“Me too, what with his watches!”
Mike laughed a little and then started swinging back and forth in his chair. “Thank God he wasn’t from the Channel Islands,” he joked.
I laughed. “You live in a strange town, Michael Charles Wooldridge.” I reached over and grabbed another handful of crisps from the bag. “The people here are all nuts!”
He smiled. “You’d fit in well, then.”
I rolled my eyes at him playfully. “Do you know, that guy in the shop tried to set me up with his son after I bought the condoms?”
“He what?” He leaned forward now. “Seriously? Mr. Reddy, of the Right and Reddy Store, tried to set you up with his son?”
I nodded. “He is a doctor, so it was very tempting.”
“Tempting?” He leaned over the desk even more. “I thought you were more into rugged policemen with backlighting?”
I burst out laughing. “No, actually, I prefer my policemen holding kittens.”
“Are you flirting with me to try to get out of jail?” he asked.
“Is it working?” I enquired, and then our eyes locked on to each other’s and stayed there for the longest time.
“Pebecca Thorne.” He finally broke eye contact with me, and something in his voice had changed. The flirty air was gone now.
“Yes?” I asked.
“I’m going to let you go, but you’re going to have to make me a promise.” Suddenly, he looked somewhat sad and serious.
“What promise?” I asked, feeling something change in the air between us.
But he didn’t say. Instead he stood up and walked over to the couch. He pulled a pillow and blanket out from behind it and put it down. “Try get some sleep,” he said, looking at me. “It’s been a long night.”
I nodded. I was tired. Exhausted actually now that I thought about it.
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“I’ve got to patrol,” he said.
“Are you leaving a criminal alone in the police station?” I asked. “Isn’t that against policy?”
He shrugged. “Probably.”
“Couldn’t you get into trouble for that?” I asked.
He shrugged again. Bigger than before. “You’ve already got me into trouble, Becca,” he said and then exited.
I watched him walk away and then moved over to the couch and lay down. The pillow smelled like him and I inhaled deeply. I closed my eyes and soon the pull of sleep came.
