Alex slid into her seat at the kitchen table, feeling the thrift-store chair wobble underneath her. “Hello,” she said shyly in her best Elena voice. Jules and the younger kids answered, but Sam stayed silent, simply eyeing her for a long moment before returning his attention to his plate.
Sam always looked at her as though he could see right through her. I just need to work harder to win him over, she thought grimly. He’s a guy, after all. He’s bound to crack sooner or later—they all do eventually. She caught his gaze and shot him a sweet smile, but he frowned and focused his attention on the cat that had draped itself across his shoulders. The cat was eyeing her with almost as much disdain as Sam was.
“Here you go,” Jules said, setting a glass of water and a plate in front of her. “How are you feeling this morning?”
Alex faked a flinch. “Okay, but I’m still a little shaken up about that poor woman who was killed, especially since they haven’t caught the guy.”
“I know. It’s terrible.” As she settled in a chair between Dee and Tio, who was absently tracing shapes in the condensation on his glass, Jules gave a visible shiver. “I still can’t believe that happened. I thought all of that was over.” She gave Alex a sharp but sympathetic look. “Do you know anything about who might have done that? I know it’s scary, but you have to remember that none of what happened to you is your fault. Theo can help you if he knows what’s going on.”
Alex had been surprised when she first realized how earnest her housemates were, how they honestly cared about keeping her safe. It made things much easier. Dropping her gaze to her lap for a moment, she said hesitantly, “Nothing happened to me. I mean, I don’t know anything.”
Reaching across the table, Jules patted her shoulder. “Just remember that help is here when you need it.”
A slight twinge of guilt pinged in Alex’s stomach, but she ignored it the way she always did. “Thank you.”
“Guess what Theo told me?” Jules asked the table at large, obviously changing the subject, and Alex’s ears perked up, even as she kept her head down. It was an unexpected bonus that Jules and Grace were dating two local cops. A little eavesdropping and a hidden app on their phones, and Alex knew pretty much everything that was going on. The only problem was the suspicious new cop—Kit—but Alex knew she could be handled. No one in town trusted Kit yet. Alex just had to play on that, to encourage the other cops’ distrust of their new partner, and no one would believe anything that Kit had to say. People were easy to manipulate. Everyone was always so willing to believe the worst.
“What’d he say?” Dee asked eagerly.
“Mr. Wernicutt wandered away from his nephew again.” Jules scooped some pasta onto Elena’s plate. “Guess where he went?”
“Where?” Ty asked. Even Tio was listening.
“He walked through town and into the woods and finally sat down on our front porch.”
“Our porch?” Dee echoed. “Did you find him?”
“No. It was the new officer, Kit. She has a tracking dog that followed Mr. Wernicutt’s scent and led them all the way here.”
“Oh.” Dee looked sad for a moment. “I wish I’d seen that.”
That had been close. Alex hadn’t expected Bendsie to show up so soon. She’d barely gotten the gun and darted back inside before the dog had rounded the corner of the house. It could’ve been a disaster. The new cop was much too suspicious and didn’t seem to be as easily influenced by a sad story and a pair of big, dark eyes as her partners were.
“Wh-wh-what k-kind of d-d-dog?” Sam asked, breaking his habitual silence.
“A hound of some kind.” Jules’s eyebrows pulled together as if she was trying to remember the name. After a few seconds, her expression cleared and she smiled. “A bloodhound. That’s what he is. He’s adorable. I gave them all a ride back to town yesterday, including the dog.”
“They were here twice, and I missed it both times?” Dee’s mouth pulled down in disappointment. “School wrecks everything.”
There was a chorus of laughing responses from everyone except Sam, who stared off into space silently. Alex surreptitiously studied him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. She didn’t like how much influence Sam had over his older sister, especially since it was so obvious that he didn’t like Alex. Jules might be sympathetic to Alex now, but that could change if Sam shared his suspicions—and Alex’s plan depended on keeping Jules’s trust. It was infuriating, really. She’d played her best game, used techniques that should’ve lured in the most suspicious minds, but Sam stayed aloof. Alex hadn’t given up yet, though. She wasn’t about to let a teenager, of all people, best her.
