California Schemin' - Kate George [18]
“There are ways to get around dogs, and you know it, but as there hasn’t been any indication that anyone followed you home from California, I’m going to content myself with checking in on you. Daily. Okay?”
“Sure, if you don’t have anything better to do with your time. No criminals on the loose at the moment? No dead bodies up at the Inn?”
“Nope. Nothing to do but keep my eye on wayward newspaper reporters. Come on, let’s go downstairs and get some wicked good coffee.”
“You do know I have a habit of dumping coffee on people, don’t you?”
“I had heard a rumor along those lines. I’ll risk it.”
”How long are you intending to be in the office today?” Miles asked as we were clomping down the stairs. Well, I was clomping; he was descending the stairs with his usual measured pace.
“Just a little while longer. I promised Meg I’d come by for lunch. Why?”
“No reason.”
I pushed through the lower door, stepped out onto the sidewalk and froze. Miles ran right into me and grabbed my arm to keep me from falling flat on my face.
“What’s up?”
“I’ll tell you inside. Come on.” I led him into the coffee shop and slid into a booth near the front where we could see out the window.
“Did you see that woman out there?”
“I’m a cop. Of course I saw her. Why?”
“She sat next to me on the plane from DC. Claimed to be an alien shape shifter. Sure enough, she went from a short, heavy woman with bright pink hair to a tall, thin woman with cotton candy colored hair. I think even her eye color changed.”
“All at once or in stages? Not that it really matters.”
“Stages.”
“So you’d make the connection. I’m less concerned about her shape shifting than I am about the fact she followed you from DC and probably from California before that. Stay here, I’m going to talk to her.” Miles slid out of the booth and was out the door before I could collect my thoughts. He disappeared from view. Sandy brought the coffee and muffins, and I occupied myself with loading my muffin with butter.
By the time I got around to dumping the little plastic container of half-and-half into my coffee Miles was sliding back into his seat.
“What was that about?” I asked. I emptied a couple of packets of sugar into my coffee.
“I couldn’t find her.” He looked perplexed. “Went around the block looking in all the shops. Disappeared.”
“Yeah, but why did you want to talk to her in the first place?”
“Are you kidding me? A strange woman follows you from California, where you just happened to see a murder, and I’m supposed to ignore her?”
“She seemed harmless enough.” I watched Miles cut his muffin into four pieces.
“No such thing as coincidence. No such thing as harmless. Evidence, allegiance and circumstances … those things matter.”
“You’re such a cop. Don’t you ever just forget about that stuff?”
“Nope, especially not when the circumstances revolve around someone I care about.”
I looked to see if he was pulling my leg, but he was concentrating on buttering the four quarters of his muffin. I felt my cheeks getting warm, and I wondered if I should remind him about Beau. About the time I realized my mouth was hanging open he glanced up and saw me staring at him. I snapped my mouth shut but couldn’t think of anything to say.
“I care about everyone in my jurisdiction, Bree.” He was so matter of fact that I felt foolish for thinking differently.
“Oh, yeah, of course.” Could I get any more lame? I took a sip of coffee and focused on not burning myself or spilling it when I set it down. Life took so much concentration sometimes, it exhausted me. I looked around and noticed Steve Leftsky, esteemed State Trooper and one of my lifelong friends, sitting at the back of the café.
“Hey, Steve’s over there. Want to ask him to sit with us?”
Brooks turned and looked.
‘Normally, I’d say yes, but he’s been lousy company lately.”
“How come?”
“Didn’t you hear? Shirl dumped him. Said he was spending too much time at the barracks or hanging out at the bar with the guys.” He shot me a sideways look. “Your name was also mentioned.”
“You’ve got to be kidding