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“Not a single one,” Cody said, picking up his unusual song once more.
The singing again soothed Demetrius, coaxing him deeper so the water touched his thighs. He really could use some downtime, they both could. While he would miss their Critter Catchers work, Demetrius would enjoy having more time to focus on other things, including his relationship with Cody.
He took another few steps and sighed as the water lapped against his chest. A quick swim would definitely go a long way toward helping him relax after such a stressful morning. And who better to be swimming with than his husband, who he trusted more than anyone else in the world?
Another step, and the water splashed cool against his throat.
“Not much longer now,” Cody sang, and, with a smile, tugged him a little bit deeper, a little bit farther from the shore.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Cody’s phone buzzed, and he pressed the button to ignore it without taking his gaze from his grandmother.
“Grandma, why would you say that? I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“You sang to me,” she said, voice shaking as a tear ran down her cheek.
“Sang to you? Like the yoga teacher did?”
“Yes!” Felicia said. “It made me feel different. I didn’t like it.” She drew in a stuttering breath. “And you took me out to the road and left me there.”
“The road?” Cody looked at the nurse. “She got outside?”
“We were doing rounds,” the nurse said. “She got past us.”
“I found her on the shoulder of 118,” Lucia said. “While I was on patrol. She was standing on the gravel and looking off into the woods.”
“You took me out there and then left me,” his grandmother said. “Just walked off into the trees, and left me there. Why would you do that?”
A chill went up Cody’s back. “Grandma, I would never do that to you. I swear. That wasn’t me.”
She gave him a hard look. “You think I’m lying?”
“No, of course not. But, Grandma, I wasn’t in town until just now. I was over in Harriettville. And I would never, ever have you walk out to the road and leave you there. I would never do that.”
His stomach knotted thinking of her on the side of the road, lost and confused as she believed he’d abandoned her. What the fuck?
Cody looked at the nurse. “She’s current on her medications?”
“Yep, I checked just a little while ago. This bit about hearing someone sing to her is something new. It just started last week when she said Molly was singing to her outside her window.”
His grandmother tried to pull her hands out of his, but Cody gently, carefully, tightened his hold and looked into her eyes. “Grandma, I want you to really listen to me, okay?”
She nodded as another tear spilled free.
“Whoever you saw, whatever you think I did, it wasn’t me.”
“But he looked just like you.”
“Mrs. Bower, ma’am,” Lucia said, her voice softer than Cody had ever heard. “Can you explain to Deputy Walsh and I exactly what happened? Step by step, if you could. As many details as you can manage.”
Cody’s phone buzzed again, and he reluctantly released his grandmother’s hands and pulled it from his pocket. Ollie was calling. That was a big hell to the no. He hit the button to send the call to voicemail. He listened to his grandmother telling Lucia and the deputy what had happened, having been part of enough investigations to know better than to interject. But, damn, it was difficult to not speak up and maintain his innocence.
His phone buzzed yet again. Lucia shot him a look and said in a low voice edged with tension, “Take it in the hall and answer it or turn it the fuck off.”
“You know I didn’t do this,” Cody countered.
“Deputy Walsh is taking a statement,” Lucia said. “As a courtesy, I’m allowing you to listen, but that phone needs to stop interrupting us.”
