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Kat had difficulty breathing as she drove to the police station. It wasn’t until she spotted Andrew’s car in the parking lot that she could actually inhale properly. Although Barbara had confirmed Andrew was working, after yesterday’s confusion she couldn’t be too sure.
The officer manning the front desk smiled when she walked in. “Milhone’s in his office.”
“Thanks.”
Kat had seen closets bigger than Andrew’s office, but right now she hoped the close quarters would give her a better read on him when she asked about Sheila. She would welcome any advantage she could get.
Andrew looked up from his computer monitor when she entered the room. “This is a pleasant surprise.” His eyes twinkled when he said the words, which Kat took as a good sign. Maybe there wasn’t anything to worry about after all.
She shut the door and squeezed into the visitor chair, deciding to dive right into her reason for dropping by. “Lucy said she saw you yesterday at the Cherry Hills Food Mart.”
Andrew’s eyebrows rose. “She did?”
Kat nodded. “In the parking lot.”
“She didn’t say anything.”
“You were talking to somebody.” Kat paused. “A woman.”
Andrew leaned back and swiveled his chair from side to side. Watching him, the muscles in Kat’s shoulders bunched up. He was definitely hiding something.
She tried to swallow, but her mouth had gone dry. “Who is she?”
“Her name is Sheila.” He spoke slowly, as though he were choosing his words with care.
“I know. She lives across the hall from me.”
Andrew stopped swiveling. “You met her?”
“Briefly. She wasn’t very friendly.”
Andrew nodded, but he didn’t say anything.
“How do you know her?” Kat asked.
“I can’t tell you that.”
Kat straightened, a burst of indignation flaring in her chest. “Why not? Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?”
“My business with Sheila doesn’t concern you.”
Kat felt as though she’d been slapped. She and Andrew had always been so open with each other—or so she’d thought. And although he often couldn’t divulge details about police business, he had never shut her out of his private life before.
Unless, she considered, his relationship with Sheila was professional. Perhaps the two of them weren’t sneaking around after all but collaborating on a case.
Seizing on the ray of hope brought about by this possibility, she said, “Does she work for CHPD?”
Andrew’s lips puckered. “Kat, I really can’t discuss her with you.”
“You can’t even tell me if she works here?”
“No.”
Her brain churned. Maybe Sheila was a spy or something, and he was afraid of blowing her cover. Did that sound plausible? She didn’t know. She had no clue how spies operated.
“Okay,” she said, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt. “If you can’t talk about Sheila, can you at least tell me what you were doing last night?”
The edges of Andrew’s mouth dipped down. “Last night?”
Kat gritted her teeth. Was he being deliberately obtuse? “Yes, last night. When I invited you to Larry’s mixer you made it sound like you had to work. Then I was told you weren’t working. And then you said you were patrolling, which apparently the guy at the front desk knew nothing about. So, tell me the truth. What exactly were you doing last night?”
Andrew worked his jaw. “I was . . . busy.”
“With Sheila?”
He groaned. “I just told you, I can’t talk about her.”
She huffed. “Come on, Andrew. That’s not fair. If you were with her and you can’t say why, you can still give me some indication of what you were doing yesterday. After telling me you couldn’t make Larry’s party, don’t you think you owe me at least that?”
Instead of replying, Andrew stared at her across the desk. She had no clue what he was thinking, but he sure didn’t sport the expression of someone willing to budge on his stance.
Dread swirled in Kat’s stomach, and her last shred of hope evaporated. Despite their close physical proximity, she could feel a chasm widening between them.
She stood up, ignoring how her knees felt as if they were made of jelly. “Well, if you’re going to stonewall me, I guess I should just go.”
Andrew sighed. “Kat, whatever you’re thinking, it’s not true.”
She pivoted toward him, accidentally banging her elbow into the wall. “What does that mean?”
“It means, this has no bearing on us.”
She searched his face as she rubbed her elbow. He seemed sincere, endearing even. Maybe Sheila really was working undercover. Maybe he simply didn’t want to admit as much because he feared someone in the building might overhear.
“Okay then,” she said, buoyed by another glimmer of hope. She would make a point of questioning him later, when they were someplace more private.
Andrew rose from his chair. “I’ll walk you out.” But before he could move, his desk phone rang. He picked up the receiver. “Milhone.”
Kat strained to listen. She didn’t think she’d be able to discern what was being said on the other end of the line, but maybe she could catch enough of the caller’s voice to tell whether it was male or Sheila.
Andrew’s face darkened. “I’ll be right there,” he said before slamming the phone down.
The taut set of his jaw sent Kat’s heart rate into overdrive. “What is it?”
“There’s been a break-in.” He looked at her, his face grim. “At your apartment.”
