Page 61 of Booked for Murder

“Yes, it can. They tried to explain how it works to me, but it went over my head. Something about the scans being more on a DNA level than a magical one? It can even do it through gloves. They’re developing the same technology for forensics work, too. Tawnlen is going to be getting some toys after we get our license for the investigator cell. That’ll give us an edge—and make us valuable to law enforcement.”

I whistled. If we had forensics tools law enforcement didn’t yet have access to, we’d be invited to crime scenes legitimately, which would help us on any cases we happened to be working on. Considering who the killers were knocking off, having that access could make us—or break us. “Why doesn’t law enforcement have it yet?”

“They don’t have the budget. I’ll be paying for the machine out of pocket, and we’ll be agreeing to allow them to test samples on it when we aren’t using it. They’ll want to do checks of known samples to compare the machines accuracy to newer models and designs. Sometimes, newer doesn’t mean better.”

“How much is this costing you?”

“Half a million.”

It was a good thing I was already sitting; I would’ve fallen on my ass had I been standing. “That much?”

“When I wasn’t wandering around the country looking for my wayward bodyguard, I worked the stock market. It turns out I’m very good at working the stock market. I’m still working the stock market, but I’m doing it for fun right now rather than a way to fill the hours.”

I remembered my mother’s proposal, and when I looked at it through her eyes, I could easily understand why she had started pushing. “Ren?”

The not-quite bodyguard chuckled and sat on the couch beside me. “We’ve done a lot of driving together over the past few years. No matter how insignificant the lead, he would check it. He didn’t like the hassle of flying, and he likes that car. He is not happy his mother has the keys and drove it home this morning after we picked up the new vehicle.”

“I’m so disgusted. The first time anyone sees me in it, they’re going to ask if I have a child on the way.”

I smiled. “Is it a nice family car?”

“It’s got a nice enough ride, and it goes like it means it, but it looks like I’m going to park and herd multiple children out of the backseat. I do have to admit I like the trunk space, so I could get used to it. Please tell me I can keep one sporty car. I don’t think I can handle it if I have to just have a family car, Janette.”

“You just can’t expect me to ride in it unless I’m driving, and I’ll need a track and a damned good insurance policy to see if I can handle driving it. If I’m going to wreck it because of a flashback, I’d rather wreck it on a track.”

“Is it a strong possibility?’

I shrugged. “It’s possible. I used to have them early on, but they went away. I’m to the point I get mad looking at sports cars on the road because I would have done a better job of driving them. It could be years before my foot is okay enough that I can realistically drive. Technically, I have a valid license, and I passed the driver’s test, but it’s hard driving with the boot on, and it hurts like hell, so I only did the mandatory minimum to get my license. I can drive.”

“I’m impressed you can drive at all.” Bradley sighed and shook his head. “When the crash happened, I had no idea how you’d survive. But you did, and you’re walking again, despite the doctors swearing you’d never be able to. That the damage to all the little bones in your foot had been too catastrophic.”

“I don’t like when people tell me something’s impossible.”

“I’ve noticed. We were discussing about completely renovating the house to accommodate a wheelchair, but then you got up and walked out, deciding to pull a disappearing act. We did some renovations to the house to make the stairs more tolerable to stubborn women who decide to ignore her doctors, and we did install a lift to each floor, which has the general staff really happy with us, as it makes moving furniture around much easier. In an act of pure childishness, there is a slide from the first floor to the ground floor.”

As I couldn’t believe there could possibly be a slide in their prim and perfect main house located almost two hours away from Manhattan, I stared at Ren. “He’s not talking about the Manhattan residence, is he?”

“He’s not. And yes, it’s true. There’s a slide. It has a ball pit at the bottom, too. It was Mrs. Hampton’s idea, and she’s the one who uses it the most. There’s also a pole to slide down. The entire household changed priorities after the crash. A little more fun, a little less seriousness. Life’s too short.”

That it was. “But a slide?”

“It’s in the family area of the main house, so guests would likely have no idea it’s there unless someone shows them. The Manhattan residence has undergone some renovations as well, although not quite to the same extreme. There’s a ping-pong table now, too, and they took out part of the garden to add a swimming pool. Apparently, swimming is an excellent physical therapy method for people in your situation. I expect you’ll be in the pool a lot once the Hamptons get their way and rehabilitate your foot to their standards.” Ren patted my shoulder. “You likely underestimated their general unwillingness to let go.”

No kidding. “Can I just say it’s not my fault and get away with it?”

“Sure,” Bradley replied. “It’s not your fault. I underestimated how you’d perceive my challenge. That’s entirely my fault. And I won’t ever blame you for doing what you did in the crash. You saved my life. I can’t repay that debt. And I’ve heard it enough from everyone who looked at the crash site. There was no way you didn’t know exactly what you were doing. You had a choice: you or me. You picked me.”

I had. “That’s right.”

“You got lucky. No, not just lucky. You did everything just right. An inch in any other direction, and neither one of us would have walked away in any sense of the word. You saved me, so it’s my turn to save you.” Bradley focused on my foot. “Well, your foot. You did a perfectly good job of saving yourself. I feel I’m outclassed again.”

“Well, the foot will have to wait. Once I cram it back into that damned boot, we have a bigger problem to solve first. I realize we have to set up to do this, but we can’t just sit here doing nothing.”

“We’re not. Everyone else is out gathering information and doing research while you’re prepping for the shooter qualification. Once you qualify, we’ll be able to get this show really on the road. In the meantime, I’ll worry about your foot while you worry about your guns.”

“Guns is plural.”

“I may have acquired more than one for you.”