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CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
For a criminal profiler, Jessie Hunt felt pretty stupid.
She hadn’t figured it out when Ryan insisted on driving them back downtown after being discharged from the hospital. She hadn’t figured it out when he suggested they use their much deserved forced day off after tangling with a murderer to go bowling at the Lucky Strike at L.A. Live in the middle of the afternoon. She hadn’t even figured it out when she walked into the place and saw balloons and streamers.
It wasn’t until everyone jumped out to yell “Happy Birthday” that she realized what was going on. To be honest, she had completely forgotten that today was her thirtieth birthday. But apparently Ryan hadn’t.
How he’d managed to coordinate all this while in the middle of two investigations, courtroom testimony, and a hospital-requiring run-in with a sociopathic killer was beyond her. She looked over at him and was amused by his Cheshire cat smile.
“You’re sneaky,” she said playfully. “You said I needed to clear Thursday evening.”
He shrugged nonchalantly as if it was no big deal. Before he could say anything, they were swarmed by people. Hannah was there, with Garland, Kat, and a guy Jessie didn’t recognize but assumed was Deputy Mitch Connor.
Dr. Lemmon stood nearby as did Agent Jack Dolan and Patrick “Murph” Murphy, the federal marshal who’d protected her when her father was stalking her. Detectives Trembley and Callum Reid and officers Beatty and Nettles from Central Station were in attendance, as was Ryan’s ample-gutted buddy from Westside division, Detective Brady Bowen. Even Captain Decker had showed up.
They all hugged her gingerly, aware that she had been hospitalized recently.
“Hey, at least you got out fast this time,” Kat said drily. “I’m used to you convalescing in hospital beds for weeks at a time.”
“Me too,” Jessie said. “Thanks for stopping by to watch Hannah last night. I hope it didn’t mess up anything with that mountain man deputy over there.”
“Nah. Mitch and I needed a little break to come up for air, if you know what I mean,” she said, winking obviously.
“I do know what you mean, Katherine. But thanks for leaving little to the imagination. Just try to keep your clothes on until the party’s over, okay?”
“I’m not making any promises,” he friend said, already returning to the lane where Mitch was waiting for her.
When she walked off, Hannah came over, looking more tentative than usual.
“How are you doin’, big sis?” she asked, using that term for the first time.
“I’m getting by,” Jessie told her. “Sorry for abandoning you to the care of relative strangers for the night.”
“That’s okay. Until a few months ago, you were a relative stranger. Besides, Kat and the snarky geriatric are both way cooler than you. So it worked out.”
Her wry smile indicated that she was mostly kidding.
“You didn’t ruin any of Garland’s doilies, I hope?” Jessie asked.
“Nope—didn’t even see any. He must have hidden them somewhere to keep my grubby fingers off them.”
“Smart move,” Jessie noted.
“Perhaps,” Hannah conceded. “But what he doesn’t know is that however much money he saved by hiding his home valuables from me, he’s about to lose in bowling. We just made a friendly wager. And I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but before my life went to hell, I was in the bowling club at school. And I was good.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. I’m about to clean him out after I have a little cake. Don’t warn him.”
“I won’t,” Jessie promised, crossing her heart.
She watched Hannah head over to the cake table and felt an unusual sense of relief. Bowling parties, cake, and casual, pleasant interactions were at such a premium she wanted to savor the moment. When there was finally a lull in the well wishes, Captain Decker came over.
“It looks like half of Central Station is here, Captain,” Jessie noted. “Who’s going to solve all the crimes and stuff?”
“Actually, I’m about to announce that they all have to get back in a minute. But I figured the bad guys would give us a thirty-minute break. They do that, right?” he said, smiling sardonically.
“Well, thanks for coming, even if only briefly,” she said.
