Rogue Diamond (21 page)

"So, what can you tell from that?"

"Well, his limbs are rather thin. So, we know he's not as chubby as me."
Jose
chuckled. "He's brown-skinned and has dark hair, so he's probably Mexican."

"Oh, that's just great
.
" Alex folded her arms and flopped disgustedly into Nick's chair. "There are only about a million men around here who look like that
.”

“But
only half a mil who are skinny
.
All we have to do is match them up with half a face
.”

“
Shouldn't we start questioning them now? We might find a suspect by the time Jenni's twenty
.
"

"Dammit, Alex!" Nick turned his back and stuffed his hands impotently into his pockets. He stared angrily out the dirty cracked glass of the door. Sure, he could understand her frustrations, but he knew the potential of this lead too.

"Senorita,"
Jose
said gently. "
True, this is not much. Still, i
t's better than nothing."

"Yes," she admitted bitterly. "Better than what we found in Guaymas."

"It gives us a start. We know now that Jenni was taken
by this . . . this
,
how you say, donkey-ass.”

“Jackass.” Nick said. “Jose’s right. Bef
ore
this
, we were only gues
si
ng.
Now
we have a vague idea what her abduct
or looks like.
And probably," Nick said, turning around and approaching the desk again, "probably, Jenni's
involv
ed
in
a baby ring. From the beginning, she was taken for this purpose. Trouble is, the
adop
tions take place in the United States."

"How d
o we know it hasn't already hap
pened?" Alex asked, alarmed. Her large eyes searched his face for the truth.

Nick shrugged his broad shoulders. "We don't. We can only hope."

"Hope? That's not enough!" Alex stood hastily. "We need to get busy. Find out who this bastard is and—"

"What do you suggest? Start with the men on the street?" Nick's eyes flashed angrily.

"No."
Jose
began to stack the photos and pondered the problem as he spoke. "We start with whoever might be able to help us identify half a face."

"The police?" Alex questioned with a frown.

"No!" Nick snapped his fingers as an idea struck. "There is only one who might. Just might. Becau
s
e he knows so many people and faces in this town."

"Padre
Ramon?"
Jose
smiled deter
minedly and nodded.

"You bet
.
He's our closest link. And if he can't
identify this face, maybe he can direct us to someone who can
.
"

"I'm going with you, Nick!" Alex circled the desk.

"No, you aren't," he said firmly. "You go home and get some rest. You may need it later."

"But I want—"

"No,
Alex. I don't expect Father Ramo
n to look at this photo and
name the guy right away. This will
take time."

"But we don't have much time
.” Alex could feel her agitation grow into a knot in her stomach. “
Meanwhile, what happens to Jenni? She may be—"

"Wherever she is, senorita, she's being cared for,"
Jose
inserted gently. "I'm sure of it."

Alex's eyes grew large and sad. "That's what I want to believe, and it's what both of you keep telling me."

"It's as close to the truth as we can get at this time," Nick agreed. "You know I'll be honest with you, Alex. Now, there's nothing more for you to do here. Go home and get some rest." He led her to the door.

"Rest . . . and a new job," she muttered.

He nodded, ti
ght-lipped. "Oh, yes. Your po
si
tion at the univer
si
ty isn't being renewed, is it?"

"How did you know?"

Nick aimed a
thumb over his shoulder. "
Jose
keeps me informed."

"But I just found out last night
.
How could he know?"

Nick raised his hands defen
si
vely. "He has his sources. I don't ask how."

"And I shouldn't ask either," she murmured sardonically. "You've got it."

"You will let
me know if anything else
develops.
"

"Of course." He kissed her lightly. "You'll be the first to know."

"At least in time to play whatever new role you have for me?" She smiled weakly and closed the rickety door behind her.

Email from Hermosillo

To: Carol
W

From: Alex
J

I'm trying to be po
si
tive about everything, and as the British say, k
eep a stiff upper lip. But noth
ing seems to be going right
.
I lost the fight for my job. I refuse to even think about it right now. But I know one thing. I'm not leaving here until I know something about Jenni. Rosemary offered me her spare room. I may con
si
der it.

One bright ray. At least Nick seems to think so. They have a photo of the man who took Jenni. But it isn't a good likeness; more of a profile. They're hoping Father
Ramon
can identify him.

Every day I feel like I'm on the edge of a new discovery
.
And yet Jenni remains out of our reach. I
don’t know how long I can hold out without a job.

Love, Alex

Alex
had purposely left out information
about
the trip to Guaymas with Nick. Her involve
ment with him was still too new and
too puzzling to reveal. And there were all those questions still unanswered. For all Alex knew, she had fallen in love with so
meone on the lam from the Ameri
can police.

Just as she stepped out of the shower, she heard a knock at her door. Thinking it was
Nick with news from Father Ramo
n, she threw on a robe and dashed to the door. Not in her wildest dream did she think her guest would be Jack Kingsley, her former lover.

