. . . Her heart hurt for him.
“What are you expecting to find?” she asked.
“Josh’s journal. That has to be where he kept the details of his investigation into our birth parents,” he said grimly. “There were no relevant notes on his laptop, which the cops did a forensic examination on, and no file to be found in his room. And, yeah, I know his phone is missing, but no way would he have kept his research notes on that. I bought him a slick hand-held PDA once, and he hated it. He preferred his notebooks and his laptop.”
“He wasn’t much for gadgets, that’s for sure,” Hayden agreed. “I tried to convince him he should buy himself an iPad when I saw all the notebooks he’d filled for work, but he said the only tablets he was interested in were the ones you could write on with a pen or pencil.”
“Exactly. So I’m betting he kept the notes for this personal investigation in a physical notebook. I didn’t come across it when I cleared his things out of his room at the B&B, but I wasn’t thinking straight at the time. I should have looked harder. Josh was private about his personal journals. If they weren’t on him, they were tucked away where prying eyes couldn’t find them.”
“You think he hid it because the information he uncovered was sensitive?”
“Yeah, that too, but I’m pretty sure he’d hide it anyway. Force of habit.” At her lifted eyebrows, he explained, “Years ago I found one of his journals lying around. I teased the hell out of the poor bastard, quoting his deep thoughts back to him. You know, stupid teenage brother ribbing. Oh, man, he was furious. Wouldn’t speak to me for the longest time. He eventually forgave me, but ever since then, if the journal wasn’t on him, he made damned sure it was well hidden.”
“So you’re saying the journal—”
“I think there’s a good chance he hid it in his room.”
CHAPTER 4
Boyd trailed Hayden’s black Subaru Outback through the light evening traffic with ease.
He hadn’t meant to invite her along. Scratch that; he literally hadn’t invited her. But once she’d realized his destination, she’d insisted on accompanying him. It didn’t take a genius to see she was concerned about him. She hadn’t wanted him to face that empty room alone. Now that he’d had a few minutes to think about it, he decided it was a good thing. Hayden knew more about Josh’s life here than anyone else. He needed to keep her close, keep her talking, see what he could learn.
He had a GPS and could find his way back to the B&B on his own, but following a set of taillights was easier. She led him past a rear view of the provincial legislative assembly building and the towering steeple of Christ Church Cathedral. Then it was through the strange, convoluted intersection beneath an underpass that had confused him last time. Hayden didn’t hesitate, though. She’d probably traveled this path dozens and dozens of times.
On his left flowed the Saint John River, flat and black and glistening with the reflected lights of the city. On the right, they passed a series of grand old houses until she signaled and turned into the driveway of one of them.
It was a large circular driveway constructed of paving stones. Boyd didn’t know a lick about architecture, but the house was impressive, in a monstrous yet distinctly feminine sort of way. Victorian, he supposed, as he took in the rambling, asymmetrical shape of the whole, with its steep roof, gabled windows, and wraparound veranda complete with white rounded columns. And, yes, it even had a tower. A round one. Funny, he hadn’t even noticed that on his earlier visit to claim Josh’s stuff.
Instead of drawing up in front of the veranda, which Boyd had done on his visit, Hayden took a side road that sprouted off the driveway. Paved tastefully with crushed rock instead of cobblestones, it led around the house to a parking lot at the rear, also finished with crushed rock.
He parked his rental
“What are you expecting to find?” she asked.
“Josh’s journal. That has to be where he kept the details of his investigation into our birth parents,” he said grimly. “There were no relevant notes on his laptop, which the cops did a forensic examination on, and no file to be found in his room. And, yeah, I know his phone is missing, but no way would he have kept his research notes on that. I bought him a slick hand-held PDA once, and he hated it. He preferred his notebooks and his laptop.”
“He wasn’t much for gadgets, that’s for sure,” Hayden agreed. “I tried to convince him he should buy himself an iPad when I saw all the notebooks he’d filled for work, but he said the only tablets he was interested in were the ones you could write on with a pen or pencil.”
“Exactly. So I’m betting he kept the notes for this personal investigation in a physical notebook. I didn’t come across it when I cleared his things out of his room at the B&B, but I wasn’t thinking straight at the time. I should have looked harder. Josh was private about his personal journals. If they weren’t on him, they were tucked away where prying eyes couldn’t find them.”
“You think he hid it because the information he uncovered was sensitive?”
“Yeah, that too, but I’m pretty sure he’d hide it anyway. Force of habit.” At her lifted eyebrows, he explained, “Years ago I found one of his journals lying around. I teased the hell out of the poor bastard, quoting his deep thoughts back to him. You know, stupid teenage brother ribbing. Oh, man, he was furious. Wouldn’t speak to me for the longest time. He eventually forgave me, but ever since then, if the journal wasn’t on him, he made damned sure it was well hidden.”
“So you’re saying the journal—”
“I think there’s a good chance he hid it in his room.”
CHAPTER 4
Boyd trailed Hayden’s black Subaru Outback through the light evening traffic with ease.
He hadn’t meant to invite her along. Scratch that; he literally hadn’t invited her. But once she’d realized his destination, she’d insisted on accompanying him. It didn’t take a genius to see she was concerned about him. She hadn’t wanted him to face that empty room alone. Now that he’d had a few minutes to think about it, he decided it was a good thing. Hayden knew more about Josh’s life here than anyone else. He needed to keep her close, keep her talking, see what he could learn.
He had a GPS and could find his way back to the B&B on his own, but following a set of taillights was easier. She led him past a rear view of the provincial legislative assembly building and the towering steeple of Christ Church Cathedral. Then it was through the strange, convoluted intersection beneath an underpass that had confused him last time. Hayden didn’t hesitate, though. She’d probably traveled this path dozens and dozens of times.
On his left flowed the Saint John River, flat and black and glistening with the reflected lights of the city. On the right, they passed a series of grand old houses until she signaled and turned into the driveway of one of them.
It was a large circular driveway constructed of paving stones. Boyd didn’t know a lick about architecture, but the house was impressive, in a monstrous yet distinctly feminine sort of way. Victorian, he supposed, as he took in the rambling, asymmetrical shape of the whole, with its steep roof, gabled windows, and wraparound veranda complete with white rounded columns. And, yes, it even had a tower. A round one. Funny, he hadn’t even noticed that on his earlier visit to claim Josh’s stuff.
Instead of drawing up in front of the veranda, which Boyd had done on his visit, Hayden took a side road that sprouted off the driveway. Paved tastefully with crushed rock instead of cobblestones, it led around the house to a parking lot at the rear, also finished with crushed rock.
He parked his rental
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