“He would have told you if he were being transferred,” Lila said as she wrote some numbers in her accounting book.
Beatrice was in another world, huffing and puffing over her newest coconut, lime, and cilantro creation and had no time for “relationship issues.” Her words.
“Of course he would have,” Amelia said as she handed some change to a customer through the window. “But something is happening.”
“Maybe he just wants to move your relationship to the next level?” Lila offered as she studied another receipt.
“The next level? What does that even mean? I don’t even know what level I’m on. Maybe I left something behind on the previous level. Going to the next level? What would we do there?” Amelia wiped her brow.
“Sex,” Beatrice piped up. The sudden outburst made Amelia and Lila both stop what they were doing and look at her. But Beatrice remained calm and continued baking as if she hadn’t said anything at all.
“Could that be it?” Lila asked carefully.
“I’m not going to talk about this anymore,” Amelia said.
“Maybe he’s dying,” Beatrice added.
“Now, that I’ll talk about.” Amelia stroked the back of her neck. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s nothing. You know, I thought I was done reading into what a man says back in high school. I’m acting like a nervous freshman with the prom date closing in. This is ridiculous.”
“I don’t know, Amelia. Beatrice might be on to something,” Lila said.
“Dan is not dying.”
“No. Not that. The other thing she said. By the way your cheeks are lighting up I’d have to say she’s on to something.” Lila pointed her pencil at Amelia.
“Look. I have two kids to raise. I don’t have time for things like that. I’m not going to just have some random fellow showing up at the breakfast table and setting that kind of example for Meg and Adam.” She felt her blood boiling. “And if that is what’s got Dan acting this way, he’s going to be disappointed. I’m just not that kind of girl.”
“They won’t buy the cow if the milk is free,” Beatrice added. “I learned that the hard way.”
Again, Amelia and Lila stared at each other and then Beatrice.
“I need some air,” Beatrice said. “Lila, can you man the helm?”
“Sure, Captain.” She stood up but pointed to the service window. “After you take care of some business.”
Amelia turned to see Dan with Lars slowly strolling up to the truck. She swallowed hard, suddenly needing a big gulp of water.
Dan waved, his eyes saying more than his lips as he looked at her intently.
“So, I was right. This is the truck,” Lars said loudly. “Nice to see you again, Amelia. You know, after yesterday I had remembered a few things I needed to talk to Dan about, and when I called him, I suggested we meet here. I’m hoping for a policeman’s discount.” He laughed and looked to Dan for approval before turning back to Amelia.
“Hi, Lars. Sure, I can set you up.”
“Do you have any of those PB&J cupcakes? Trish loves those,” he asked.
“No.” Amelia pointed to the chalkboard on the truck. “These are what we are serving today.”
“That’s too bad. Trish really likes the PB&J ones.”
“I’ve got lime, coconut, cilantro right out of the oven.” Amelia tried to smile.
“In fact, before you came over with Dan, she’d asked me to pick up a couple of those for her last week. I was on a stakeout on the other side of town. She really likes the PB & J flavor. When do you think you’ll have those again?”
Amelia shook her head. What was with this guy? It was just cupcakes. If he was getting four of them for free, he should take what he was given. She looked him up and down and saw he wore those same shoes from Swooshies that she thought were so stupid.
“I really don’t know,” Amelia said. “We don’t have a set schedule.”
“That’s too bad. Trish really loves those.” He kept staring at Amelia. “I bet if Dan asked for some, you’d whip them up right away.”
“Lars, remember when we were partners, and you told me I should tell you when you are overstepping your bounds?” Dan said without looking at Lars.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t mean anything by it.” He chuckled as if he’d done nothing more than give the wrong time of day. “You just don’t know what it’s like to come home to Trish when she doesn’t get her way. Maybe some flowers will do the trick. They’ll save her hips a little extra weight, that’s for sure.” He laughed some more but then just turned to Dan and stretched out his hand.
“Lars, thanks for the information,” Dan said as they shook.
“Anytime, partner. Amelia, get those PB&Js on the menu.” He waved before taking a baseball hat out of his back pocket and pulling it down over his face. Amelia only glanced up for a second before faking a smile. Then she turned back to folding and unfolding some paper napkins in front of her.
As Lars strolled away, Dan came up to the window.
“What a piece of work,” she said to Dan.
“Yeah, he’s always been that way,” Dan said.
“How did you manage to work with that every day? I’d have lost my mind.”
“You learn to take people with a grain of salt,” Dan said. “Besides, he’s not all bad. He managed to come through when it counted.”
“What did he want?” Amelia asked.
“He told me his brother-in-law would be home in a few more days. That he used his key to search their house, but he didn’t find anything helpful.” Dan clicked his tongue.
“Is that normal police procedure?” Amelia immediately regretted asking the question. Dan looked up at her and sighed.
“No.”
Leaving Lila and Beatrice to finish up for the day, Amelia left with Dan, who asked if she’d come with him that evening.
“Sure,” she said with very little emotion. “Where are we going this time? A heroin den? Maybe a hide-out for a biker gang?”
“What’s the matter with you?” Dan asked, his voice stern.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know. I think this case is bugging me, too.”
She put her hands in her pockets while choking down her real concerns. How could she think about their relationship when there were five dead women? Girls.
“I’m the one who should be sorry. I was going to ask if you’d come with me to the drainage ditch. Amelia, I’m at the end of my rope. If I don’t find something soon, this case is going to slip away.” He looked like he was about to cry. “Back to the cooler with the other cold cases until this nut strikes again. They’re just girls, Amelia. He’s preying on little girls. It’s killing me.”
Amelia’s heart went out to Dan. She slipped her arm through the crook in his elbow and pulled him tightly to her side.
“I’ll go with you. What do you hope to find there?”
“A clue. A hint. Anything. Nothing. I’m not sure. But like I told Lars, there’s got to be something. No one just commits murder and disappears without leaving something behind.”
Amelia nodded and told Dan she’d be ready whenever he wanted. As he opened her car door for her, he leaned in to kiss her. She kissed him back quickly not wanting to draw attention. But it was too late. Dan held her in his arms and squeezed her tightly.
“Are you dying?” she whispered in his ear.
“What?” he asked, pulling back and looking at her as if she’d just admitted to being the one who disposed of Jimmy Hoffa.
“Nothing.” She stroked the nape of her neck. “Pick me up tonight?”
“Around ten.”
“I’ll be ready,” Amelia said before getting in her car and driving away. She felt no better about the situation. But at least she’d see Dan again tonight. She realized that she wanted to see Dan. She wanted to see him every day. But she was starting to think that maybe that was just expecting too much.
Amelia was old-fashioned. There would be no living together or playing house. That was out of the question. And the term “seeing other people” meant breaking up, plain and simple.
“What are you talking about, Amelia? Dan didn’t say anything about any of that,” she said to the rearview mirror. And all the way home, from six o’clock until ten when he picked her up, Amelia had a hundred imaginary conversations in which she tried to explain her feelings and decide how she’d answer Dan if he suggested living together or seeing other people.
When he arrived, it all went out the window. She was just happy to see him.