She’d convince him that she was innocent, fragile, and harmless. All her marks fell eventually. It was just a matter of time before Sam fell, too.
And if he didn’t, well, there were ways to take care of even the most stubborn stumbling blocks.
“That’s it!” Tio said suddenly, and everyone’s attention turned to him as he pulled what looked like a Swiss Army knife out of his pocket and set it on the table.
“What’s it, T?” Ty asked, eyeing the knife with interest.
“I’m trying to convert this to use touch commands for each implement,” Tio explained, pushing the knife into the center of the table so that everyone could see. “I’ve been having trouble setting it off unintentionally, however, which causes issues when I’m carrying it in my pocket. I just thought of how to prevent it from accidentally opening.” He tapped the side of the knife and the blade extended, quickly enough to make Ty, Sam, and Jules jerk back in their chairs.
“Tio,” Jules said sternly. “Did you just make a switchblade?”
He cocked his head to the side, blinking at the tool for a few moments before saying, “Not…technically?”
“Retract it,” she ordered, and he tapped the side twice, making the blade disappear with a click. Jules picked it up tentatively, handling it like she would a bomb, and set it on top of the refrigerator. “No one touches this until Theo can dispose of it.” She gave Tio a flat, no-nonsense stare. “No more switchblades.”
“But what about my touch-command experiment?”
“Dull implements only for all future projects,” Jules said firmly, waiting until he nodded in reluctant agreement before retaking her seat.
A switchblade—how handy. As she gave Tio a sympathetic look, Alex made a mental note to retrieve it before Theo’s next visit. She’d need all the weapons she could get once her plan was set in motion. She never liked to kill, but sometimes it was the only way forward.
She smiled across the table at Dee, who immediately beamed back. Such a sweet, trusting family, Alex thought. It was so good of Mr. Espina to lead me right to them.
* * *
Wes couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t uncommon for him to have insomnia, but it usually happened when he was working on a project or was trying to sort out an especially tricky problem. This time, it felt different. Excitement was running through him, making him feel like he’d downed a half dozen espressos in the fifteen minutes before he’d gone to bed.
He couldn’t blame caffeine for his sleepless state, though. No, it was all the fault of a beautiful woman who’d almost gotten shot by Rufus. The memory made him frown, hating the idea that she’d been in danger. After seven years working in his tower and living year-round in the small adjacent cabin, Wes had earned the wary respect of his neighbors. He wouldn’t call them friends, but he’d be able to knock on their doors without getting his head shot off.
Probably.
Giving up on attempting sleep, Wes climbed out of bed and tossed his winter coat over his drawstring pants and T-shirt. Stuffing his feet into his boots, he clumped outside. He glanced at his watch. It was close to four, but the world was as dark as if it were the middle of the night. The stars were bright, though, giving the snow an eerie blue-white glow. One of his favorite things about his home was how quiet it was, especially at night in the winter. In the small city where he’d grown up, there’d always been noise, sounds overlapping other sounds until it was impossible for him to concentrate on anything. Here, it was just the slight thud and brush of his boots connecting with the snowy ground, then the quiet beep and click of the tower door unlocking and opening.
Once upstairs, there were more distractions—the crackling of the fire in the woodstove and the whir and beep of various electronics he’d hooked to the motion sensor—but everything was familiar and expected. Usually, the sameness of his tower was comforting, but tonight he was restless. He’d gotten a taste of the heady excitement he’d felt in Kit’s company, and he wanted more. For the first time, the tower felt empty.
