Chapter Two

Watching the Clock

Lu impatiently tapped a pencil on her desk as she glanced up at the clock one more time. Ten. Ten as in a.m. Ten as in the morning.

Two hours after eight. Eight as in a.m. Eight as in the morning. As in the time when work started. As in the time when Woodrow Wilson Hoyt was supposed to either be seated at his desk or in his car out on a call.

Instead his desk was empty and his Boston PD-issued detective vehicle was still parked in its appropriated slot.

She had tried not to notice. As a matter of fact, Lu had tried not to notice a lot of things about Woody since he told her that they were through a few days ago. Like how dark blue his eyes got when he was angry. Or the broadness of his shoulders.

But mainly she tried to ignore the completely lost look that would creep across his face when confronted with the fact that he could lose Jordan forever.

Jordan.

Lu's lips turned down at the thought of the woman. As a ME, Jordan Cavanaugh was in a class by herself. Dedicated. Driven to find the truth. Finding evidence that other ME's might routinely overlook. Every homicide detective with the Boston PD wanted Dr. Cavanaugh on their side, because heaven help you if she wasn't.

As a woman, Jordan remained in a class by herself. Leggy. Brunette. Smart. Street-savvy. Independent as hell. Beautiful. Curvy. Feminine competition of the highest caliber.

The apple of Woody's eye and the owner of his heart, if the truth be told. Positions that at one time Lu thought she could fill, but soon realized she never stood a chance to plug that Jordan-sized hole in Woody's soul. So Lu admitted defeat, though not without somewhat of a fight.

But the minute Jordan had gone missing, Lu threw in the proverbial towel. There was somewhat a look of panic that spread across Woody's face…and then he completely shut Lu down and pushed her out of his life. They really hadn't spoken since Woody told her he would not help her put an innocent woman in jail.

Then the bartender from Lily's wedding turned up dead. Woody had answered that call. It was his case and he wouldn't link it with Lu's until Jordan's fingerprint turned up on the dead man's jacket.

And then Jordan turned up missing. For a fleeting moment, Lu thought that Woody may have had something to do with her disappearance, but he had an iron-clad alibi. He was at the precinct. Then he took this call. He and Jordan hadn't talked in 24-hours. Phone records…personal and private…had cemented his story.

She glanced up at the clock once again. Eleven. It was now eleven o'clock. Three hours since he should have been at the precinct. Reluctantly, anxiously, somewhat nervously, she flipped open her Nextel and tried radioing him. Nothing. Pushing her blonde hair behind her left ear, she hit three on speed dial to reach him by cell phone.

Nothing.

Tap, tap, tap…the pencil was hitting the desk again in nervous agitation. With all the emotional turmoil that Jordan's leaving had caused, maybe Woody was sleeping in a few hours…trying to regroup a little and get a better emotional toehold in this slippery mess. Four on speed dial – his apartment. "Hey…this is Woody. You know what to do…BEEEEEEPPPPPP." His voice mail.

"Woody….this is Lu…you're late and we were worried. When you get this, give me a call…."

Determinedly, Lu tried to push him out of her mind as she reached for a stack of files she needed to wade through and sign off on. By the time she was finished, the clock read 11:30. Still no call. Turning to her computer she pulled up the court schedule. Maybe he was supposed to testify today. Maybe he had to give a deposition. Anxiously, she scanned the rosters. No. His name wasn't listed anywhere.

Eleven forty-five. Maybe he was at the morgue discussing evidence with Nigel or Dr. Macy.

Or maybe he was talking about her, reliving old memories. Revisiting old dreams. Trying to piece together where she was at and why. Now too edgy to stay at her desk, she walked quickly over to the morgue. She knew she wasn't welcomed there any longer, a fact that had swiftly been made known to her the minute she and Woody had started dating. But the knot in her gut told her that any discomfort she had about facing any of the morgue staff would have to be set aside until she nailed down Hoyt's whereabouts.

"Nigel…have you seen Woody?" The lanky criminalist was the first morgue staff she encountered as the elevators opened and she stepped out.

"Woody….no. Not since…the day before yesterday."

"You're sure?"

"I believe I am. Yes. We were going over the evidence of the Sorkinson case…."

"You're positive?"

"Yes, love. I am. What's the rush?"

