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glamorous. Beautiful.” Brinley shifted in the chair and stared out of the front window, avoiding his gaze. “Mom and Dad weren’t being mean or anything. They were telling it like it is. Dan was a great athlete and got a college scholarship. Dawn won pageants. I just didn’t do anything special. I lead a pretty quiet, unremarkable life if you want to know the truth.”
    Jason had hidden scars he didn’t talk about but so did Brinley. Very different than his own but still painful. She was carrying around baggage she should had thrown off long ago.
    “First, I think you look terrific. Very pretty. Any man would be proud to have you on his arm.” He squeezed her fingers reassuringly and she finally turned back to him, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. There was a soft gratefulness in her gaze that made him want to enfold her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay. “Second, I don’t think you can call your life ordinary or unremarkable any longer. A man died last night with your address in his hand. That’s not something that happens every day.”
    A slow smile crossed her face and she actually began to laugh. “I never thought about it that way. I guess that is rare, or at least I hope it is for the sake of others. You have a great ability to see situations from an alternative angle. Did anyone ever tell you that?”
    Once or twice.
    “Thank you. When this is all over you’ll have a great story to tell your family. They won’t think you’re ordinary anymore.”
    Brinley rested her chin in her palm, looking contemplative, but happier than she had a few minutes ago.
    “I do have more than my share of common sense.”
    “Good,” he said briskly as his phone began to vibrate. “We’re going to need every bit of it. That’s how cases are solved, you know. Hard work and common sense.”
    He didn’t give her a chance to respond, instead answering his cell. It was his brother West.
    “How’s it going? Any news?”
    “You have terrible phone manners,” West chided. “Didn’t Mom teach you to say ‘hello’?”
    “Okay, we’ll do it like that. Hello?”
    His brother was busting his balls and Jason didn’t have much patience with it.
    “That’s better. I do have some news, actually. I talked to the brother and informed him of Roger Gaines’s death. He’s agreed to talk to us this afternoon. I’m still tied up with the other murder case plus another meeting with the mayor. That man is a menace to this town. Election time can’t come soon enough. Is there any way you can make the trip?”
    It was about two hours away but if they left right now they’d be there midday. Especially the way Jason drove. There were some moments like this where he really missed having a helicopter at his disposal.
    “I don’t suppose you have a pen in that thing?” He gestured toward Brinley’s oversized purse. It was more like an overnight bag. He couldn’t imagine what she needed with something that big.
    She nodded and dug deep into the recesses of the leather purse, pulling out a pen triumphantly and holding it up. Snagging it from her fingers, he jotted down the name and address on a napkin.
    “Thanks, West. I’ll call you when we’re done.”
    He hung up and handed the pen back, tucking the napkin into his shirt pocket. “Are you ready for more work?”
    She nodded eagerly, her hazel eyes sparkling. “Absolutely. Where to next?”
    He dug a few bills out of his wallet and tossed them on the table, waving away her own attempt to help pay the check. It wasn’t a date but Jason was old-fashioned about things like who paid or who opened the door.
    “Billings. We’re going to talk to Roger Gaines’s older brother.” He checked himself. “Wait, I meant I am going to talk and you are going to sit there quietly and listen. How does that sound?”
    Her full pink lips drooped with disappointment. “Typical. It sounds typical. But I’ll be like a quiet little mouse. You won’t even know