“As I started to say, after our encounter last night I stopped at Maria’s Café to pick up a salad, and when I came out there was a man waiting by my car. Low baseball cap layered with a cinched hood, and fairly poor lighting. I could see little of his face. He had a solid build, and he was wearing gloves—I’d bet to avoid fingerprints.”
This was not even close to what Tess was expecting. And of course it had upset Bree. It would have upset her too. Tess pulled herself together and did everything in her power to focus. “Is that it?”
“No. He tried to hand me a bag. I didn’t take it or look inside, but I’m assuming it contained money. He let me know it was a welcome-to-town gift.”
“Did he threaten you?” Tess already wanted to lock the bastard up.
Bree shook her head. “Not outright. His last comment was for me to be careful. It struck me as an effort at intimidation, like something could happen if I don’t comply, but that could just have been my fear. I wouldn’t swear to it.”
“The bag could certainly be interpreted as a down payment to entice you to do something, and thebe carefula threat if you don’t.” Tess’s alarm level kicked up another notch. “That’s allyou can tell me about him?”
“He was on foot as far as I can tell, so no vehicle info. He had a distinctive, deep raspy voice with a bit of a Southern accent. And he was light-skinned from what little I could see.”
Tess nodded. “I’ll need to write this up.” As she thought about it, she added, “There’s no proof of a crime, but I’ll notify the police chief. She’ll talk to the county sheriff if she needs to.”
Bree hesitated before she dipped her head in agreement, then tapped her knuckles on Tess’s desk. “Thanks, Tess. I’ll go, then.”
“Okay.” Tess didn’t want Bree to go. She searched for something else appropriate to say.
Bree’s expression softened and her eyes did that engaging dance that Tess had come to know at Tahoe.
“I can think of a few things more dangerous than some dude hiding under a jacket hood and carrying a bag full of welcome greetings.” Bree raised her eyebrows and her lips twitched as she looked directly at Tess. “Dangerous.” Then she grew serious again. “There’s no telling what’s going on, but something…”
“Be careful, Bree.”
“You need to be careful too.” Bree closed her eyes a moment, then added, “Tess. Take this as a warning that something seems to be going on. I don’t know what, and I’m not sure if or how it might be related to your shooting, but be careful.” She slipped out of Tess’s chambers.
The entire incident did bring back memories of her shooting, and that scared Tess. Then she thought again about herself and Bree. She had enough to deal with here at work, and she was still trying to figure out how to put Bree into that same box where she’d managed to put all her other coworkers, and most everyone else she encountered if she was being honest, except for Flo and Alice. She had two middle-aged felines waiting at home in her personal life, if only for their bowls of gourmet catfood. She needed to accept that as sufficient. So why couldn’t she?
It was bad enough that she’d kissed Bree here in her office—with the door wide open—but so much worse was that she’d let herself be so foolish when she absolutely didn’t want that kind of pain. She had an important job to do that compensated her very well in every professional way. But even with all the reasons for not becoming romantically involved, there was no denying that there was something between them.
Helene’s knock on the door and entry pulled Tess out of her thoughts.
“What can I do for you, Helene?” Tess asked.
“I just wanted to let you know that I have you signed up for that in-person continuing education presentation in Monterey that fulfills the presiding judge orientation you need to complete.”
“Good. Would you give me those exact dates again so I can put them on my personal calendar?”
“Next month. The week of the sixteenth.”
“I’ll need to get my friend or my aunt to do cat duty. Or I can probably hire someone to cat sit if it comes to that.” Flo had promised to help when she’d talked Tess into the rescue adoptions. And Alice was always happy to assist her.
Helene made a notation in the iPad she was carrying. “I’m following through with helping all the judges complete their required CJE. Making sure everyone has their required training so there won’t be any issues, and so I can plan out the court calendar.”
Tess nodded. “Thanks. Do you know if there have been any updates on my shooting?’
“Not that I know of.”
“Well, would you please forward me the most recent update? Bree was here about an incident last night that appears to berelated to her role as a judge. It’ll need some follow-up.”
Helene gave her a look that was hard to interpret, then nodded as she made a note. “Just the most recent report? And what type of follow-up?”
“Let’s start with that most recent one. If I want others, I’ll let you know.” Tess marveled at Helen’s professional demeanor, but there was probably an entire book she could write of all the issues she’d encountered through the years. “Huffington is due anytime. After I see him, I want to make sure there’s a written report and that the proper parties are made aware. The police chief, the office, the other judges…”
Helene nodded again, then they both heard the not so quiet arrival of Simon Huffington and so she left to escort him in. Tess braced herself for whatever he was going to say. She hadn’t seen him since she’d been elected as the presiding judge.
Huffington entered and sat down. He was certainly looking older than his sixty-four years.
