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“It’s Stone,” a deep voice gruffs.
That’s right. I seemed to have acquired Jack Stone as both a co-worker and an obnoxious neighbor.
I head to the door to let him in and am more than surprised to see Nikki right there with him.
She’s traded her pantsuit for yoga pants and a T-shirt, and her crimson locks are piled on top of her head. Jack is still wearing his suit, and in his arms he’s carrying a pizza with a hot pink box on top of that with the word donuts stamped over it.
“Pizza and donuts?” I muse as the two of them file in.
“Clearly, he’s not interested in meeting our nutritional needs,” Nikki says as she takes in the place.
“Hey, I’m interested in meeting the needs of women,” he quips as he lands the food on the coffee table. “Just not the nutritional variety.”
“Oh, he’s funny,” I say, shooting Nikki a look.
She nods. “About as funny as the rest of the men on the team. Welcome aboard, Baxter.” She pulls a few water bottles out of her tote bag. “I brought the libations.”
“Thank you.” At least those I approve of. Heck, I approve of the pizza and donuts, too. I haven’t exactly been meeting my nutritional needs either.
Jack does a quick search of the inside of the cabin as if he were hunting down a criminal before peeking out the back slider.
“Sweet,” he says. “Looks like we’ve got a hot tub. Can’t wait.”
My mouth opens for a moment. “It looks like I’ve got a hot tub,” I correct him before looking over at Nikki. “You’re welcome to try it out any time.”
“What about me?” Jack says as they settle onto the sofa and I dig out a few paper towels to accommodate us.
“I wouldn’t hold my breath for an invite.”
The three of us dive into the pizza first, pepperoni with sausage. It’s from a place called Luigi’s that I used to live off of. Extra cheese is just a part of the recipe. They’re not shy with the pizza sauce either, and lucky for me, it has just the right tang.
“Oh, I’ve missed Luigi’s,” I moan through a bite. “They have the best pizza in all of Pine Ridge Falls.”
“All of Colorado,” Jack says before taking a bite that encompasses half the slice in his hand.
“What brings you to Pine Ridge?” I ask while balancing my pizza with the remote and turning on a basketball game on low volume.
“It’s not Elmwood,” he says. “That’s where I grew up. My family is still there.”
And I’m back to wondering if anything good can come from Elmwood.
“How about you, Nikki?” I ask.
“Other side of the falls,” she says, taking a quick sip of her water. “I’m up in Silver Peak.”
Silver Peak is less than a ten-minute drive, and it has less of a rural appeal than Pine Ridge Falls since the town was highly redeveloped about fifteen years ago. It’s a polished stone in a sea of untamed wilderness.
“Well”—I say, toasting her with my pizza—“everyone knows Silver Peak has better coffee.”
We share a quick laugh before scarfing down two-thirds of the pizza and half of the donut box before busting out our laptops.
“So what did you do before deciding to join the FBI?” Nikki asks, glancing my way. “I worked cybersecurity in the medical system.”
“Homicide detective,” Jack offers as the two of them zero in on me, awaiting an answer.
“I actually—I have a couple of distant relatives in the force and they inspired me. One was a behavioral analyst for the FBI and the other is a judge up in Vermont. I got my bachelor’s in criminal justice and my graduate degree in forensic psychology.” I tell them. “Then I went on to work as a criminal analyst for a few private investigators. There were three. It didn’t pay much and every case revolved around a cheating spouse.”
“I’m impressed,” Jack says, holding my gaze a second too long. “All right, Nikki Knight.” He nods her way. “What did you get from forensics?”
