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Laney and Jacob had originally planned to buy it before Jacob’s past got in the way and they had to turn it down. When my realtor told me it was back on the market, I put an offer in right away. Laney and Jacob didn’t know, but I had been looking at it around the same time they were. After I heard they wanted to buy it, I backed off. They had a daughter, and Jacob wanted the house for his family.
Mr. Thompson, my neighbor, lifted his hand in greeting. He was an older man who lived alone. He was newer to town and kept to himself. I liked him. We got along well since we were a lot alike. I’d often see him cutting his grass at the same time I was, and we’d nod to one another. Occasionally, we’d sit on one of our porches and enjoy a beer.
He’d let Shiloh out and feed her when I had to work long hours. I was thankful for Mr. Thompson. We were friendly, but he wasn’t the sort of neighbor who would bug me every time he saw me. I shivered at the thought of someone invading my privacy like that.
Which made me think of Kat and how she had done just that the day before. Thankfully, it was a one-off. I didn’t make a habit of leaving my truck in the city, and there was no other reason I’d need to see Kat or have her come to my house.
I hopped in my truck and rolled down the window. The station wasn’t far away, and I could have walked, but I liked to listen to the radio on my way in.
“Good morning, Sheriff,” Connie, our station’s receptionist, sang out as I walked in.
“Morning, Con. How’s it going today?”
“Slow and easy, as always on Sunday.”
I smiled. “You didn’t have to come in today.”
“Yeah. I did. I heard Frank and Mindy had their babies and wanted to be here in case you wanted to step out to visit.”
“News travels fast. That was nice of you. Thanks. I was going to go this afternoon,” I said.
“Well, I’m here until you don’t need me.”
I leaned forward over her desk. “Con, I don’t need you.”
She laughed and swatted my arm. “Then I’ll stay until you get back from your visit.”
Smiling, I walked into my office and shut the door. The corner office had been Frank’s before he handed the title of sheriff over to me three years ago. Now the office was mine. It was small, but I liked it.
Being the sheriff in a small town was an easy gig. Not much went on. The most excitement we’d had was when Jacob’s old boss came to town and kidnapped Laney. Since then, things had been awfully quiet. Most days, I took a nap in my office or caught up on a mystery novel.
I’d always enjoyed reading, and lately, between the downtime at work and alone time at home, I’d been reading a lot more. I was thinking of ordering an e-reader. Then I could get more books without having to go to the library in town where I risked running into someone.
The clock on the computer showed it had only been an hour since I sat down at my desk, and I was going crazy. I stood and put on my hat. The station was quiet, and I wondered where everyone was. I checked the small break room and finally found Connie in our old filing room.
“Hey, what are you doing in here?”
She jumped and held a hand to her chest. “Jesus, don’t scare me like that.”
“Sorry. I couldn’t find anyone out there,” I said, jerking a thumb over my shoulder toward the squad room.
“Nelson went to Lettuce Eat to pick up lunch.”
“And he didn’t ask if I wanted anything?”
“We thought you were going to the hospital,” Connie said, pulling a box down from the shelf. She winced under the weight of it. I walked over and took it out of her hands, carrying it to an empty table along the wall where we looked at old case files.
“What’s this for?”
She shrugged. “Not sure. Sheriff Gentry called and asked me to pull it. He said he’d be in later this week to have a look.”
I frowned. Nash Gentry was the Ridge Point sheriff. What did he want with one of our cold cases? “Shouldn’t he have called me?”
She shrugged and headed for the door. I snapped a picture of the case information before following her. “What is it with everyone ignoring me?”
“No one’s ignoring you, honey.”
“First Nelson with lunch and now Nash. I’d say they are.”
