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Ski talked for several minutes, then asked, "How's Berry? I mean besides being a massive pain in the ass."
"Abnormally quiet."
"Scared?"
"Yeah. And she doesn't even know about those pictures."
"You haven't told her or Caroline?"
"No."
"Good." He paused before continuing. "I had a deputy return Amanda Lofland's cell phone to her. Let's not pretend that you didn't dig into it."
"You saw Sally Buckland's numbers?"
"Hard to miss."
"Berry wasn't aware the two women even knew each other."
"You asked?"
"Yeah, and she looked surprised to learn they'd been in contact. What do you suppose they had to talk about?"
Ski refrained from answering. Tersely he said, "Drive safely," and clicked off.
Caroline and Berry came out of the restroom as Dodge was replacing his phone in the holster on his belt.
"Who was that?" Berry asked.
"Ski."
"Any news?"
"We'll talk about it in the car." He waited until they were back on the road before passing along Ski's update. "He's outside Buckland's house, waiting for a search warrant so he can go in, but this is Sunday. They're having to track down a judge."
He glanced at Berry in the rearview mirror. "He also asked me what the expletive deleted you think you're doing running off to Houston. He wasn't happy about it, let me tell you. He thought you were tucked in safe and sound at the lake house with his heavily armed guys, including me, guarding you."
"I didn't need his permission."
"I'll buy a ticket to watch when you tell him that. But between now and then, he's nixed us staying at your place overnight. Even with HPD officers posted as guards, which he thinks he could get, he's not comfortable with you being where Starks could so easily find you."
"So where are we staying?" Caroline asked.
"Ski's gonna book us rooms at a hotel. Says since you and Sheriff Drummond are such close personal, social friends, he's sure he can get him to approve the expense." Ski had said nothing of the sort regarding Caroline and the sheriff, but Dodge threw it in out of jealous spite.
"Soon as Ski's got the rooms reserved, he'll let us know where to go. He'll try to get a hotel close to Delray. And, Berry, he wants your, uh, rear end back in Merritt tomorrow as soon as your meeting is over. I promised to get you there. No argument. Understood?"
"Loud and clear. And I can see the advisability of staying in a hotel, but I've got to stop at my house first."
"How come?"
"I've got to pick up something to wear."
"What's wrong with what you've got on?"
She and Caroline both looked at him like he was an imbecile.
Resigned, he said, "Five minutes tops. Deal?"
