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“Yeah,” he said. “Bought a ring and everything.”
“And she said no?” I asked. “Did she say why?”
“Nope,” he said. “Just said she had to get back to work.”
“It was a pretty rough day,” I said, feeling like I was walking through a minefield. “Sometimes the job hits you when you least expect it and you take it out on the people you love.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “But Lily will do what she wants. We’re both adults. I’ve just reached a point in my life that I realized I don’t want my future to look like what my past has been. I want a wife and kids. I just realized I’ve been waiting all this time for the right person.”
“Maybe you should tell Lily that,” I said.
Cole grunted and said, “Catch y’all tomorrow.”
“Cole,” Jack called out, making the other man pause before he closed the door behind him. “My money is on you.”
Cole nodded and left.
“What is happening?” I asked after a few moments of silence. “It’s like the whole world has gone crazy.”
“My brain still hasn’t caught up to that conversation,” Jack said. “Which means we need to get some sleep and maybe everything we dealt with today will suddenly become clear. Or maybe when we wake up the murderers will decide to do the right thing and make a full confession.”
“How come that never happens?” I asked.
“Because people suck,” Jack said.
There was a small room at the back of Jack’s office, no bigger than a large closet, and it had a full-size bed and a rack with extra clothes and uniform shirts. There was a small bathroom off to the side that had a shower, toilet, and sink. It was efficient and utilitarian, and for tonight, it was home.
Jack locked the door and took off his shirt, tossing it in a corner, and then he stripped out of the rest of his clothes. He flipped off the light and then fell face-first on the bed.
I washed my face and stripped out of my clothes, calculating in my head that if I was lucky I’d get five solid hours of sleep before I had to be back up.
“So,” Jack said as I made my way toward the bed. “You want to do it?”
I snorted out a laugh and said, “Yeah, I kind of do.”
“Okay, but you’ve got to do all the work.”
And then I pounced on top of him.
Chapter Nine
Jack moved a lot faster than I did in the mornings. He’s what some people like to call a morning person. When his eyes opened, he was fully alert and usually had something to say. I had no idea why he’d have so many things to talk about after being asleep.
I was the exact opposite of Jack. I didn’t wake up fast and I didn’t wake up alert or with enough brain function to form words. So I wasn’t surprised when Jack slipped out of bed early and went to shower, leaving me asleep. And I wasn’t surprised to wake up with a coffee sitting on the little table next to the bed. What I was surprised to see was the Lady Jane’s label across the front.
“I figured you deserved something a little special after doing all the work last night,” he said. “There’s an apple fritter and a bear claw in the bag.”
My eyes hadn’t yet focused to see the donut bag, but I could smell the sugar and half crawled my way to a sitting position.
“Emmy Lu will know,” I croaked, taking the coffee cup and inhaling the sweet aroma of hazelnut and cream. “And I don’t even care. I’m a bad friend.”
“It’s Saturday,” Jack said. “She doesn’t work on Saturdays. She’ll never know.”
I grunted, but I knew the truth. Lady Jane’s put a smile on my face that not even sex could replicate.
“Whatimsit?” I slurred.
“Early still,” Jack said. “Not yet six. You’ve got some time to linger. I’ve got teams coming in this morning so we can start canvassing the areas around Gambo Creek at first light. How long do you think it’ll take you to do the autopsy on Danforth?”
