Page 6 of D for Dead

Jake smiled, appreciating the irony. ‘I wish.’

Reaching in his closet he pulled out a pair of dark suit pants and a grey shirt. He might not have the hangover, but at least Rebecca had managed a couple of hours sleep. He had arrived home, crawled into bed and found himself wide awake an hour later, unable to settle in the heat of the night. He was tired, but at least sober.

He crossed to the window, drew up the blind. It was already light outside and hurt his tired eyes. He glanced over the lush green of the parkland where the silvery trail of the river snaked a path between the trees.

It was the view that had sold him on the apartment, when things had turned bad with Lara and he had needed to find somewhere fast, and had they not pulled this case he would have been changing into his running gear and heading over to the park before there was too much heat in the sun.

When he was stressed with a case, needed to mull things over or clear his head, that was his thing; he liked to run. Unfortunately, there was no time now, so it would have to wait.

‘Probably best if I drive, eh?’

Rebecca made a grunting sound down the phone which he took to be an agreement.

‘Pick you up in fifteen.’

‘Jake?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Can you bring coffee? I’m out.’

* * *

Rebecca was dressed and functioning by the time Jake arrived twenty minutes later, but still not feeling quite human. She had taken the quickest of showers, tied her dark hair back in a low ponytail, and was finishing off a cold slice of pizza she’d found in the refrigerator, when she answered the door.

Spying the two cardboard Starbucks mugs Jake held, she snatched one and took a long luxurious sip.

‘Oh man, this is the best cup of coffee in the world. Thank you, Jake Sullivan. You are my hero.’ She grinned and winked at him.

Jake followed her inside, removing his sunglasses and screwing up his nose at the pizza crust still in her hand.

‘You’re eating cold pizza for breakfast, seriously?’

‘Hey, you said fifteen minutes. I had to improvise.’

‘Is that onions I can smell?’

‘Maybe,’ Rebecca confessed sheepishly, cramming the last bite into her mouth.

‘For breakfast? That’s gross. You’d better not stink out my car.’

‘It’s not cold out. You can open the window.’

The man was way too pedantic about his dumb car.

She pushed past him into the kitchen, running through a mental checklist to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

Damn, the cats!

She grabbed a can and started opening it.

‘Two minutes and I’ll be ready.’

Her cats, Sabrina and Shelby, came running at the sound, winding around Jake’s legs as she prepared their breakfast. He pulled up a chair while he waited, and Sabrina promptly jumped onto his lap and settled herself down. She loved Jake. Most animals did. Make that animals and women. Sullivan had a way about him.

‘So what time did you leave the bar?’ he asked, rubbing the cat’s ears, making her purr loudly.

‘Around one… I think.’