In The Arms Of The Law. Peggy Moreland
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having an unsolved murder on my books, and this one’s been riding for over two months now.”
“I don’t like it any better than you do,” Andi assured him. “But without a murder weapon or a witness, we have little to work with. Once we identify the floater, I’m hoping we can establish probable cause and work it from that angle.”
Nodding his approval of her plan, the chief plucked a fresh cigar from the box on his desk and bit off one end. “There’s a charity ball Saturday night at the country club. It’s a given the Fortunes will be there. I’m going to finagle the two of you an invitation.”
Andi sat up straight in her chair, obviously not pleased with the assignment. “Why? We’ve interviewed every Fortune in the state of Texas and not a one of them was able to identify the body.”
“True,” the chief agreed, “but the only clue we have is the crown-shaped birthmark on the floater’s hip, and that keeps pointing us straight back to the Fortunes. Somebody in that family has to know something. I’d request DNA samples from the lot of them, but I don’t want to do that until we have something more substantial to base our suspicions on. In the meantime, I want y’all at that party. Mix and mingle. See what you can find out.”
He paused to run the cigar through his lips, wetting it, then shifted his gaze to Gabe. “You’re going to need a tux. It’s black tie.”
Gabe stifled a groan. He hated wearing a tuxedo. The last one he’d worn was three years ago at his brother Matt’s wedding, and he still remembered the hour-long battle he’d fought with the damn bow tie that had come with it.
“Couldn’t I just wear a regular suit?” he asked, hoping to avoid the torture.
“A tux,” the chief repeated sternly. “I don’t want you sticking out like a sore thumb.”
“There’s no need for him to go to the trouble of renting a tux,” Andi offered. “I can work the ball by myself.”
The chief shook his head. “If you show up alone, folks might wonder what you’re doing there. I don’t want anyone to suspect that you’re on police business.”
“He’s right, Andi,” Gabe said, siding with the chief. “We’d draw less attention together than either of us would on our own.”
Andi strode out of the chief’s office, her shoulders stiff with resentment, and Gabe trailing behind.
“Why’d you have to agree with him?” she muttered irritably. “If you’d kept your mouth shut, I could’ve talked him into letting me go alone.”
“And miss out on a chance for a date with you?”
“Hey, Andi!” a voice called from across the room. “How come you’ll go on a date with Gabe and not me?”
“Stuff it, Reynolds,” she growled, then flopped down on her chair and narrowed an eye at Gabe. “And this is not a date.”
Hiding a smile, he propped a hip on the edge of her desk. “Sure it is.”
“Not in my book.”
“A man and woman get all dolled up and go out for an evening at the country club?” He lifted a shoulder. “Sounds like a date to me.”
She balled her hands into fists against her thighs. “It’s not a date,” she repeated through clenched teeth. “We’re working on a case.”
“Call it what you want,” he said, then stood and shot her a wink. “But in my book it’s a date.”
She curled her lip in a snarl as he walked away, then snatched up her coffee mug and stomped from the patrol room. In the kitchen where the employees took their breaks, she filled her mug with coffee, gulped a swallow, then swore when the hot liquid burned her tongue.
“Careful,” a female voice warned from behind her. “Lawsuits have been fought and won over the scalding effects of hot coffee.”
She whipped her head around to find that Deirdre had entered the room. Grimacing, she dropped down onto a chair at the table. “Haven’t you heard? You can’t fight city hall.”
Chuckling, Deirdre took a seat opposite Andi. “You’ve got a point.”
“What are you doing here?” Andi asked in puzzlement. “I thought you were working graveyard this month.”
“I am, but I had to finish up an arrest report. A couple of teenagers decided to celebrate their newly earned high school senior status by spray painting the city water tower.”
Andi sank back against her chair with a dramatic sigh. “Ah, youth. Those were the days.”
“Yeah, then you grow up and find out that life sucks.”
Andi drew back to look at Deirdre in surprise. “My, but aren’t you the cynical one today.”
“Can’t argue with the facts. Things are easier when you’re young.”
Noticing the dark circles under her friend’s eyes, Andi attributed her current mood to exhaustion. She leaned forward and gave her hand a comforting pat. “You’re just tired. Go home and get some rest. You’ll feel differently after you’ve gotten a good eight hours sleep.”
Wearily, Deirdre pushed to her feet. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” At the door, she stopped and glanced back. “By the way, how are things going with you and Gabe? Are the two of you getting along all right?”
Andi snorted a breath. “Depends on your definition of ‘all right.’”
“He’s not coming on to you, is he?”
“Wouldn’t matter if he was,” Andi informed her. “I’m not interested in Gabe Thunderhawk.” She flapped a hand. “Even if I was, he’s too young for me.”
“Oh, come on. Seven years isn’t that big a gap.”
“That would depend on which side of the gap you’re standing on. Unfortunately, my view is from the far side.”
“Just be careful,” Deirdre warned. “Gabe can be charming when he wants to be, but he’s a user. Trust me. I know. I’ve got the footprints to prove it.” She flapped a hand. “But that’s old news. I’ve got a new guy in my sights.”
“Really?” Andi said, unaware that her friend had a new boyfriend. “Who?”
Deirdre shook her head as she walked out. “If I tell you, it might jinx it. And I don’t want to take a chance on blowing it with this guy.”
Andi frowned as Deirdre turned down the hall, puzzled by her friend’s refusal to share her new boyfriend’s name. She certainly hadn’t been hesitant to share the details of her past relationships, including the one with Gabe. Her frown deepened as she recalled Deirdre’s warning about Gabe. Odd, but she couldn’t remember her ever mentioning having any ill feelings toward Gabe. In fact, according to Deirdre, he all but hung the moon. So why had she warned Andi to be careful around him?
With a sigh, she pushed away from the table. Doesn’t matter, she told herself as she headed back to the patrol room. She didn’t need to be warned away from Gabe Thunderhawk. Unlike Deirdre, who slipped from one bad relationship to another in her almost desperate search for Mr. Right, Andi didn’t want or need a man in her life. She’d come to that conclusion her senior year in college. And it wasn’t from something she’d learned in the classroom. She’d been taught that particular lesson in a bedroom.
Deirdre unlocked her apartment, then stooped to pick up the morning paper and scanned the headlines as she stepped inside. The door slammed shut behind her and she whirled, her hand going instinctively to the gun holstered at her waist.
“You’re late.”
Laughing weakly, she dropped her hand from the gun. “Have you ever heard of knocking?”
He