“Radio on,” he commanded, needing to hear human voices other than his own. After he heard the beep indicating that the digital radio had powered up, there was still silence, and he almost laughed. Why had he thought anyone would be communicating at this hour? It was tiny Monroe after all. “Radio scan.” Although he still didn’t have high hopes of hearing any communications, even with all the channels open, that at least increased the odds. Walking over to the bank of windows, Wes peered into the darkness, not seeing anything except his reflection.
“Dispatch, Unit 2242. I’m about to make a traffic stop on the 200 block of Main Street. Plates when you’re ready.”
The voice belonged to one of Wes’s more sane neighbors, Otto Gunnersen. The cop and his new wife, Sarah, lived a few miles away.
“2242, go ahead.” The dispatcher sounded sleepy. As Otto rattled off the license plate number, Wes wondered if Otto’s transmission had woken her up.
It wasn’t long before the dispatcher spoke again, sounding wide awake this time. “That plate comes back to a blue Honda Accord, registered to a William Kyle Yarden. He has a warrant.”
“Copy.” Otto didn’t sound fazed by the information, which wasn’t surprising. Although Wes didn’t know Otto well, he got the impression that it took a lot to rattle the big cop.
“2268.” Wes’s stomach jumped with excitement when he recognized Kit’s voice. “Need some help, Otto?”
“I’ve got this, thanks,” Otto answered. “Bill never gives us any trouble.”
“Copy. Let me know if you can use a hand. I’m just around the corner, so I could be there in five minutes.” Kit sounded a little disappointed, and Wes wondered if she was having just as much trouble sleeping as he was. He liked that idea. It made the early-morning hours seem less lonely when he knew she was awake as well.
On impulse, he switched the radio to a seldom-used channel and picked up the wireless mic. “3537 to 2268 on eighteen.”
There was a pause long enough to make Wes wonder if she was scanning channel eighteen or if his attempt to reach out had been lost to empty air. “2268 to 3537. Wes, is that you?”
He smiled. “Yes, it’s me.”
“What are you doing up so late?” she asked. Her voice was warm, and it made his blood feel carbonated again, all those fizzy bubbles swirling through him. He couldn’t stay still, so he paced over to the windows, peering through the glass even though he knew he couldn’t see her house without the binoculars.
“I couldn’t sleep. How about you? Are you working nights now?” He hoped not. There would be fewer chances to see her if their sleep schedules were reversed.
“Nope to both. Can’t sleep, but I’m not on nights. Too bad. At least then I’d be paid for staying up.”
He moved from Window 1 to Window 12 and then back again, needing to move so his brain didn’t freeze with the pressure of talking to Kit. “Why can’t you sleep?”
Although he’d only met her a few times, the sound she made was already familiar, and he could picture her doing a half shrug as she made it. “I’m not sure. New place or too much excitement yesterday or something. Who knows. My brain does what it does, giving no explanations.”
“Yes.” Her words resonated inside him. “Mine, too. Our brains match in that way.”
“Please.” Amusement filled her voice, and it made his throat tighten with anxiety at the thought of her laughing at him. “As if my brain could even hope to match yours. I’ve seen your tower. You’re a stinking genius.”
The words ran through his mind a few times before he was reassured that she was complimenting him, and he ducked his chin, his face heating from pleasure and relief. As he lifted his head, his reflection in the window caught his attention, and he was glad Kit couldn’t see his flushed cheeks. Realizing that his pause had probably stretched too long, he scrambled to come up with an answer. “You’re just as smart. I think your brain could hold its own.”
“Now I’m picturing our brains battling it out.” Her words were filled with laughter, and he was pleased that he was actually managing to banter with her.
At least, he was pretty sure that they were bantering. He made a mental note to call his sister, Leila, later and ask.
“Are they using swords or light sabers?”
“Neither. They’re bouncing off each other like lumpy, armless sumo wrestlers.”
His own laughter took him by surprise, and he felt a rush of affection for Kit. It had been a long time since he’d been able to talk to anyone so easily. “Of course. That’s the only battle that makes sense.”