"I need to speak to Detective Hoyt and can't seem to locate him."

"So you thought he would be here." Nigel folded his arms defensively across his chest. "Why?"

Lu eyed him warily. "You know damn well why."

"Jordan's not here. Now you're welcome to have a look around and see if Detective Hoyt is here now or been here this morning. I haven't seen him."

"And I doubt anyone else here would tell me if they had seen him, either."

Nigel didn't reply, just continued to hold Lu's gaze, which quickly dropped as she turned on her heel and strode down the halls, looking in autopsy and trace for a sign of the blue-eyed detective. A quick search, but one that turned up nothing. And Jordan's old office was locked and the lights were off. But a peek through the window told her that it was just as devoid of Woody's presence as the rest of the morgue.

The knot in her stomach tightened. Going back to her office, she flipped back on her computer and punched in a code, engaging the GPS on Woody's cell phone. A few seconds later she knew where the phone was at, but instead of answering questions, it just made her scratch her head harder.

His apartment. His freakin' cell phone was at his apartment.

Nearly blind now with a mixture of worry and almost-anger, she drove to his apartment. Maybe he was sick and couldn't get to the phone. Maybe he was hurt. Maybe the same people that had supposedly gotten to JD had gotten to him…maybe Jordan was innocent.….She pulled a key out of her purse that Woody had given her to his place…it seemed like years ago, but in reality, it was less than a month.

She held her breath as the door swung open.

Neat. Clean. No sign of any foul play.

No sign of Woody either.

Abruptly she turned and left the living room, nearly running to get to his bedroom. She didn't even glance at the bed. She knew he wasn't there. Instead she threw open the closet door.

His duffle bag was gone. And some clothes. A peek in the bathroom…no razor, no shaving cream, no electric toothbrush. Panic began to seep through her bones. She returned to the living room and jerked open the top drawer of his desk, moving things around until she could reach in the back to where she knew he kept a small box with his passport in it.

It was gone.

But his laptop was still there. A few quick strokes and some luck with a password or two and she was soon checking his bank accounts. One thousand dollars was withdrawn four days ago. And another thousand yesterday.

Cold rage filled her. Whether it was because Woody's loyalty was now hitting her with icy reality or because Lu now fully knew she had been used, she wasn't sure. She was only aware that she flipped her cell phone back open and pushed two. She had thought about returning to Virginia as soon as she caught JD's murder case. She knew it would get messy and nasty – personally and professionally – as soon as she knew that the gun that had been used to shoot JD had been found in Jordan's hand. And emotionally, she wasn't sure she could handle it. Going back home had seen like a nice option.

But not now. Now she was angry. Angry, hurt, and betrayed. Not only did Woody know where Jordan was, he had helped her get there. Not only did Woody help her get there, but now he was going to her to help her even further. Now Jordan was not only in the bull's eye, but so was…

"I need to put an APB out on Hoyt," Lu told Rene' Walcott, as soon as the DA answered her phone. "He's missing, and presumed to be aiding and abetting a fugitive….."

"That's a strong accusation, Detective. Are you sure?"

"Positive. He's not in court, or at the precinct. He's not out on a call. His radio and cell phone are in his apartment. His suitcase and passport are gone. And two thousand dollars has been withdrawn from his savings account this week."

At the other end of the phone, Rene' sighed deeply. She liked Hoyt. He was one of the few truly good and honest men left in Boston. He and Jordan had been playing cat and mouse with each other's hearts for as long as she could remember.

But this was no game and Hoyt knew that. He knew the odds and was aware of the risks and consequences when he followed Jordan out of town.

Which to Rene' meant one of two things. Either Woody loved the woman enough to bear the burden of a long jail term when caught.

Or he was totally convinced of Jordan's innocence. And Hoyt maybe in love with the woman, but he wasn't stupid. If he was convinced that Jordan had done it, even accidentally, he would not have encouraged her to leave Boston.

Hell, Jordan wouldn't have left herself.

Rene ran her fingers through her hair. "Okay," she finally answered, a heavy tone in her voice. "Get the APB out. Get a search on for Hoyt's personal car. Set up road blocks. Have people check the airports, cab companies, Amtrak, the T…"

"I'm on it."

"And Lu?"

"Yes?"

"There is no shoot to kill order here. Just….just bring them home. Alive and with no bullet holes."