Page 105 of Dark Obsession

“That’ll wait until fall,” Gayle said. “You’re already showing them what you’re all about, and people are happy for the change.”

“Any word from the ME about the bodies in Hollow Grounds?” Demetrius asked.

Lucia shook her head. “There are still about ten open missing person cases. Diane’s working on getting the Hollow Grounds security camera video downloaded from the cloud so we can try to make IDs ourselves.”

“She knows a lot of the customers by sight,” Robin said, shaking their head. They added in a quiet voice, “Most of the people who went there were really nice.”

“Sorry to hear about Deputy Soltero leaving,” Oliver said.

“Probably for the best, for him and us,” Lucia said. “He was having a hard time coming to grips with what happens around here, and he wasn’t taking my updated training very seriously.”

“Gotta love those crisscrossing ley lines,” Robin said, then did a little shimmy as they sang about their ley lines bringing all the freaks to their yard.

Cody came in the door, waving in general greeting as he headed right for Demetrius. The smile on Cody’s face didn’t quite reach his eyes, and Demetrius noticed the way he looked from face to face without settling on anyone.

“Hey, handsome,” Demetrius said as Cody gave him a quick kiss. “How about you take me home to change and we go to dinner?”

“If you’re thinking Antonio’s, you’re going to be in for a wait,” Gayle said. “With Margie’s closed, Antonio’s has started taking reservations.”

“You could go to Harriettville,” Oliver said, then made a face. “If you like that kind of thing.”

Everyone laughed, and Lucia gasped and clutched her side. “Stop cracking jokes,” she moaned.

“It only hurts when she laughs,” Oliver said with a grin.

“Or moves. Or thinks about moving,” Gayle said.

“All right now.” Lucia rose slowly to her feet. “Time for me to do all the things.”

“Let’s go, over-achiever.” The bell tinkled when Gayle opened the door, and she stood holding it for her as Lucia made her way out.

“How about somewhere outside of town?” Demetrius looked over to Oliver. “What’s that place in Creighton you and Dave have gone to?”

“Ember and Table,” Oliver said. “It’s really good. And you don’t need a reservation.”

“Yeah?” Demetrius turned back to Cody. “How’s that sound?”

“Yeah, okay.” The skin around Cody’s eyes still looked tight, but his shoulders had lowered a bit. “That sounds good.”

“Oh, before we leave…” Demetrius looked at Robin. “If you’re looking for work, would you be interested in joining Critter Catchers?”

Robin’s eyebrows shot up. “What? Really?”

Demetrius laughed. “Yes, really. We’ve been busy lately, and Jugs took some time off after…” He waved a hand around the diner. “We could use the help. What do you say?”

“Hell, yeah!” Robin whooped then stopped. “Wait, how much does it pay?”

“The age old question,” Oliver said.

“Why don’t you come out to the office tomorrow around ten, and we’ll talk about all that?” Demetrius said.

“Yes, I will be there!” They clapped and danced around again, then pulled their phone from a pocket. “I need to let Clarabell know.”

“God, she’s another step closer to being in our office full time,” Cody grumbled.

Demetrius laughed and took his hand. “Come on, let’s go.”