I slowly rose to my feet as Grady and I locked eyes.
“Is Kit Kat…?”
“Stable. I got a call from the hospital,” he said quietly, shooting a look down the hall. “They’ve got her in a medically induced coma to reduce swelling.”
“I’ve got to tell Tweety,” I said, turning on my heel.
“No. I can’t let you do that.”
I froze, every muscle clenched. “I’m sorry?”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Erica, I’ve got a job to do here, and I’m going to make sure it’s done properly. Lives are at stake.” He shook his head. “I thought tonight would have made that pretty clear to you.”
I walked toward him. “And what’s this about a guard? You don’t think Kit Kat had anything to do with Mr. Clarke—”
“Erica,” he said tightly, eyes boring into mine. “I’ve got two dead bodies. Two.”
“I know, but—”
“This cannot keep happening in my town.”
“Grady—”
“No, Erica,” he said. “There will be no more bending the rules. No more taking it easy. No more personal favors.” His eyes darted around my face. “That includes you and Freddie. This isn’t a game anymore.”
He turned to walk away from me, but I grabbed his arm. “Grady, come on. She’s not even conscious.”
His face softened. “I know, and I’m sorry for that, but—”
“So what? You thinking she’s going to skip town? Where’s she going to go? Who are you trying to impress with all this?”
He spun back around and pointed his finger close to my face. “You may not care what I say,” he said in a low voice, “but the people of this town are counting on me. I’m not taking any chances.” He walked a few steps toward his office again. “Now go home, Erica.”
“Grady, could we please talk about this?”
“No.”
“Grady!”
He closed the glass door behind him.
I let out a scream of frustration. Then before I even realized what I was doing, my foot shot out and connected with the corner leg of Rhonda’s desk. “Ow!” I grabbed my toes. “Son of a—”
Grady’s door swung open. He took three quick steps out, looked at my foot, and then up to my eyes. For a brief second, his face softened, and I thought he was going to ask me if I was okay, but then he pinched his lips and stomped back into his office, slamming the door behind him.
“What was all that yelling about?” Tweety shouted from down the hall. “I couldn’t hear everything. Was that something about Kit Kat?”
My eyes flashed to Rhonda. She shot me a warning look.
“Nothing!” I shouted back before dropping my voice. “At least nothing I’m allowed to tell you.”
“So I guess this means you’re not going to be seducing the keys to my cell out of him, huh?”
“Yeah, no. You might have better luck with that than I would.”
She laughed.
“’Night, Tweety.”
“Yeah, ’night,” I heard her call out as I headed toward the door. “And Erica? You know, you might want to consider laying off on finding the dead bodies. You’re going to get a reputation.”
I straight-armed the door and stamped outside right into—
“Matthew?”