The Gunny & The Jazz Singer (Birchwood Falls #1) by Jane Leopold Quinn

it? You look
pretty ragged."
    "I have to." She waved
her hand. "The show must go on, you know."
    "Come back to my house later
and take a nap then. I'll get back as soon as I can."
    "Oh, no…" She backed up,
shaking her head.
    "Phoebe, please do it. I need
to know you're okay." He took her in his arms and cradled her head against
his shoulder. "What happened to you last night was for shit."
    She looked up at him, heat filling
her eyes. "Not all of it."
    He covered her lips with his but
kept it gentle. "I'm trying to keep my sanity, sweetheart. You've been
through hell. I can make you forget about it, but that would be taking unfair
advantage."
    She slumped against him, nodding.
    "Why don't you call the store
and say you can't go in?"
    "No. I'll just come home
early."
    "And go to my house?"
    After a moment she finally agreed. "Okay,
you win."
    That was good enough for him, so he
stalked back to his own house, showered, shaved, and headed out to the coroner's
office hoping they'd discovered the whereabouts of the blood test results.
    ***
    "Mr. Rahn, I'm sorry, but they're
missing. The log shows the file was checked out to the police department two
years ago but never signed back in."
    "Is that usual?" He tried
to keep his temper in check.
    "No, but having a signature on
file keeps the chain of custody straight."
    "What's the name? Can I see
it?" He peered at the handwriting. It looked obviously obscured, just a
scrawl, impossible to make out a name. He had his suspicions but certainly
wouldn't voice them here. He couldn't be sure of the coroner's loyalties or who
his friends were. The Wilcox name stretched all over town, even more now than
it had eight years ago.
    After being assured fairly
reasonably he'd get no more information here, he decided his next move would be
another branch of the city government—the prosecuting attorney's office.
    Much to his surprise when he
called, he was transferred to Moira Logan, Phoebe's friend from the nightclub.
He asked if they could meet somewhere besides the courthouse, not wanting Butch
to have a clue as to what he was up to. Ollie's was the least likely place for
Butch to see them, and Moira agreed to meet him there when they opened at noon.
    Having bought new locks for Phoebe
and still having some time to kill, he decided to drive out to his old stomping
grounds, B Falls High School. Myriad emotions and memories assailed him as he
walked through the front doors.
    At the time, he couldn't wait to
get out of there. He hadn't expected the tightening of his stomach at first,
seeing the empty halls, smelling the unmistakable scents of frying meat for
beef-burger day, the stink of well-worn socks and gym shoes.
    His eyes welled up at the memories
of fun days before the accident turned his life upside down. He'd hated
everything about the town after that. In his grief, he hadn't been able to
distinguish between good times and the pain he'd been in.
    He resented every laugh of his
friends, every pitying smile of teachers and coaches. He didn't want their
sympathy. He wanted his parents and his life back. He'd made a new life for
himself now, had run away from B Falls to do it, but he still wanted his
parents back.
    The bell rang, as sharp and loud as
he'd remembered it. Kids burst from classrooms. He backed to the wall to watch
them, and they acted remarkably like he and his classmates had. Jabbering
quickly to each other as if they weren't able to impart information or couldn't
flirt enough at that moment, all would be lost. His mind went back, and it felt
like he'd never left.
    He heard his name called.
    "Rahn?"
    Turning his head, he spotted Mike
Banning headed toward him. Another wave of déjà vu. It was almost too much, but
he wasn't ready to cry uncle yet.
    "Mike." They shook hands.
    "Checking on your old haunts?"
    "Guess so. It doesn't seem to
have changed does it?"
    Mike laughed. "Not much. Why
don't you come into my room for a few minutes and meet some of the kids. I can
brag that I