take the photo we found there down to the tech lab to see if they can match it up with a face that is actually on a real California driver’s license.” Turning his monitor and the ancient VCR off, Tom rose to his feet.
Kait was already moving toward the door.
When she opened it, she was forced to squint at the brightness of the light coming in from the hall. She held her hand up before her eyes to help.
“I had no idea the lights in the hall were so bright.” Very slowly, she raised her eyelids, trying to acclimate herself to the light.
“Now I know how that gopher feels, popping his head out of that hole in February,” Tom commented. He closed the door to the windowless room behind him.
“Groundhog,” she corrected, wishing she’d thought to bring her sunglasses with her.
The word had been half grunted, half mumbled. He wasn’t sure he’d heard her right. “What?”
“It’s a groundhog, not a gopher,” she told him, enunciating more clearly. “That’s why it’s called ‘Groundhog Day,’ not ‘Gopher Day.’”
He inclined his head, accepting her correction. He had a feeling she didn’t tolerate being wrong. The woman was undoubtedly very hard on herself. “I stand corrected.”
She slanted a look at his face, trying to discern if he was having fun at her expense. Apart from Ronald and his wife, forming any sort of a relationship had always been difficult for her.
“You’re humoring me, aren’t you?” she asked suspiciously.
“I doubt if that’s possible.” He had a feeling she handed people their heads for that, because she probably took it as their making jokes at her expense. “What I was just doing was admitting that I was wrong. I do that on occasion,” he told her. “If I’m wrong,” he underscored. Then, changing the subject, he urged, “C’mon, the sooner we get someone started on that facial-recognition program, the sooner we might come up with an actual name for this guy.”
The fact that they hadn’t already taken the fake copy with its fuzzy photograph to the lab was on her, Kait thought, annoyed with herself. She’d held off because she’d hoped they would come up with a clearer, more focused photograph than the overexposed one that the rental agency had copied for their files.
“Yeah,” she agreed, lengthening her stride to keep up with the detective again. “I’ve already wasted too much precious time.”
She fervently prayed that this play for time
Her words echoed back to her. Startled, she stared at Tom. Her tone changed abruptly. “How did you do that?” she asked.
“Do what?”
It was too late to pull back. The damage had been done. She’d let him see her vulnerable side. “How did you manage to wheedle that out of me?”
“I didn’t wheedle anything,” he told her calmly. “I just listened to you talk.” His eyes were kind as they held hers. “You were the one who volunteered all that information. I didn’t twist your arm.”
Kait pressed her lips together. She wasn’t about to beg, and she knew that a threat was out of place here. Annoyed and flustered with herself, all she could do was appeal to his sense of honor.
“I’d appreciate it if you kept what I just told you to yourself.”
She was lucky that LaGuardia hadn’t been within earshot, Tom thought. The other man had a terrible penchant for not being able to keep secrets.
“Wasn’t planning on having it pop up on my Facebook page.”
Her eyes widened.
“I’m just kidding.” Tom bit his lower lip as he struggled not to laugh at the look on her face. “I was just being flippant.” He looked at her pointedly. “It’s a habit I seemed to have picked up just recently.”
Kait released the breath she’d been holding. “Point taken.” And then she mumbled a near inaudible, “Thanks,” before asking him in a louder voice, “So now what do we do?”
“We go back to the fake driver’s license and take the photo we found there down to the tech lab to see if they can match it up with a face that is actually on a real California driver’s license.” Turning his monitor and the ancient VCR off, Tom rose to his feet.
Kait was already moving toward the door.
When she opened it, she was forced to squint at the brightness of the light coming in from the hall. She held her hand up before her eyes to help.
“I had no idea the lights in the hall were so bright.” Very slowly, she raised her eyelids, trying to acclimate herself to the light.
“Now I know how that gopher feels, popping his head out of that hole in February,” Tom commented. He closed the door to the windowless room behind him.
“Groundhog,” she corrected, wishing she’d thought to bring her sunglasses with her.
The word had been half grunted, half mumbled. He wasn’t sure he’d heard her right. “What?”
“It’s a groundhog, not a gopher,” she told him, enunciating more clearly. “That’s why it’s called ‘Groundhog Day,’ not ‘Gopher Day.’”
He inclined his head, accepting her correction. He had a feeling she didn’t tolerate being wrong. The woman was undoubtedly very hard on herself. “I stand corrected.”
She slanted a look at his face, trying to discern if he was having fun at her expense. Apart from Ronald and his wife, forming any sort of a relationship had always been difficult for her.
“You’re humoring me, aren’t you?” she asked suspiciously.
“I doubt if that’s possible.” He had a feeling she handed people their heads for that, because she probably took it as their making jokes at her expense. “What I was just doing was admitting that I was wrong. I do that on occasion,” he told her. “If I’m wrong,” he underscored. Then, changing the subject, he urged, “C’mon, the sooner we get someone started on that facial-recognition program, the sooner we might come up with an actual name for this guy.”
The fact that they hadn’t already taken the fake copy with its fuzzy photograph to the lab was on her, Kait thought, annoyed with herself. She’d held off because she’d hoped they would come up with a clearer, more focused photograph than the overexposed one that the rental agency had copied for their files.
“Yeah,” she agreed, lengthening her stride to keep up with the detective again. “I’ve already wasted too much precious time.”
She fervently prayed that this play for time
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