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A chime rang cheerfully as I entered the 7-Eleven. “That doesn’t mean I should trust him.”
“I never said you should. But it is certainly worthwhile keeping his offer in the back of your mind. Especially since I will not be around once the keys are found.”
Him not being around was something I did not want to think about. “I can hardly keep it in the front of my mind, given Hunter’s predisposition for picking up all the wrong types of thoughts.”
“She will be well aware that you have talked to Stanford.”
“Yeah, but I’m not going to rub her nose in it.” I plucked a can of Coke from the refrigerator, but there wasn’t a whole lot of choice when it came to smaller chocolate bars. After a couple of seconds’ deliberation, I grabbed a Mars bar, then paid for them both at the self-service scanners. “And I’m certainly not going to mention the fact that he made me a counteroffer.”
“If they are longtime foes, then she will guess what he will or will not have done.”
“You know, I really don’t want to be talking about Hunter right now.”
“Then what do you wish to talk about?” He opened the door and ushered me outside, one hand pressed lightly against my spine.
“Nothing. How about we just walk down to the gardens so I can eat my chocolate and enjoy the quiet?”
“You? Requesting silence? A rare moment indeed.”
I snorted and nudged him with an elbow. “No smart remarks from the peanut gallery, thanks.”
“And what, precisely, is a peanut gallery?”
I rolled my eyes. “Just escort me down to the park before I die of caffeine withdrawal.”
His nod was decidedly regal; then he offered me his arm and said, “As you wish.”
I slipped my arm through his and we walked down to the park, where I found a bench seat near the fountain and had my snack, listening to the dance of water and the songs of the birds in the trees. It was, I thought, another one of those rather pleasant—almost ordinary—moments to treasure in a life gone crazy.
Unfortunately, it didn’t last. Just as I tossed the empty Coke can into the nearby bin, my phone rang. I dug it out of my handbag and hit the vid-phone’s ANSWER button.
“Stane,” I said. “How’d the date go?”
“Ah, the date,” he said, a somewhat bemused expression on his face. “You could say it wasn’t what I expected.”
“Meaning it was worse, or better?”
“Better is something of an understatement.”
I smiled. “So your mother wasn’t so far off the mark when she arranged this blind date?”
“Nope. Holly Green is not only pretty, but she’s a gamer.” He sighed. “I think I’m in love.”
“You haven’t invited her around to your place yet. She might yet be a clean freak.”
“No one who is a gamer can be a clean freak. The two are totally incompatible.”
My grin grew. The lone wolf had been snagged, and bad. “I take it you’ll be seeing her again—sans mothers this time?”
“Oh, hell yeah.”
I laughed. “Is that the only reason you’re ringing? To boast about your hot date?”
“Uh, no.” He composed himself, his expression becoming a touch more serious. “Got a hit on that storage locker. Someone just came out of it.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know yet. I’m running a scan, but nothing has come up yet.” He disappeared briefly as he scooted from one screen to another. “I just sent you a picture. It’s a woman, so it might be Genevieve Sands.”