“Could you two take your weird flirting somewhere else? Somewhere I don’t have to listen to it?” The dispatcher cut in, making Wes grimace. He hadn’t thought anyone would bother scanning channel eighteen, but he’d forgotten about the dispatcher.
“Sorry,” Kit said. “I’ll talk to you later, Wes. Try to get some sleep.”
“You, too.” He already knew that sleep would be an impossibility. If he’d been antsy before he’d talked to Kit, now he’d be bouncing off the walls. He didn’t want to give up his connection with her, but it was different now that he knew the dispatcher could hear everything they said. “Good night, Kit.”
“’Night, Wes.”
He set the mic down and switched the radio back to channel one. Instead of returning to his cabin, he moved over to the tower windows again and watched over the town—and Kit—until the sun rose, replaying their latest conversation in his mind.
* * *
Kit was still smiling as she entered the VFW the next day. She was pretty sure she hadn’t stopped since finding Bendsie. If it had just been her pride on the line, it wouldn’t have mattered so much, but it was her dog’s competence that Hugh had questioned. Justice had proven himself to her over and over, and she’d defend him ferociously if she had to. Even her mostly sleepless night hadn’t dampened her mood, especially when she thought about the radio conversation with Wes.
She took her usual seat at the table where she and the other cops had their daily morning roll call, and Jules gave her a wave from across the room. Kit waved back, scanning the room automatically. Several people were having a late lunch, but she didn’t recognize anyone besides Jules. They were all looking at her, still obviously fascinated by the stranger in their midst—and the new cop, at that.
The townspeople’s distrust had an upside, at least. That morning, when Hugh had sent her off on an errand, very transparently wanting her out of earshot while they discussed the arson and possible murder case, Kit had taken the opportunity to spend some time at a computer in the records room. Without a previous location, she wasn’t able to track down anything using Elena’s name, but she did run the woman’s license plate number. Oddly enough, Elena had already changed the address it was registered under to Jules’s house in Monroe. Kit found that to be suspiciously fast, telling her that Elena was hiding something. The vehicle registration did give her Elena’s full name and birth date, however. Once she found out where Elena used to live, her research should really bear fruit.
Kit’s thoughts were interrupted when a tall, blond teenager with the sturdy frame of an athlete cautiously approached her table. She watched him in her peripheral vision, pretending not to notice him. His wary expression and careful way of walking made her think that any sudden moves on her part would send him darting back to his table like a startled rabbit. When he was a few feet away, he stopped, and she slowly turned her head to look at him.
“Hi,” she said, glancing away again. She saw Jules by the kitchen door, staring at them with an odd look that Kit couldn’t identify—Worry? Anxiety? Possibly a little hope thrown in there?
“H-h-hey.” The teenager’s husky greeting brought her attention away from Jules and back to him.
“I’m Kit, but you probably know that already.” She kept her gaze moving, not wanting to lock on him with her usual penetrating cop stare and drive him away. She couldn’t say why, but something was telling her this was important.
“Y-yes.”
“Want to sit?” She borrowed a move from Hugh and pushed out the chair across from her with her foot.
“No.”
She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing at the bald rejection. “Okay.”
“Y-you’re the n-new c-c-cop.”
“Yes.”
“Jules t-told me y-you have a t-t-track-king dog.”
That was interesting. Kit wondered why Jules had been telling this kid about her. As she glanced again at Jules, who was still watching them closely, it suddenly clicked. This had to be one of Jules’s siblings. She turned her attention back to him. “I do. He’s a bloodhound.”
Interest lit his expression, almost overtaking the wariness, and he shifted a half step closer. “D-did he really f-f-find Mr. W-Wernicutt?”
It took her a second to recognize the name. “Oh, Bendsie! Yes, Justice tracked him.”
“D-did you t-train him?” He slid another step closer, placing one hand on the back of the chair she’d pushed out for him. “W-was it hard?”
