Page 12 of Hunting Justice
Noelle’s eyes widened. “As in plural?”
Jonah nodded. “He said he had the original reports and wanted me to reexamine the cases.”
“What did you tell him?” She flattened her palms on the table and leaned forward.
“Not much. I was trying to get my mind wrapped around what he’d said. He invited me over to discuss it.” Jonah rubbed his temple. “And you saw what happened. I never spoke with him again.” Jonah stared out the window, wondering, not for the first time, whether he could have stopped Ken’s attacker if he’d been on time.
“Don’t.”
He scrunched his forehead. “What?”
“At the risk of sounding like a broken record, you had no way of knowing. If you’d arrived on time, you’d probably be dead right along with Ken.”
Her insight into his mind was spooky. He folded his arms over his chest. “So, now you’re a mind reader?”
“Pssh. You, my dear friend, aren’t that hard to figure out.”
Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.
She chuckled. “Jonah, you’re an incredible doctor. Even though you choose not to use your talents in that capacity anymore, there’s no way you’d stand by and let someone get hurt. It’s ingrained in you to do whatever’s in your power to fix people.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He gripped the edge of the table to ground himself.
“There’s no maybe to it.” Noelle covered his hand with hers. “You’ve got a big heart, Doctor Jonah Harris.”
Her words sank in and lit the dark places within him. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that.” Her gaze held his.
“And being a broken record might not be a bad thing. I might need to hear that I couldn’t have stopped this more than once.”
“I can do that. And I’ll help you look into Ken’s claims.”
“I appreciate your willingness. I don’t see how I have much of a choice. It was Ken’s last request.”
Jonah’s phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket and answered. “Doctor Harris.”
“Doc. It’s Matt.”
“Hey, man. What can I do for you?” He mouthed Matt to Noelle and she nodded.
“I’d like to get your statement about the explosion, if you’re up to it. I can wait a bit longer if you need me to, but I need it soon.”
“It’s fine. Noelle and I are at Ricky’s Café. We’re finished. It won’t take long to walk back. We’ll head your way in a few minutes. Does that sound okay to you?”
“Great. Thanks, Doc. See you soon.” Matt hung up.
“I’m guessing he wants to grill you,” Noelle said with a wicked look.
“Ha. Ha. Very funny.”
She rolled her eyes and scooted from the booth. “Come on, Doc.”
He couldn’t keep the silly grin off his face. Unlike the others in his life, Noelle rarely called him Doc. She reserved it for teasing moments or those times when they worked on the same case in a professional capacity.
Hands on the seat, Jonah pushed up to slide from the bench and groaned. His muscles had stiffened.
Noelle grabbed the check. “I’ll go pay while you try to get your body moving again.”