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“It’s sheriff, actually. I’m the TSP sheriff in this area.” He leaned in a little, hand resting where it should. Traffic stops could be damned dangerous. Even when stopping gorgeous super model types like this. And he was out there alone, with no damned backup around for hours. No. Murdoch would never be stupid. If she hadn’t been going quite as fast as she was, he wouldn’t have pulled her over to begin with. “So you probably knew you were going a bit too fast.”
“Something like that.”
He took her ID quickly.
Then winced.
A TSP badge withInternal Affairsprinted right there across the bottom. Next to a photo that looked like a slightly different version of the woman he couldn’t get out of his head. “Well, hello, Detective Heather Holly Coleson. You’re a bit far from home. Unless you are out looking for the haunted mansion? I’ve heard there may be ghosts residing in Coleson Hollow now. Your ancestors, possibly?”
Zoey’s ancestors, possibly. If he was a betting man…
“Most likely. My father and grandfather and great-grandfather built the place, after all.”
Hmmm. In less than a month, he’d met two brown-eyed Coleson ladies. In a town where Colesons had been gone a long, long time.Interesting. Two Coleson ladies, with Zoey eyes.
Zoey, who was looking for her roots in Coleson Hollow. Hmmm.
If he were to ever see this woman and Zoey Sofia standing next to each other, he’d lay down odds they were sisters. No question. Even more than that St. Louis sister of Zoey’s.
According to her birthdate on her ID, this lady TSP could fit right into the line between Paige Brockman and the doctor twins who were so damned irritating.
“Taking care of some TSP business, actually.” She held out her hand, and he placed her badge in her open palm. She had a pretty hand. No ring on her ring finger either. And when she gave him that look right there, he was reminded so strongly of Zoey, he was almost certain there had to be a connection.
ThisColeson lady reminded him of his Zoey even more strongly than pretty nurse Bonnie.
That had him…edgy right now. Internal Affairs or not.
Then again, not every dark-eyed gorgeous woman was related to Zoey. He was going to have to remind himself of that, too.
But Murdoch didn’t really believe in coincidences.
There was no damned way at the speed she was going that she wasn’t getting a ticket today. They both knew that. He was just in the right mood that he hoped she’d argue that very thing. He’d probably enjoy it.
Of course, she was TSP IA. That could prove a bit difficult for him. Hewassupposed to be behaving himself until he got Major Crimes. Since Elliot Marshall had called him that morning and said he’d beenvoted onto the island.
Finley Creek Major Crimes was Murdoch’s. He’d start in two weeks.
As long as he behaved, anyway.
Well, behaving meant upholding the law. Thirteen over without good reason wasnotthe law. He bet her supervisor would give her an earful when he learned about this. If the Wichita Falls supervisor was still the prick Murdoch remembered, anyway.
Still… he wrote the ticket with a flourish. “I think you know the next part, ma’am. Maybe we have a nice straight highway here on this stretch of Old Coleson Road, but thirteen over the limit? Not good. Not without good reason, anyway.”
“No. I suppose it isn’t.” She shot him an appraising look. He looked back, tempted to use one of the stares that got under his Zoey’s skin, just for the hell of it. “Have we met before?”
“Not that I can recall, but I was thinking the same thing. I suspect we’ve crossed paths before, if you’ve been with the TSP for a while.” She had questions in those dark eyes of hers. About him. Like she was ready to pick his entire career apart, looking for the band-aids. So she could choke him with them. “I’ve irked a few in IA in my day. Probably more than my fair share, honestly. But…I’m the unrepentant type. I’ve been told it’s not my best quality.”
Well, she’d find quite a few if she just scratched the surface. He’d pissed off a lot of people in his early years. Especially in Wichita Falls. Assholes—there were a lot of assholes there. And he didn’t regret his previous actions at all. He’d always felt it was justified when he was doing it.
“I’m coming up on fifteen years. You?” he said, wanting to draw this out. To study her. Figure out why she reminded him of Zoey so strongly. The hair was lighter, quite a bit. It waved. The eyes were just as dark and shaped just the same. Build was the same. And maybe the jawline. Definitely not enough to say for sure, but…they were searching for Zoey’s ghosts, after all.
And here two pretty ladies with Zoey eyes had just crossed his path. Murdoch didn’t believe in those kinds of coincidences.
“Eleven.”
“Yep, I’m sure we’ve seen each other before.”
“Maybe we’ll see each other again.” She shot him a smirk. Hell, it was damned near identical to Zoey’s. Enough to make a man’s world go sideways, there. He’d heard the governor say sweet little Ariella’s smile tilted his world sideways on several occasions, too.
