heard the little click of his
tongue that told me that while he might be impressed by the mumbo-jumbo of the black
light as a way to locate the uranium button, he wasn’t one hundred percent certain
it was going to work.
“If there were still buttons here, we would have found them,” he said. Jason might
be enthusiastic when it came to the theories of science, but obviously he wasn’t all
that thrilled about the grunt work. He was bored, and when Nev and I stepped forward,
beyond the park bench and into the back part of the courtyard, he hung back. “A glass
button. Isn’t that what you said it was?” Jason asked. “It was sunny this afternoon,
remember. If there was a glass button out here, we would have seen it shining in the
light.”
“Not if there wasn’t much of it left to shine.” I guess Jason heard the very real
relief that washed through my voice because he hurried over to stand at my side and
sucked in a breath of wonder when he looked at the ground where the light was trained.
The brick there was coated with what looked to be a dusting of particles that glowed
an eerie green in the black light.
“It got stepped on and broken!” Jason almost made this sound like a good thing, as
if the fact that the button wasn’t whole—and whole buttons were what his team was
looking for—actually made a difference.
“It’s still evidence,” Nev reminded him, and though it took a couple seconds for the
fact to register, the kid finally got the message. He dashed inside for another evidence
bag, and the brushes and such he would need to make sure he picked up all the specks
of the smashed button.
“That…” Nev waited until Jason was gone before he put his hands on my shoulders and
turned me to face him. “That was amazing.”
I didn’t try to hide my smile. “It was pretty cool, wasn’t it?”
“Nobody else would have known about the button glowing in the black light. Nobody!”
Even through the gloom, I saw the wink of Nev’s smile. “You’re—”
“The world’s greatest button expert?” I hitched my hands around his waist.
“I was going to say…well, you know. But if you’d rather be known as the world’s greatest
button expert…”
“How about the world’s greatest fabulous button expert?”
“Done.” He leaned a hairsbreadth nearer and I thought he might kiss me, but the sounds
of Jason scrambling his way back down the alleyway put an end to that. I dropped my
hands, and Nev backed away.
“Can I use the black light?” Jason asked, his voice high with excitement. He swallowed
down what apparently sounded even to him like too much of an unprofessionalreaction. Jason cleared his throat and forced his voice down an octave. “I mean, of
course, it will be easier for me to retrieve the shards of glass if I can use the
UV light to find them.”
“Of course.” I handed him the keychain and we left him to his work.
Back inside, Nev walked right over to the desk, retrieved the photo of the uranium
glass button, and plunked it down in an empty spot on the nearest table. “When Jason
brings what’s left of that button in, we’re ready for it,” he said.
He was right. “I only wish…” I strolled over to the nearest table, automatically letting
my gaze roam over bag after bag after bag of buttons. “I wish we could figure out
if it means anything.”
“You mean the buttons that are missing?”
“I mean the charm string being used as a weapon in the first place.” The thought creeped
me out, and I shivered. “Who would do such a thing?”
“Professional opinion?” Nev almost perched himself on the edge of my rosewood desk,
but he stopped and reconsidered. It was a delicate antique, and he knew better than
to press his luck. “My guess is the murderer didn’t come here to kill Angela. If he
had—and I’m only saying
he
in a general sort of way, not because we know anything about the
tongue that told me that while he might be impressed by the mumbo-jumbo of the black
light as a way to locate the uranium button, he wasn’t one hundred percent certain
it was going to work.
“If there were still buttons here, we would have found them,” he said. Jason might
be enthusiastic when it came to the theories of science, but obviously he wasn’t all
that thrilled about the grunt work. He was bored, and when Nev and I stepped forward,
beyond the park bench and into the back part of the courtyard, he hung back. “A glass
button. Isn’t that what you said it was?” Jason asked. “It was sunny this afternoon,
remember. If there was a glass button out here, we would have seen it shining in the
light.”
“Not if there wasn’t much of it left to shine.” I guess Jason heard the very real
relief that washed through my voice because he hurried over to stand at my side and
sucked in a breath of wonder when he looked at the ground where the light was trained.
The brick there was coated with what looked to be a dusting of particles that glowed
an eerie green in the black light.
“It got stepped on and broken!” Jason almost made this sound like a good thing, as
if the fact that the button wasn’t whole—and whole buttons were what his team was
looking for—actually made a difference.
“It’s still evidence,” Nev reminded him, and though it took a couple seconds for the
fact to register, the kid finally got the message. He dashed inside for another evidence
bag, and the brushes and such he would need to make sure he picked up all the specks
of the smashed button.
“That…” Nev waited until Jason was gone before he put his hands on my shoulders and
turned me to face him. “That was amazing.”
I didn’t try to hide my smile. “It was pretty cool, wasn’t it?”
“Nobody else would have known about the button glowing in the black light. Nobody!”
Even through the gloom, I saw the wink of Nev’s smile. “You’re—”
“The world’s greatest button expert?” I hitched my hands around his waist.
“I was going to say…well, you know. But if you’d rather be known as the world’s greatest
button expert…”
“How about the world’s greatest fabulous button expert?”
“Done.” He leaned a hairsbreadth nearer and I thought he might kiss me, but the sounds
of Jason scrambling his way back down the alleyway put an end to that. I dropped my
hands, and Nev backed away.
“Can I use the black light?” Jason asked, his voice high with excitement. He swallowed
down what apparently sounded even to him like too much of an unprofessionalreaction. Jason cleared his throat and forced his voice down an octave. “I mean, of
course, it will be easier for me to retrieve the shards of glass if I can use the
UV light to find them.”
“Of course.” I handed him the keychain and we left him to his work.
Back inside, Nev walked right over to the desk, retrieved the photo of the uranium
glass button, and plunked it down in an empty spot on the nearest table. “When Jason
brings what’s left of that button in, we’re ready for it,” he said.
He was right. “I only wish…” I strolled over to the nearest table, automatically letting
my gaze roam over bag after bag after bag of buttons. “I wish we could figure out
if it means anything.”
“You mean the buttons that are missing?”
“I mean the charm string being used as a weapon in the first place.” The thought creeped
me out, and I shivered. “Who would do such a thing?”
“Professional opinion?” Nev almost perched himself on the edge of my rosewood desk,
but he stopped and reconsidered. It was a delicate antique, and he knew better than
to press his luck. “My guess is the murderer didn’t come here to kill Angela. If he
had—and I’m only saying
he
in a general sort of way, not because we know anything about the
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