Page 24 of Diamonds in the Mud

Shit. Pulling out my phone, I scanned my list of suspects and decided to visit the mayor’s office instead. Heading back across town, I somehow ended up passing the Red River Iron Gym.

What the hell? I pulled into the parking lot when I noticed Jameson’s hog sitting out front.

Nine in the morning, the gym was pretty empty. It was just past the time for the early morning fanatics that hit the gym before work and too early for the stay-at-home types who were finishing their avocado toast and lattes before hitting their yoga mats.

Seeing Jameson through the wall of glass windows, I narrowed my eyes and watched him talking to a male gym goer.

God, the man looked sexy as hell in a gray T-shirt and black shorts. His hair appeared slightly wet, as if he’d just come inside out of the rain.

Had he just gotten there?

When my phone rang, I answered Randy’s call on the second ring.

“Hey,” I answered, shifting slightly in my seat.

“Hey, Edith wanted me to see if you’d be up for dinner on Saturday,” Randy said.

“Sure,” I answered without even thinking. “How was this morning’s round?”

Randy grew quiet. “She’d kill me for letting on that she was hurting.”

“I know,” I said softly. “Even so, you should tell me.”

“Right,” he agreed. “She says that the chemo is better than the radiation burns from last time. She’s starting to lose her hair.”

I closed my eyes to the pain. Edith Cordova had the most beautiful silver-gray curly locks that I’d ever seen. It was one of the first features I could remember seeing in my young childhood. That and her soft brown eyes, which had always been filled with love and kindness, like Randy’s were.

“I can take her into Aria and see what she can do?” I suggested.

“She’s talking about shaving it all off,” Randy said with a sigh.

My chest grew heavy. “I can be there,” I said. “Saturday?”

“Saturday,” Randy agreed. “See you then.”

When I hung up, tears burned my eyes. Until my passenger door flew open and Jameson jumped in the seat beside me.

“You know, if you sit out here much longer, you’re going to give the gym a bad rep,” he said with a smile.

I moved my hand away from my gun and narrowed my eyes at him. “You know, if you spook a cop like that again, you might just have a few more holes than you’d like.”

His smile grew. “Checking up on me?” he asked.

I knew there was no logical reason for me to be sitting outside his work for… shit, had I been on the call for ten minutes? I answered, “It’s not a crime.”

He chuckled. “You know, my friends and yours don’t play too well together. If you want to meet up, we should do so someplace more… private.”

I tilted my head. “I haven’t made up my mind yet about that,” I said honestly. “Why do you only have two misdemeanors?”

He tilted his head to match mine. “Should I have more?”

“It doesn’t add up,” I pointed out. “You don’t add up.”

“Not everything in life adds up all the time.”

“I don’t like puzzles that are missing pieces.” My statement had an odd effect on him. He suddenly seemed to be thinking deeply about something.

“Why Rayne?” he asked.