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“They don’t look dangerous,” I said.
“They are,” he said, making my gaze slip back to him. “But not to you. Or any other woman in this town,” he said, turning a tight smile to our waitress who came to ask for our drinks.
I expected him to order coffee. I did as well. But his order of a vanilla shake charmed me. Everything about his smile said that I should order one too. So I did.
“Do you have any other questions for me?” Detective Vaughn asked.
“I know you can’t give me a lot of details about the case,” I said. “But I wouldn’t mind picking your brain on getting my house as safe as possible. I’m already looking into cameras and a security system.”
“Definitely a good start. I would suggest a monitored system, so if by some chance you can’t get to your phone, the operator will call the police for you.”
It would be a lot more expensive, but I would have to find it in my budget.
“That would mean someone would be in my house,” I mused to myself.
“Someone can be there with you. I can,” he said, surprising me, and seemingly… himself.
“I couldn’t ask for that.”
“You didn’t. I offered,” he said, reaching to put creamer in his coffee. Just one. I put three. He had no sugar. I, again, put three.
“Okay,” I agreed, giving him a small smile. “Thank you.”
“You have my number, so whenever you get it set up, just let me know. I would also recommend flood lights,” he said, holding the mug between his hands. “Light the hell up out of your yard. If there aren’t any shadows, no one can hide in them.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” I agreed. I’d planned on one for my backyard, but I liked his idea of putting them everywhere. “I wish I could afford a fence.”
“Even non-climbable fences can be gotten over,” he said with a shrug. “You already seem to have weapons hidden everywhere. And I think that’s smart. Some people might recommend a gun, but…”
“People are more likely to be killed with their own guns than to defend themselves with them,” I said, knowing the statistic.
“Exactly,” he agreed. “I would recommend a dog. Time after time, you ask criminals what is their biggest deterrent, and they say dogs. Especially big dogs. Breeds that are thought of as ‘mean,’ like bullies or rotties. Anything that seems like it could take a chunk out of you.”
“The other women… they didn’t have dogs?” I asked.
“No. Not even small ones.”
“A dog,” I said, nodding. “I’ve actually been meaning to look into getting one,” I admitted. It wasn’t possible when I’d been in school, and living in apartments. But now? Owning my own home? Having a pretty set schedule? I could have a dog.
“I know everyone wants a puppy, but I think an adult is the smart move right now.”
“I wouldn’t have enough time to puppy train anyway. Do you have pets?”
“I do. I used to train them. I had K9 partners when I was a beat cop. I have my old partner now. But he’s… old and mostly sleeps all day.”
“You should pick out the dog for me,” I said, joking, but he missed or ignored that.
“I can do that,” he agreed.
“I was just thinking out loud,” I said, shaking my head.
“It’s a good idea,” he said, shrugging. “I think getting the security system and flood lights installed are first priority, while you’re staying wherever you are staying. Once that is all squared away, a trip to the pound on the day you want to return home is a good plan.”
You couldn’t find any fault in his plans.
The waitress came back, taking our orders, and the detective’s mood was a bit darker when she was gone.
“How are you holding up?” he asked. “Really,” he added as I fiddled with the spoon in my thick milkshake.
