“That’s not true.”
“Yes, it is,” I retorted. “Does Lancaster know?”
“No.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
Calvin ignored the jab and raised the bag. “What is this?”
“The fuck does it look like?”
“Don’t get uppity with me,” he demanded.
The bird suddenly squawked loudly. Calvin jumped at the noise, glaring at the bird as it proceeded to make sounds similar to words, but not quite understandable. I’d seen him jump like that a few times now.
Stress from the case? I knew he wasn’t sleeping a lot.
I didn’t ask, though. He was already angry and defensive. I pointed at the bird. “Really, why is there a bird in here?”
“Ben belonged to Merriam Byers.”
“The banker?”
Calvin nodded. “Whatever garbled sentence that is, he’s been screeching it nonstop. Now tell me about these flowers.”
“There’s a note in there too.”
“Sebastian.”
I was staring at Ben the African grey while saying, “They were on my register this morning when I unlocked the shop. And no, before you ask, it definitely wasn’t Max.”
“Can his movements be accounted for yesterday?” Calvin asked.
“His movements?” I echoed before laughing sarcastically. “Is he a suspect? Yes, my dad was with him yesterday at the Emporium.”
Calvin paused for an extra beat before asking, “And Millett?”
My heart thumped hard once against my chest and then fell into my stomach. I looked up. “What about him?”
“These aren’t from him? You said you’ve been fighting.”
“Neil would never apologize with flowers.”
In the silence that followed, I couldn’t figure out why I just didn’t tell him we had broken up. It felt important that Calvin know—that his assessment of me was correct and that I wasn’t a man who screwed around behind his loved ones’ backs. That I had had the courage to do the right thing. That I wasavailable.
Except that being single again wasn’t vital knowledge to share with Calvin, because he still hadn’t indicated an interest in dating, and I’m really not the sort to just “have fun” together. Besides, how many times already had I told myself to commit tomefor a change? Be happy with myself for a while, and don’t jump immediately at a new boyfriend, especially another cop.
Another terrified-to-be-out cop.
Calvin was talking again, but I spoke over him and asked, “How deep in the closet are you?”
He blinked and raised an eyebrow. “Come again?”
“I mean, are you hanging out with the shoes, or are you so far in the back, you’re with your tuxedo from junior prom and you stink of moth balls?”
“How very literal of you, Sebastian,” he stated dryly.
“I’m being serious.”