Kit laughed a little, thinking back to Justice’s snail-like progress. “Yes. So hard. Not the tracking, really, but everything else.”
His other hand clutched the back of the chair as he leaned closer. “I w-work at the k-k-kennel, and there’s a resc-cue d-dog there n-now—a b-bloodhound. N-Nan said that I c-c-can t-train her, b-but n-none of the g-guys have t-trained a t-tracker b-before.”
The words rescue bloodhound would have won her over if she hadn’t already been completely suckered in by the wary dog-loving kid who was awkwardly trying to ask her for help. “I’m planning on training Justice to be able to work off lead, and I’ll need someone to help. If you’re willing, I’ll help you train your rescue in exchange. Sound good?” She would’ve helped him no matter what, but she knew the importance of keeping things from being lopsided. For her, accepting help was tough, especially when she didn’t have a chance to pay the person back.
The kid’s entire face lit up, and Kit couldn’t hold back her own smile. “I have school and w-work at the k-kennel, b-but I b-bet N-Nan w-will let m-m-me have t-time off for t-training w-with you.”
“Great.” Still smiling, Kit fished out her phone and held it out to him. The kid was almost ridiculously endearing. “Put in your number. Oh, and Nan’s and your parents’. I’ll call everyone and make sure we’re on the same page.”
His mouth went tight as he focused on the screen of her phone. “No p-p-p… It’s j-just m-m-my sister.” He flicked a glance at Jules, who was still sending frequent looks their way even as she bustled back and forth between the tables. “J-Jules.”
“Ah,” Kit said. That confirmed her guess. “Put in Jules’s number, and I’ll talk to her before we start training.”
His face relaxed slightly, although his cautious expression had returned. After tapping at the screen for a bit, he handed Kit her phone back. She glanced at the screen and saw he’d entered his number simply as “Sam.”
“So what’s the story, Sam?” When panic flashed in his eyes, Kit’s curiosity grew, but she simply clarified, “Where’d the bloodhound at Nan’s come from?”
Again, the tightness in his muscles visibly eased. “N-Nan runs a rescue, and the bloodh-hound w-was b-brought in from another shelter. She w-w-was returned fr-from three homes that d-didn’t w-work out.”
“I’m guessing she ate the couch in at least one of them,” Kit said wryly, remembering the furniture and shoes and even the cell phone she’d lost to Justice’s need to chew.
He laughed, just a tiny huff of an exhale, and Kit felt like she’d won something. “How’d you g-g-guess?”
Before she could answer, Elena slid into the chair that Kit had pushed away from the table for Sam. “Hey, Sammie,” Elena said, turning around to speak to him. “What are you guys talking about?”
As quick as a security door slamming into place, Sam’s expression blanked, all amusement or interest gone in a fraction of a second. Without answering Elena, he turned away, heading back toward the table with the three other kids. Now that she knew about the connection between Sam and Jules, Kit assumed that all four were Jules’s siblings. When Sam sat down next to the little girl, Kit turned away, pushing back her curiosity while promising herself she’d find out more in the future. She mentally added Sam’s past to the long list of things she needed to learn about the residents of her new town.
“He was talking to you for a long time.” Even though Elena was giving Kit her usual sweet smile and wide, innocent eyes, Kit sensed the slightest hint of irritation. “He never says a word to me. What’s the secret to getting him to open up?”
“Mutual interests.” Kit gave a one-sided shrug and decided to change the subject. Even though she’d only just met Sam, she felt oddly protective of him. The kid acted like he’d already drawn the short stick too many times in his young life. It felt wrong to be discussing him with someone he obviously didn’t trust. She wished Elena had waited another few minutes before joining them, since Sam had been starting to relax and open up. Pushing down her resentment at the interruption, Kit forced a friendly tone as she asked, “How was your first day of work?”
“It was hard.” Elena dropped her gaze to the table. “Sorry. That was ungrateful of me. I’m sure I’ll get used to doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. It’s just not what I’m used to, and Vicki can be kind of…mean.”