Alex stood mutely, staring at him.

Then reminders flashed through her mind. Carol
had
mentioned
that he was looking for her
—was it just last week? She had said Jack would be in Hermo
si
llo on bu
si
ness in May and wanted her address. But Jack was the last person she wanted to see right now. She never thought of him anymore when she was lonely, never missed him. When she'd left Phoenix, she never wanted to see him again. Yet here he was, smiling and handsome, arms eagerly opened to greet her.

"Jack! What are you doing here?"
Alex took an involuntary step backward.

"Surely you could come up with something more enthu
si
astic and heartwarming, like 'what a wonderful surprise to see you,' or 'I've missed you like hell,' or—"

"Jack, please. Whatever we had is over. Long, long ago
.
”

"
Come on
, Alex.
Give me a little break here.
" He stood on the threshold with hands still outstretched. "Hey, am I invited in? After all, I did come five hundred miles to see you."

She considered him for a long moment.
"Sure, come on in." She led the way into the living room.

"Hey, this is a n
ice place, Alex," Jack said, as
ses
si
ng the room as he followed her.

She shrugged
. "It'll do. The Univer
si
ty sup
plied it, furnished." There seemed to be no way out of this. Ja
ck was already here and she sup
posed they could talk. But that was all.

"How do yo
u like working south of the bor
der?"

"Loved it, while
it lasted. I lost my job yester
day." Alex smiled wistfully, thinking she should be more upset. Maybe she was still numb.

"How the hell did that happen?"

"Budget cuts due to the economy. Exchange profs were the first to go."

"That's a shame, Alex, especially
si
nce you like it so much here. Can't
fu
lly understand why, though," he said
si
tting down on a loveseat in the living room. "But I must admit, I'll be glad to see you heading back to Phoenix."

"Not right
away," she hedged, lowering her
self into a chair oppo
si
te him. "Maybe by fall."

"I'm sure you can get your old job back at ASU. Or, you just say the word, and I'll get you a job doing something really interesting."

"Really interesting? As if teaching isn't?"

"Well, it isn't dynamic and high-powered."

"I like it," she said
si
mply. She gazed at his handsome chiseled features and sun-bleached blond hair and honestly tried to determine why she had been so attracted to him at one time. He was still quite handsome, especially with that distinguished gray above his ears. Now, though, she felt no phy
si
cal att
raction to him at all, just com
fortable familiarity, as she might feel toward a brother. "Working for the governor, now?" she asked.

"Yeah." He nodded proudly. "No more of this academic stuff for me. Now, it's strictly big time. Powerful po
si
tion."

"Sounds like a good job for you, Jack. Is that why you're h
ere in Hermo
si
llo? Something im
portant?"

"Nothing so important as seeing you again, Alex. And, I must admit, you're as beautiful as ever." His gray eyes softened appreciably.

Alex smiled a faint thank
you. "But you made the trip for other reasons."

"Delegation from the governor," he affirmed. There was a touch of pride in his voice. "We meet tomorrow to discuss contracts with the new Ford plant here, and to see about the viability of a couple of high
-tech plants moving in from Ari
zona. They need industry desperately down here, and it will help our economy too."

She nodded
, warming to his clipped, impor
tant manner. Conversation was easy. After all, she and Jack had spent a year sharing each other's lives. They did it very well. Jack told her how he'd lucked i
nto this job as governor's advis
or and how much he liked it. She could readily see that. And Alex related how she and Rosemary had w
orked on the proposal in a last
ditch effort to save her job. She even showed him the letter she'd received from the pre
si
dent of the Unive
r
si
ty, thanking her for her excellent field work and urging her to con
si
der teaching there again, when they were more solvent.

Jack's hand sought hers. "Let me take you out to eat tonight, Alex.
I really want to talk to you.
"

"Jack, I'm
actually
very tired," she declined, pulling her hand away gently. "I just don't feel like going out tonight."

"Hey, how about if I go out for Chinese food? Remember how we used to love
Thai Fish, hot and spicy
? I even have some Pinot Noir in the car. Good old California wine, Alex? Come on, babe. For old time's sake."

She smiled with a weak-willed submis
si
on.
Thai Fish
did sound good,
along with
a little California wine. "There's a Chinese
restaurant
about four blocks away."

"Atta girl! I'll be right back!"

Alex watched Jack
leave
and realized that he was good company.
Always had been.
He knew all the right questions to ask and seemed genuinely interested in her endeavors. Plu
s, he understood her world, hav
ing worked in a univer
si
ty setting for a number of years in Phoe
nix. She hoped dinner and inter
esting conversation were all he expected tonight. While he was gone, she donned a clean blouse and jeans,
and me
t him at the door still barefoot.