California Schemin' - Kate George [17]
Jealousy crept over me. Here I was all alone, not counting four dogs and a very pissed off cat, and there he was in a room full of guys having a great time. The thought that they were probably hot and sweaty and really stinky didn’t make me feel any better. I’d rather have a sweaty man in my bed than a dead snake.
I left the windows open in my room and slept in my mom’s childhood room. It was comfortable enough, but I’d been looking forward to being back in my own bed. I lay in bed and sulked, but travel fatigue caught up with me, and I was asleep before I could really work myself up.
The next morning I woke to Annabelle on the pillow next to me. I thanked the powers that be that she hadn’t brought a snake with her. We spent some time making up, me telling her how beautiful she was until she rolled over and let me rub her belly. I went downstairs, wolfed some toast and drove my Toyota All Trac down the hill to the newspaper office.
I parked in front of the laundry, took the stairs two at a time and opened the door into the sun-filled office. It was quiet and empty, too early for Meg or Deirdre to be in yet. I booted up my computer and rifled through the messages tucked under the keyboard. It was strange to be so happy to be at work, but it was good. I looked out onto the green, empty at this hour, with bare trees and brown grass. You’re back in your element, MacGowan.
I got up, turned on the CD player and plugged in the coffee maker. I turned back to the computer and pulled out my notes. I was typing them up when footsteps on the stairs disturbed my concentration. I looked up from my computer when the door opened.
“MacGowan.” Lieutenant Miles Brooks came through the door. “I understand you’ve got yourself mixed up in another murder. What did I tell you about staying out of trouble?”
“Hey, Miles! Haven’t seen you in a while.” I smiled at him. He had let me believe I was a murder suspect for a really long time in the autumn, but he’d made it up to me, and we had become friends.
“Yes, but isn’t that a good thing?” He was smiling. “And as you aren’t suspected of any crimes, I can ask you to coffee.”
“You came up here to ask me to coffee? You could have just called.”
He shook his head.
“I was contacted by Officer Fogel of the Placer County Sheriff’s department and thought I’d drop in on you. Can I sit down for a minute?”
I nodded, and he pulled Meg’s office chair across the floor to my desk. He sat across from me and stretched his legs out. He was as good looking as ever. Tall, blue eyed, dark haired and fit, he made the green and tan uniform look good. He scrutinized me over his fingertips
“Didn’t you go to California to get away from trouble?”
“Why does everyone keep saying that? I didn’t get into trouble. I did a good thing, pulling a woman from the river. I didn’t know she’d been shot. Had I known that, I would have run in the other direction and never looked back.”
“No, you wouldn’t. If there was any chance she was still alive, you would have tried to save her. You wouldn’t be able to help yourself.”
“Nope. I’m getting smarter. I would have let her float down river until someone else discovered her.”
“How you can lie like that without even twitching an eyelid is beyond me. I admire that quality in a cop, but you? Scares me.”
“I am not lying! If I had known that trying to rescue that woman was going to make me a target, I would never have pulled her out of the water. Never. Anyway, if you were there you would have done the same thing.”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t maybe me. You would have pulled her out even if you knew she was dead. Talk about lying.”
Miles threw his head back and laughed. He pulled his legs back and sat up, leaning into me, his arms on my desk.
“But what are we going to do about you now? There seems to be some chance that this guy is going to come looking for you. How are we going to keep you safe out there in the woods by yourself?”
“I’ve got my dogs. Nobody in their right mind is going to tangle with four dogs.” I pushed my keyboard