Glancing at the kitchen door as Jules pushed it open, Kit caught a glimpse of the cranky-looking cook. “I bet she can be. Hugh mentioned something about her liking practical jokes.”
Elena’s gaze snapped up, her eyes widening. “She does? I didn’t know that. She hasn’t tried any on me. Not yet, at least.”
“At least you have Jules,” Kit said. “She seems like she could never be mean.”
Elena dropped her gaze to the table. “Yes. Jules is very sweet.”
“So I take it your last job didn’t involve dishes?” She probed gently, trying very hard not to slip into interrogation mode.
“No.” There was a pause that went on just a hair too long. “No dishes. It was an office job.”
“Oh? Where was that?” As hard as she was trying to sound casual, Kit knew she was failing. Apparently, talking shop with cops and interrogation were all she was good at anymore—except with Wes. She swallowed a smile at the memory of their radio chat. Conversation was always easy with Wes.
“Um…Chicago.” The frightened bunny expression accompanied the obvious lie. To her relief, Jules arrived at their table at that moment, and her honest smile eased the tension.
“Hey, Elena. Hi, Kit. Did y’all want lunch menus or just coffee?”
As if on cue, Kit’s stomach grumbled. “Lunch for me. I’m only halfway through a long day, and Hugh ate most of my breakfast.”
Jules laughed. “That’s Hugh for you. I swear, eating with him around is like being in a prison cafeteria. You have to protect your food with your life.” She filled their coffee mugs. “How about you, Elena? Are you hungry after washing all those dishes?”
“Yes.” Elena smiled back, but Kit noted a slight stiffness to her expression. Glancing at Jules, Kit couldn’t see any tension on her side, just kindness and a friendly openness. She took a sip of her coffee, savoring the rich heat absently as she studied Jules and Elena. For two people who were supposed to be old friends, they acted more like new acquaintances. The mystery of Elena deepened with each new encounter.
“I’ll bring you both menus, then.” With a final smile, Jules turned away and crossed the room to fill coffee mugs at other tables on her way back to the front.
“It must be tough living with so many people,” Kit said, trying to think of the best way to get the answers she needed in the most casual, roundabout way possible. “I’ve just had one roommate. I can’t imagine having, how many? Six?”
“It’s fine,” Elena said. “Do you have any roommates now?”
“No…not unless you count Justice, my K9 partner.”
“You’re lucky.” Elena dumped four sugar packets into her coffee and then tore the top off a fifth as Kit watched with disgusted fascination as she turned her coffee into syrup. “Did you have a roommate when you lived in Wisconsin?”
The mention of her previous home jarred Kit, and she took a sip of coffee to hide her reaction. “At first I did,” she said, keeping her voice neutral. “Not for the past six years or so, though. It’s just been me, and then me and the doggo.”
Elena played with her mug and then glanced up through her mile-long eyelashes. At the shy look, filled with sympathy, Kit stiffened, bracing herself for whatever Elena was about to say. “I’m sorry about what happened to you. That must’ve been so hard.”
It took a great deal of effort to keep her voice even. “What must’ve been hard?”
Elena’s eyes widened. “Having all your friends turn on you like that, especially since you were just doing what you thought was right.”
Her skin went cold enough to make goose bumps pop up on her arms and the back of her neck. “What are you talking about?” She tried to keep her tone casual and even, but she was pretty sure she failed by the way Elena flinched as if Kit had threatened to slap her.
“Nothing.” Releasing her grip on the mug, Elena tucked her hands onto her lap. “Never mind.”
Kit stayed silent, barely containing the urge to shake the information out of Elena. Instead, she waited, knowing that Elena would eventually share whatever she knew.
“Sorry.” Elena shot her a quick, mortified glance. “I just thought that if Grace knew about it, then it was common knowledge. I didn’t mean to offend you or hurt your feelings or anything.”
