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Man, for his sake, I hoped Juniper wouldn't be evil. No, I was kinda rooting for that, too. Somehow, I couldn't take this objectively.
That didn't mean we wouldn't do our best to catch whoever was wrong and put them behind bars. Including her, if it was her. But a guy could still dream, right?
Thunder was neck-deep in discussing what went down with the SEAL 6 operation—the most famous of them all—when her phone rang.
It was on the table beside me. Before she could answer it, I caught a glimpse of the caller ID. Central Precinct. It didn't take rocket science to put two and two together.
We already knew the police were considering her a top suspect. Grizzly was pretty chummy with the precinct’s commander, good ol' Chuck Walker.
He wasn't the brightest, but he'd survived enough years in the force to know how things ran around here.
Most criminal activities in Oakmont were centered around petty thievery and the odd, eccentric case of an unfriendly neighbor acting up.
The town was small, which meant the list of suspects was narrow.
Even the most seasoned of criminals would think twice before committing something as gruesome as murder in a place where tongues wagged this hard.
I'd imagine they'd be thwarted by the neighbors' question-filled attempts at bombarding them with pies and casseroles. I'd seen the line of people trying to do the same with Juniper.
I knew she didn't like it.
Juniper's face changed color very rapidly during the course of the call.
She'd gone to stand by the window so we couldn't hear everything, but I surmised it wasn't pretty from the stark white fear in her eyes. But, and this was from someone who'd seen it all, I still couldn't read any obvious signs of guilt.
She looked scared that the station was calling her—and who wouldn't? But she didn't lookguiltyscared.
She hung up after a minute and walked over to us. "I'm sorry, guys, I gotta go, although I'd have loved to stick around a bit longer with y'all."
Thunder and I stood up. Grizzly was still studying her.
"No worries," I said. "Wanna come over this evening and hang out with us? We're thinking of putting the ol' barbecue to use."
She smiled at that. "Sure, but you gotta tell me who taught you how to cook barbecue first? Don't go yapping about another YouTube or Instagram influencer now, although some of them are mighty ingenuous with their ideas."
"Why don't you teach the three of us your favorite barbecue dishes, then?" Grizzly called out, a small curve playing on his lips.
She turned a gentle shade of red. Shyness suited Juniper Davis. "Is that a date?"
"Let's say it is," I chimed in.
"Los otros dos pueden enfocarse en la 'comida', pero nosotros tenemos temas más interesantes que discutir."
"I'm going to have to brush up on all the Spanish I never paid attention to in class, but that sounded like you're saying the other two can eat while we ... watch documentaries?"
Juniper winked at Thunder, who put his hand on his heart and heaved a deep sigh.
So much so that he did not notice the landing in front of him and lost his balance, stumbling forward in the most un-SEAL-like way possible.
I decided I'd laugh later, but Grizzly was already snorting. "Serves you right."
Juniper's phone beeped, and she looked down to check it. When she turned her face up, she was visibly upset. "Seems I gotta go right now. I'll catch up with y'all later."
Grizzly waited until the door closed in front of us. "I don't feel like letting her do this alone. I'm gonna go to the damn station."
I coulda stopped him, but it wouldn't have helped. Thunder and I watched him sneak out behind Juniper. He'd tail her all the way to the station.
Thunder had a small smile on his lips. "Oh,está enamorado."
