food.â
Everything seemed to be in perfect order; Ashleyâs dreams had been for nothing.
Except, of course, that the reenactment always made her think about Jake.
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They were due to leave soon, within the next few days, but since Adam Harrisonâs group was still in New Orleans, they finished with the training they were doing there, and waiting for the move, Jake had agreed to go wandering around the French Quarter with his fellow newly minted agent, Whitney Tremont.
âI must admit, Iâm going to be sorry to leave New Orleans,â Whitney said. She stared out toward Jackson Square. âThere was so much paperwork after the Holloway case, it felt like we were picking up the pieces for days at first. But itâs been nice to have this bit of time to get ready for our move, since weâre all taking up residence in the D.C. area. Though, Iâm excitedâI mean, weâre going to have offices, Jake. Likereally cool offices, in a building in Alexandriaâwith help! A forensics lab! State-of-the-art equipment.â
Jake grinned. âYes, itâs going to be interesting to get settled in.â
Whitney grinned back. Her skin was like the café au lait that sat before them. He knew that the others had thought the two of them might wind up together, but what they had formed instead was a friendship, deep and binding.
âBut it was good, I thinkâjust being thrown together as freelancers of a sort for our first case. Donât you think?â she asked. âBut federal positionsâ¦though I donât think we really get to stay in those fancy buildings that often, do you?â
âWeâre like any other team or unit for the FBI, I believe. The cases come in, and Iâm assuming that Adam Harrison and Jackson Crow decide what looks like something we should take on. Weâll get to discuss the situation then. And make the plans.â
âDo you think that any of us could put a case forward?â she asked.
âSure.â He smiled. âLetâs face it, Whitney, we are an experiment in paranormal investigations. Weâre unique, and Iâm sure there are those who will make fun of the âKrewe of Huntersâ unit.â
âNot anymore. Not after the Holloway case,â she said proudly.
âWe have to keep proving that weâre good at what we do,â Jake said. The name âKreweâ theyâd giventhemselves had begun as a joke, but theyâd become a real crew through their passion for the work.
âHmm,â Whitney said, twirling her straw in her iced café au lait. âItâs here somewhere.â
âHere? Whatâs here? Sometimes you make no sense.â
That made her laugh. âOnly sometimes? I think that our new case is going to be here. Somewhere in Louisiana.â
âWeâre about to move to Alexandria,â he pointed out.
âI donât knowâ¦I just have a feeling. I donât think weâll be going yet. You wait and see.â
âWhat makes you think that?â Jake asked. Whitneyâs prowess was with film, sound and video. But she also seemed to have amazing intuition. Of course, they had all been gathered into the group because of their intuition, their ability to solve problems where others could not, but where Angela Hawkins was quiet, finding what she found without much ado, and Jackson would always be the skeptic, Whitney went in wide-eyed, eager for whatever might not be considered normal.
âFeelings and logic, thatâs kind of the Krewe of Hunters motto, right?â she asked.
He laughed, but something was knotting in the pit of his stomach. âI think itâs supposed to be logicâand then feelings, â he told her. He gazed idly across the street. The mule-drawn carriages were starting to arrive in front of Jackson Square. An early-morningtour group was forming on Decatur Street. One of the history tours, he