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“Alex is at the range with Trevor.”
“Why aren’t you there?”
I sank into the chair across from him. “Because I had to get a blood test.”
“That couldn’t have waited?”
“No, my doctor wanted me to get it done ASAP.”
The muscles in his jaw ticked as he clenched his teeth a few times. “Trevor said she did good yesterday and that she’ll be an asset on the trip.”
“An asset? He did not say that.”
“Yeah, actually, he did.” I frowned, and Jake leaned back in his seat. “Why don’t you want her to go? I mean for real?”
“Because Maggie is a distraction that we don’t need. She’s nosy as hell, and she constantly gets herself in trouble. It’s not just me that I’m thinking of here. She will be a distraction for everyone because we would constantly be watching and waiting for her to do something stupid. Last night, she got brought in for questioning because one of the guys who did the robbery looked at her wrong that day right before they pulled the heist. She got pissed off, went inside their getaway car, and hid the keys. That’s why the cops wanted to talk to her. They found her prints in the car and thought she was involved.”
Jake laughed. “Bold.”
“Yes, bold and stupid. Jake, trust me, Maggie Valor is trouble with a capital T. She has been that way her whole life. Why do you think she is working as a romance advice columnist and not at the crime news desk? Because she gets herself in trouble, that’s why.”
“You know that how?”
“I know that because I know Maggie.”
“What are you going to do if I decide she is going anyway?”
“I’m going to tell you that I’m not going. I’ll give my position away to one of the PTer’s, and they can run it. Besides, if you are going, and I know you want to, then it makes sense to have one of us back here at the office. I can cover everything that needs attention while you are away.”
He inhaled loudly and released it slowly as he glanced around. “I had thought about that.”
“Then I’ll stay back. If you want Maggie to go, then you take her.”
“You care about her.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Not how you think. Maggie drives me nuts and not necessarily in a good way.”
“Bullshit!” Jake laughed. “I’ll think about it, but I’m just going to tell you now that I think you’re a wuss for not going.”
I stood up. “You think what you want, Screamer, and while you’re so interested in other people's business, figure out a way to make it up to Alice.”
“She’s fine.”
“She is far from fine, Jake. You owe her at least an apology.”
“Fine, whatever.”
“You know, I’d watch it if I were you. One of these days, Alice is going to tell you to go to hell and walk out. She’s the glue to this place, man. You know that, and she knows that.”
“We’d be fine without her.”
I glanced at the open door, hoping that her radar ears couldn’t hear us. “For your sake, I hope she never hears you say that, and you know as well as I do that we would not be.”
“Yeah, alright, I know that. I will come up with something.”
“You do that. In the meantime, I’m going to go check with Mike and see if he heard from my client yesterday.”
“I think he did, and I think there was a question.”