Despite having her painful past dragged out by an almost stranger, Kit forced herself to sit back in her chair and even smile a little. “Oh, I’m not offended; I’m confused. What are you talking about?”
Elena’s brows drew together slightly at Kit’s casual response. “Grace said you turned in your partner for something, and everyone in your old department started calling you a rat. Isn’t that why you moved here?” She offered an earnest look. “If that didn’t happen, I’ll let Grace know to stop spreading false rumors.”
“That’s okay.” Kit took a sip of her coffee, proud that her hands were steady. “I’ll talk to Hugh and Grace myself.”
As Elena’s eyes widened in alarm, Kit pressed her lips together to hold back a satisfied smile. Got you. “Oh, I wish you wouldn’t. They’re going to think I’m not trustworthy. It’s my fault for passing along the story.”
Kit offered Elena a sugary smile. “It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it. I’m just going to set the record straight and see where she got her information. Go right to the source, and all that.”
As Elena’s mouth set in an unhappy line, Kit saw Hugh in the doorway. He waved at her in a come on gesture.
“Work calls.” Secretly grateful for Hugh’s appearance, Kit set down her coffee and stood, digging in her pocket for a five-dollar bill. “Sorry to interrupt our lunch, but that’s the life of a cop. We’ll have to do this again sometime.” She gave Jules, who was approaching with menus, an apologetic shrug before heading toward where Hugh was waiting in the entry.
“Bye,” Elena said faintly, and Kit gave her a wave over her shoulder without slowing.
“Thank you,” she said as she reached Hugh. “What’s up?”
His eyebrows shot up at her overly enthusiastic greeting. “Got a call from the county deputies. A small avalanche just west of town caused a multicar accident, and they asked for our help. Sorry to interrupt your lunch.”
“No apologies necessary. That was painful.” The words were out before she could stop them, and she instantly regretted her blunt honesty when Hugh’s amused expression disappeared in an instant.
“From what Grace has told me, Elena’s having a really tough time right now,” he said, pushing open the VFW door, and Kit used the moment when he wasn’t looking at her to make a face at his back. Of course he was sympathetic to Elena. She’d forgotten for a second that she was the odd woman out in this. “It’s easy to be judgmental when you haven’t been in a situation where you’re scared and helpless.”
She stopped abruptly next to her car, her hand outstretched toward the back door handle. “You think I haven’t felt scared and helpless?” Anger surged inside her. “I’ve been a cop for eight years. I can promise you that I’ve been in a lot more dangerous situations than Elena has.”
He waved off her protest, and her annoyance intensified at his casual dismissal. “You’ve been trained for it, though. Elena’s a victim. Maybe if you let go of all the competitive crap, you’ll be able to see that.”
Heart pounding, Kit bit her tongue hard enough to hurt as she turned to get Justice out of her car. The waves of anger must’ve been rolling off her, judging by the way he shrank down, eyeing her warily. She took a deep breath and blew it out, closing her eyes for a moment, annoyed at herself for scaring her dog, even unintentionally.
“Sorry, Justice,” she muttered, and he popped right back up, surging toward her eagerly. He was nothing if not resilient.
“Listen,” Hugh said, his voice softening a little. “I get it. When Grace first arrived, I investigated her like nobody’s business. Then she was almost killed. Elena is the fourth person to move into that house, so we know the drill now. They’re not the problem; the criminals who come after them are. Like I said, these women are the victims.”
Kit used the few seconds it took to get Justice leashed and out of the car to get a firm hold on her temper. Elena wasn’t the reason for this anger. It was that her new partner—someone she was supposed to be able to trust—had been spreading rumors about her painful past. When Kit finally managed to put a lid on her anger and turn toward him, she was pretty sure her expression was controlled—or at least she wasn’t trying to kill him with eye lasers.
