Jordan’s expression told him sharing feelings was about as pleasant as walking on broken glass. If anyone understood that one, he did. “Jordan, thanks for the update. And Avery, appreciate the conversation.”

“What’s next?” Jordan asked.

“The uniforms have rounded up surveillance tape from the hospital. The hope is to see Emma Powers and whoever she spoke to.”

“I wish I could help,” Jordan said.

“You’ve been a big help,” Spencer said.

“And I’m ready to pee on a stick anytime,” Avery quipped.

“Good to know,” he said.

“I’ll walk you out.” Rising, Jordan reached for her cane and moved around the island to join him. As he crossed through the great room, he glanced toward the mantel and saw Tammy Fox’s paintings. He wondered if that was what it had been like in Vickie’s mind—dark and disturbing.

Jordan opened the front door. “That turned into a family-airing-our-dirty-laundry kind of moment.”

“Every family has it.”

“You talked a little about Vickie. What about brothers and sisters?”

“Two younger brothers. One is a lawyer, and the other is in med school. I’m the black sheep,” he joked.

“And your folks?”

“Both passed. A decade ago. Cancer, heart disease. Since our folks died, the Spencer boys have scattered to the wind.” When his parents were ill, he had been in the throes of dealing with Vickie’s drug problem. His brothers had seen what it was doing to him, tried to get him to leave her, and they had fought. If he could go back, he wondered if he would have done it differently.

He was not sure why he was sharing his personal résumé with her. In fact, he made it a habit not to share much about himself.

“You’ll have to step up your game if you want to compete with the Poe family.”

He chuckled.

“I’ll see you at the medical examiner’s office in the morning,” Jordan said.

“I can pick you up.”

“Avery can drive me.”

“Fair enough.” The urge to touch her was strong. If she could see, he might have. But it felt wrong. “Until tomorrow, Detective Poe.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Friday, April 23

6:00 a.m.

Waking up was turning into a daily disappointment for Jordan. Her dreams were filled with familiar faces, the vivid colors of everyday life, and the rolling landscapes of the Texas Hill Country she loved to take in on long drives.

However, when her eyes opened to shadows, hope and optimism stripped away, exposing the real fear she would never get her old life back. Tears brimmed in her eyes, and all she wanted to do was pull the covers over her head and cry.

“You can’t,” she said. “You can’t give up. Not now.”