Dead by Midnight - Beverly Barton [29]
Now here he was back in Dunmore and doomed to work with Perdue on a new and rather intriguing case. He figured the best way to handle their precarious partnership was not to take the woman seriously. She was big-time uptight, at least around him. He had told her more than once that what she needed was to lighten up, and a good start would be to go out and get herself laid. She hadn’t taken his suggestion in the spirit in which it had been given, which was only with the best intentions, of course.
Chuckling to himself, Derek headed up the walk that led to the front porch. Bet Perdue couldn’t wait to see him.
When he rang the doorbell, he didn’t expect to see a tall, lanky teenage boy open the door and invite him in.
“Aunt Maleah’s on the phone,” Seth Cantrell told him. “She’s talking to somebody at the Powell Agency, getting some information about the case y’all are working on. She’ll be with you in a minute.”
Seth was Jack and Cathy’s son, although Jack and Seth had met for the first time last year. Jack, a former Army Ranger, had been MIA during the Gulf War back in the early nineties. A pregnant Cathy had married another man who had raised Seth as his own. When Jack had come home to Dunmore last year, he had not only discovered that his long-lost love was a widow, but that he was her sixteen-year-old son’s biological father.
As Seth led Derek out of the foyer and down the hall, he asked, “Have you had breakfast?”
“Nope, sure haven’t,” Derek replied.
“We’ve got leftovers,” Seth told him. “A stack of pancakes, some sausage links, and I just put on a fresh pot of coffee.”
“Sounds good. I’ll take it all, starting with the coffee.”
By the time Maleah joined them, a good ten minutes later, Derek had finished off the pancakes and sausage and was downing his second cup of coffee. Seth had explained that even though he was staying with his grandparents while his parents were off on their honeymoon, he had stopped by for breakfast with his aunt since he had only a half day at school today.
“I see you’ve made yourself at home.” Perdue glanced from his empty plate to his suitcase resting against the table leg at his side. “You aren’t planning on staying here, are you?”
“As a matter of fact—”
“There are two perfectly good motels here in Dunmore. Take your pick.”
“Now, Perdue, don’t be that way. You’ve got more than enough room here in this big old house to put me up.”
“He’s got you there,” Seth said.
Perdue gave her nephew an eat-dirt-and-die glare.
Derek laughed. “Think of it as an adventure. The two of us working side by side, living under the same roof, getting to know each other.”
She huffed loudly, not even trying to hide her aggravation.
He hated to even think it, hated to resort to an old cliché, but damn if Perdue wasn’t downright pretty when she was pissed. You’re beautiful when you’re angry. He could think it, but God help him if he said it.
For all her faults and shortcomings, being unattractive wasn’t one of them. Maleah Perdue was what had once been referred to as an all-American beauty. Five-four, a trim hourglass figure, blue eyes and golden blond hair. She looked like the kind of girl men used to dream about taking home to meet their mamas.
Seth broke the uneasy silence in the room when he cleared his throat and then said, “I hate to eat and run, but I’m supposed to meet some of the guys at ten.”
“Are we still on for lunch and a movie Sunday?” Perdue asked.
“Sure are.” He glanced at Derek. “Good to see you again, Mr. Lawrence.”
“Same here, kid.”
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