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“I hate to ask this, Lillian,” Zack said, “but was your grandson still in the house when the ambulance took you away?”
She nodded, her expression drawn and sad.
“Is it possible he’s the one who set off your alarm yesterday?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. Do you have any idea what’s missing?”
Zack looked at me and gestured for me to say something. My thought was, Thanks, pal. I dropped my chin to my chest and blew out a breath. “Your silver cabinet’s empty,” I said. “And your vases and art pieces from the living room. Your safe was open, but I don’t know what was in there.”
“Not much,” Lillian said. “Maybe a thousand dollars or so for emergencies. Mostly I kept important papers in there.”
“Your trust papers?”
“Yes.” She sighed again.
“Do you have any idea of the value of things he took?”
“You don’t know he took them,” she insisted, obviously still hopeful her grandson wasn’t the thief.
I pursed her lips. “Okay, do you have any idea of the value of the missing items?”
“I’m tired,” Lillian said. “I need to sleep.”
She shut her eyes, effectively shutting us out.
I stood and placed a kiss on Lillian’s forehead. “Get some rest, Lillian. Baxter needs you to come home.” I saw Lillian’s lips twist upward in just the tiniest of movements at the mention of her dog. I couldn’t blame her. He was stealing hearts all over Dallas.
With a tilt of my head for Zack to follow me, I walked into the hall with him close on my heels.
“Well, her grandson sounds like he’s going to miss out on the Grandson of the Year award,” Zack said.
He put his hand on the small of my back and led me to an empty seating area. The heat of his broad palm burned thought my jacket and shirt, warming my back like a heating pad. I was sure the rest of me would heat as fast if he touched my other places.
And yes, I realized the totally inappropriate timing of my thoughts.
“I guess I should confess,” I said as we sat.
“Well, my day just got more interesting. Do I need to frisk you before or after you confess? I’ve got handcuffs if you’re into that.”
I slugged his bicep with my fist. “Ouch. That hurt. Do you have steel armor under that jacket?”
He grinned, and my stomach and heart both clenched, leaving me without a breath.
“You’re good for my ego,” he said. “Now, confession time. I’m listening.”
“Randall Branson showed up in my office today, demanding that I hand over Baxter.”
A deep furrow formed on the cop’s brow. “I admit, I wasn’t expecting that confession. I’m assuming you told him to drop dead.”
“Not in so many words, but I may have told him, ‘Don’t fuck with me. You won’t win.’”
Zack nodded and chuckled. “I bet you scared the piss out of the guy.”
“He left, but he says he’s getting a lawyer to force me to give him the dog.”
“But why? I admit, Baxter is a cute dog, but given Baxter’s age and the last time Lillian saw her grandson, I suspect he never met the dog until this week.”
“Good question. Doesn’t matter. The dog is going nowhere with him.” I stood. “I have to get back to work. Nice running into you.”
