Page 25 of Take The Risk

​Come to think of it, the only time I saw her remotely anxious, other than when my crew had her trapped in her car, was when they all surrounded my tailgate and the lawn filled with police. She’d looked around at the street, noting each neighbor that came out to watch the show, and had curled up as tightly as she could against the side of my truck bed. Her hand had shaken when she’d reached for her purse, pulling the notebook out, but once she did and the pen was in her hand…she was cool as a cucumber.

​“It’s impressive you saw the camera,” Wade pointed out, and I frowned at him, not sure I liked his tone. He was in his uniform now, having gone home to change when the Chief showed up at Winterbourne Manor.

​Phoebe shrugged. “It just caught my eye. The light hit it at the right angle when I stepped out. If it hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have seen it at all.”

​That made sense. When the crime scene people showed up, Phoebe had taken them to the exact spot where she’d seen it. I’d had to crouch down, but I caught the same flash she did.

​ Getting to his feet, the Chief extended his hand. “It was nice meeting you, Ms. Lebonaire. I am truly sorry for the circumstances.”

​Phoebe stood, shaking his hand, the pen still rolling between her fingers. “Guess I was just destined to introduce myself to Maplehurst with flair.”

​Mom laughed, pouring me another cup of coffee. “You’ve certainly made an impression.”

​Phoebe smiled ruefully. “Just what I always wanted.”

​“I’ll let myself out.” The Chief gave his farewell, pausing in the doorway. “Actually, I did have one more question.”

​Phoebe cocked her head. “Okay?”

​“It’s just, you seem to know an awful lot about law enforcement procedures—”

​That was an understatement. Phoebe had gone full-on CSI once the camera had been located. Hell, she’d sat on the tailgate of my truck with her notebook and written a fully detailed statement before the Chief had even arrived.

​“—were you in law enforcement?”

​Wade and the Chief shared a look so fast I almost missed it. Ah hell, Wade. I’d known he was suspicious of Phoebe the second he’d gotten outside after making sure the house was clear. And I got it. He was a cop. He was suspicious of everyone. Still, she’d answered all his questions without hesitation.

​Phoebe accepted a cup of coffee from my mom with a quiet thanks. “No. Lachlan had an obsession for about two years with cops and criminal procedures.” She put the pen down, wrapping her hands around her mug, a soft smile playing on her face as she looked down at the light brown liquid. “Unlike most kids, my son decided that instead of playing cops and robbers, he was interested more in the technical side: crime scene analysis, interview techniques.” She let out a laugh in remembrance, looking back up at the Chief and Wade. “Lachlan can become obsessive, which Ty has already seen—”

​“That I have.” Ever since that first night when I’d given Lachlan a little lesson on the basic engineering of houses, he’d dived in. Within a few days, he’d read the books I’d given him, had pages of questions, asked what other books to read, if there were documentaries, tutorials, and anything else. It shocked me how good his questions were. I’d even had to look up some of the answers. “He’s a bright kid.”

​“Anyway, part of helping him resulted in me learning a whole bunch about police procedures. aunt Edith even hired a couple of retired FBI agents and a former police officer to give him…well, us…lessons.”

​At everyone’s confused look—’cause really, who had an aunt that could just hire former law enforcement professionals?—Phoebe dropped a bomb.

​“Alex’s aunt is Edith Devereaux. The Edith Devereaux.”

​Everyone’s jaw dropped.

​Mom sat down heavily in the chair across from Phoebe. “As in, Edith Devereaux, the owner of AA and D developments?”

​That wasn’t all Edith Devereaux owned.

​Phoebe smacked her lips. “The one and the same. She adopted me as a pseudo-niece, and I’m pretty sure she’s still secretly trying to get Lachlan to call her grandma, which means she likes to, well…go bigger than big whenever she can.”

​Wade whistled, and I met his gaze.

​The Chief stood up a little straighter. “That’s—well, that’s excellent then. I’ll just be off. You folks have a good night. Wade, I’ll see you back at the station.”

​“Mom!” Lachlan collided with the Chief, giving him a quick apology. He barreled into the kitchen, followed by Scarlette. Both of them had matching smiles that were a little too wide.

​Phoebe lifted an eyebrow at her son at the same time Mom crossed her arms, eyeing Scarlette.

​“What’s up, guys?” Wade got up, putting his empty coffee cup in the sink.

​“So—”

​Now, I didn’t have to be a parent to know what that start meant.