AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Chase, here’s the report on your officers.” Sharah’s voice was abrupt, and I caught the same hint that I heard with Iris—hormones running rampant and affecting her emotions.
I edged over to Delilah and gave her a sharp nod to move out of the way. She glanced at me, then over at Sharah, and as understanding filled her eyes, she quickly moved away from Chase and took a seat.
“Thanks.” He glanced over at Delilah, still blissfully unaware of his faux pas. “Broke the ankle. Shouldn’t take too long to heal, though. It was a clean fracture. Hurts like an SOB.” Chase, still blissfully unaware, picked up the reports. Sharah pulled away, scowling, and left the room. The minute the door closed, I swung around.
“Idiot. Can’t you see she was upset?” Hands on my hips, I glared at him, then turned to Delilah. “And you…you know better than that.”
“What? What did I do? What’s wrong now?” Yep. He had that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. Clueless.
“Use your brain. Sharah’s very pregnant, and very volatile. She comes in here, sees you and Delilah exchanging a kiss—albeit a friendly one—but given your history, I imagine she feels a little insecure. And being pregnant isn’t going to help. Instead of dropping what you were doing and greeting her like you really love her, you brushed her off with a peck on the cheek.”
“But we’re at work…”
“Dude. Pregnant woman who loves you? Work, schmerk. You could have at least given her a smile or something.”
Chase groaned, his expression shifting from clueless to oh-I-am-so-fucked. “Oh man, nobody warns you about this stuff. Why isn’t there a father-to-be manual that gives you the heads-up on everything you should know during your woman’s pregnancy?”
Delilah let out a sigh. “I am so stupid. I didn’t even think about what she might think. Camille’s right. You’d better apologize, but give her time to cool off. And some flowers wouldn’t hurt.” She rubbed her temples. “She might still think we have feelings for each other—”
“We do.” Chase stared at her. “And we always will, but they aren’t…I’m not…”
“I’m not in love with you, either,” Delilah said gently, smiling. “But Sharah’s the one who needs to know that.”
“Fine. Chase is going to buy flowers and eat crow, and you both are going to be careful about the touchy-feely stuff. Let’s get on with it. Lindsey Cartridge is on the way down here right now, Chase. She has some information that may be important in your investigation of this morning’s events.” I quickly outlined what she’d told me. “I promised her that the kid wouldn’t get in trouble.”
Chase let out an exasperated sigh. “You do know desecration of a grave is a misdemeanor?”
I stared at him. “Uh, yeah. I use graveyard dust, too, so you want to lock me up while you’re at it?”
After a long pause, Chase shrugged and flipped through the report. “Whatever. We’ve got more worries than a kid trying to steal some dirt. If he really did see the grave robbers and knows what happened to my officer, then I don’t care what he was doing…within reason.”
“What cemetery did they hit this time?”
“The Wedgewood. So, really, is there any way to find out if they drained off the souls or spirits or whatever spooks were hanging around there?” He frowned, pausing over the papers Sharah had given him. “Zombie attack probably killed this officer, too. His neck was broken and his arm was…gnawed on. Hell of a thing to tell his wife.”
“Can you tell her it was a dog?” Delilah asked.
“And that would be better, how? Might turn her against dogs the rest of her life.” Pursing his lips, he closed the file and tossed it back on the desk. “I won’t tell her it was zombies, but I have to tell her he was mauled. Maybe I’ll just leave it at that.”
Just then, Yugi knocked on the door and peeked in. “Lindsey Cartridge to see you. She’s with another woman, and a teenage boy.”
Chase glanced around his office. It wasn’t the most spacious cubicle. He reached for his crutches, wobbled to his feet, and motioned for us to follow him. “Is anybody using conference room B right now?”
Yugi shook his head. “Nope, it’s free.”
“Have them meet us there, then.”
“Sure thing, Chief.” Yugi saluted and headed back the way he’d come.
Delilah and I followed Chase into the empty conference room, careful not to trip him up. He was strong, but crutches are never anybody’s best friend.
The room looked like it got quite a bit of use. Several empty steno pads were scattered around the table, and a couple of gory case pictures hung on one bulletin board, apparently forgotten from the last meeting. I stared at the mangled bodies, slightly queasy.
Following my gaze, Chase asked me to take them down before Lindsey and her friends were escorted in. I grimaced but moved over to the photos. I’d no more than unpinned them from the corkboard and tucked them in a drawer on one of the built-in counters when Lindsey walked in.
A little shorter than me, she had long wheat-colored hair pulled back in a ponytail, and she was athletic as hell. For an FBH, she could give Delilah a run for her money. Even though she’d had a baby only a few months before, the woman was built like a freight train, and I had no doubt she could bash in a few heads.
Behind her was a woman as petite as Menolly, with curly brown hair, and a boy who resembled her, except for his height. He towered over her, looking like a frightened rabbit.
