LITMIR.BIZ

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of him.

      Owen squinted up at all the diplomas and certificates hanging on the wall. There were a lot of letters after Miriam Hunter’s name. He couldn’t fathom how she’d achieved such great success. He didn’t dare hope the same for Cole.

      “I still think you should report these pranks,” Nick signed quickly.

      “Chasing pranks is not important right now.” Miriam signed back. “Finding a drug supplier is.”

      “But what if they’re related? What if this is more than an upset islander who thinks you shouldn’t have this job?”

      Owen tuned in to see what she thought about Nick’s idea. Owen thought he was onto something. The only thing he caught was a spark of anger from Miriam Hunter’s eyes. She apparently didn’t like the idea of people thinking she wasn’t worthy of her position. But come on, Owen scoffed. A deaf principal for a hearing school? She couldn’t possibly do the job right.

      “I think you should take that tour now,” she signed with pinched lips. Nick’s about-face out of the room made it clear the person in charge around here was Miriam Hunter. Her authoritative expression reminded Owen of his own adolescence spent in the principal’s office.

      But he had to wonder if her bravado was a cover-up for the fear he’d witnessed when she’d received that call. He hadn’t missed the pasty hue that had marred her smooth complexion. Miriam Hunter feared someone or something. But why keep it from the police?

      Unless she worried alerting them would bring something else to light.

      Owen followed Nick and Wes and watched them take a left out into the hall. As Owen passed by the secretary’s desk, he called out, “Give me a second, guys.” He approached the desk. “Stephanie, right?”

      “Yup. Can I help you?”

      “Do you have a notepad I could use?”

      “Sure.” She pulled a pen from behind her multi-ringed ear and a notepad from her drawer. “Here you go.”

      Owen scrawled out a message for Ms. Hunter on the notepad and tore it off. The note included his cell phone number as well as an invitation to meet later to discuss how they could work together on the case. Buddying up might get her to open up, even if they had to spend the night writing everything down.

      He stepped to the open door of her office. She had her back to him. Her folded arms pulled the back of her pale blue suit coat tight. She faced the window, looking out at the distant horizon of endless water beyond the rows of the fiery foliage. For a moment, her profile came into view. He could see her worrying on her lower lip.

      Knocking would do nothing to alert her to his presence. Again he wondered how a deaf person qualified for a job such as this, and he thought of the prank call he’d witnessed. It very well could have been someone who thought her disability inhibited her from doing an adequate job.

      Owen thought of his son and of his future limitations because of his deafness. Owen had to agree with the prank caller. He couldn’t see how Ms. Hunter could perform her duties adequately. She obviously had the ability to fool a lot of people to get her position.

      He stepped to her side, causing her to flinch. For a split second, Owen caught a glimpse of fear in her eyes. It retreated as quickly as the tide, leaving nothing but sparkles of wonder behind.

      He’d never seen anyone so expressive before. She gave an elegant tilt of her head and an encouraging smile, and he could tell she was asking him what he wanted, even though she said not a word.

      Owen handed her the paper, at a loss for words himself. A full smile blossomed on her face as she read the note. He wasn’t expecting to see such joy—or to undergo the effects it seemed to have on him. His invite wasn’t meant to make her happy, but for some reason he was glad it did.

      A slender hand reached out toward him with graceful fluidity. It took him a second to realize she meant to touch him. Her hand landed with a slight squeeze on the arms he crossed at his chest. So much for a barrier. Alarm bells rang through his mind. Her touch felt like a branding iron leaving its mark on him. Owen belonged to no one. He couldn’t. Not anymore.

      He stepped back and gestured to the note. “Tonight,” he said clearly, demanding that she read his lips and his body language.

      She nodded as her countenance slipped to the same stunned look she’d had when she’d received the crank call. Good. She read him loud and clear. Let’s hope she didn’t forget it so easily.

      Unlike Owen who could feel himself forgetting his punishment with each expressive thought she displayed on her upturned face. Her pale beauty and endearing freckles sprinkled across her cheeks made him think of sandy beaches on summer days. Her gray eyes washed over him with each cleansing bat of her lashes fooling him into thinking his sins could be washed away so easily.

      Owen headed for the exit with quick steps. Speed became critical. He needed to close this case and get off this island before the charmingly beautiful principal made him forget his reason for being there.

      Before Miriam Hunter made him forget his punishment permanently.

      * * *

      Lord, have you sent Owen Matthews to help me get to the bottom of the drug issue, or is he here to make me leave, too?

      Perhaps she would have figured out by now who had placed the bag of marijuana on her desk if it weren’t for people trying to scare her away. She felt the edges of her lips bend down and pressed them hard to rein in her emotions. Regardless of what the islanders thought, she cared about these kids and this school. And even this town.

      Miriam straightened, breathing deeply. And whether they liked it or not, she wasn’t leaving.

      Not even for her dark-haired rescuer.

      Miriam reread Agent Matthews’s note. He wanted to work together. The idea of the two of them working side by side conjured up romantic images of late-night dinner meetings.

      Stop it! This is serious, she told herself.

      She blinked hard to get her mind back on track. Agent Matthews wanted to meet tonight. Should she cook? Or should they go to a more public place? The topic of discussion needed to be kept private from overhearing ears.

      Miriam had an overwhelming urge to make her lemon chicken dish. She’d wanted to serve that since she’d come to the island. The thought of having her first guest elicited a spark of excitement. Of course, she never thought it would take this long, or that the first guest to sit at her table would be a DEA agent.

      And a very handsome one at that.

      Her hand still tingled where she’d laid it on his forearm. The sensation had surprised her, but it was the yearning to touch him again that really threw her. Maybe working together wasn’t such a good idea after all. I should do this on my own. I can’t be losing my focus whenever Agent Matthews shows up. I might as well pack my bags and buy a ticket for the next ferry.

      Not willing to give up just yet, Miriam opened her top desk drawer and tossed the note in with the three other notes she’d recently received. She noticed how they were all written on yellow legal paper.

      Agent Matthews’s note didn’t tell her to leave the island like the others, but she wondered if they all came from the same pad...and the same desk.

      Stephanie’s desk.

      Miriam instantly disregarded that idea. Most likely every teacher in the building had oodles of these pads lying on their desks for someone to tear a sheet from. Following this line of reasoning sure wouldn’t identify her threatening pen pal anytime soon.

      Miriam reached for a student’s file from the top of the pile on her desk. She’d been poring over any and all documented details about each student’s past and home life that might point her in some direction.

      Name: Colin Steady

      Age: 16

      Address: 285 Bluff Point

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