“We’re cops. We investigate things,” she said, choosing her words carefully as they headed for Hugh’s squad car. “I knew that you, Theo, and Otto wouldn’t hesitate to look into my background. Honestly, I’d do the same thing if I were in your shoes. I just wish you’d asked me for my side of the story before sharing what you found out about my history with your girlfriend.”
Hugh blinked at her, his face blank with confusion. “Wait. What are we talking about now?”
A movement inside the diner caught Kit’s attention. As soon as she glanced at the window, Elena turned away, but it was obvious that she’d been watching them. An uneasy feeling prickled up Kit’s spine, and she suddenly felt exposed in the open parking lot.
“Let’s talk about this in the car,” she said as she opened the back door for Justice. He leapt in, enthusiastically greeting Lexi, whose expression once again feigned indifference even as her tail whapped against the seat. As Kit closed the door and got into the front passenger seat, she wished that she and Hugh could consistently get along as well as their dogs did. He got in the driver’s seat and pulled out of the parking space as soon as her seat belt clicked into place. His hand circled in a go on gesture.
“Elena heard about my professional history from Grace. Since I haven’t shared the details with Grace—or anyone in town—I assume you did some digging. I understand why. Like I said, if our positions were reversed, I probably would’ve checked into your past.” Even as she said it, she doubted that she would have. She’d like to think that she would’ve at least given Hugh more than a few days to trust her enough to share something like that.
“I’m still not following. What did Grace tell Elena?”
Frowning, Kit examined Hugh’s profile, looking for signs that he was trying to wiggle out of an uncomfortable conversation by feigning ignorance. His confusion appeared to be legitimate, though. “Elena knew that I reported my former partner, and that the majority of the people in my old department…” She tried to think of the best way to put it. “They let me know that they didn’t agree with my decision.”
Hugh gave her a quick, thoughtful glance before returning his attention to the road as he turned out of the parking lot. “What’d your partner do?”
“He profited by misusing the power of his position.” Her stomach twisted as it always did when she had to think about Chad.
With a snort, Hugh asked, “Has anyone ever told you that your vocabulary expands when you’re angry?”
“Yes.” It was a habit that had started when she was a teenager and realized that staying calm and using big words in an argument really annoyed her sister.
“Okay.” He grew serious again. “Back to the point. Grace didn’t tell Elena anything.”
Kit huffed, opening her mouth to challenge his statement, but he held up a hand.
“I didn’t even know about your ex-partner, so there’s no way Grace knows. I’ll ask Theo if he said anything to Jules, but I doubt it.”
Her eyebrows shooting up in disbelief, Kit had a hard time keeping her calm tone. “Are you telling me that you didn’t do a background check on me five minutes after meeting me?”
His look of innocence wasn’t very believable. “Five minutes after meeting you, we were still eating breakfast at the diner, followed by an arson-and-murder crime scene, followed by a run through the woods. There are limits to googling things on my phone, you know.”
A short laugh escaped, annoying her. She didn’t want to find Hugh amusing right now. “How’d Elena hear about it, then? My department handled the situation internally, so there wasn’t even any media coverage.”
He gave her another one of his penetrating looks. “He was fired?”
“Forced to resign.” Anger added an extra twist to her already sore gut. “He’s working for another town not too far away from my old department.”
The sound Hugh made was hard to translate. Kit hoped it was disgust that a dirty cop had been found out, but the discovery of his crimes had barely made a blip in his life. It could’ve meant anything, though. After what had happened to her and the way she’d basically been forced out of her last department, she knew better than to assume that everyone had a moral code.
“I’ll talk to Theo,” he repeated. “And I’ll have a word with Grace. Maybe she does have another source at the department.” His voice lightened at the end, however, telling Kit that he really didn’t believe that Grace told Elena about her. As they sped along the highway toward the multicar accident, Kit felt the all-too-familiar sting of having a partner who didn’t trust her. She firmly pushed it away, vowing not to let it affect either her mood or her work.
She’d already been driven out of one job. She’d be damned if she’d allow it to happen again.