December 28th

 

I AWOKE TO a grey morning along with the rich smell of roasted coffee beans. I sat up slowly and before I could gather my surroundings, the picture of the Marine caught my eye again. While I fully agreed with Grace’s choice of living her life, I worried if she was moving toward the concept too quickly. I closed my eyes and shook the thought out of my head. Grace knew best. The only thing I could do was to continue to be there for her. If she was going to move on with her life, I knew Mike would be happy it was with me. I just had to make sure she didn’t fall in love with somebody else.

I stood up with my uniform pants sagging on my hips. I fastened the button and found my uniform shirt dangling from a hanger on the edge of the bookshelf. Grace had offered to wash it for me and I’d accepted, but I hadn’t expected her to dry and iron it while I slept. The guys were sure to ask questions about where I spent the night if I went to work in a pressed shirt.

I entered the kitchen to find Chloe seated at the far side of the table with her face back in the book, much farther along than she was last night. In front of her sat a steaming cup of coffee.

“You’re up early on a school holiday.”

She peered up from her book as she reached for her mug. “I like to stay on schedule so it’s not so rough when I go back to school. And I like making coffee for mom in the morning because my coffee is better than hers. Don’t tell her I said that.” She smiled and took a sip.

I walked to a coffee pot full of the blackest coffee ever brewed. I poured some into one of the two mugs sitting next to the pot.

“What’s wrong with your mother’s coffee?” I turned my head back to glance at her.

“She started weakening it once I started to drink it in the morning. What’s the fun in weak coffee?” She flipped the page in her book as I stirred in a few tablespoons of sugar.

“Oh, and thank you for staying last night,” she added as I walked toward the table. “It was the best sleep I’ve had in the longest time.”

I mimicked Grace’s classic stare and cocked eyebrow. “So, it was you who was anxious, not Grace.”

She shrugged her shoulders with a mischievous grin and ignored me to read her book. That was a sly move to trap me into staying over, but I loved her for it. I left her to her book and walked down the hall toward the bathroom. The door opened suddenly and Grace stepped out, jumping at my presence. A terry cloth robe hung around her shoulders, left open enough to see the white tank top and the shortest white and blue stripped pajama shorts I’d ever been blessed to see. I tried to keep my eyes from looking, but fuck me, it was a breathtaking sight. Her tank hung low enough to show a touch of cleavage and I wanted to draw my hand down to see what lay underneath. She was shorter than me by a good eight inches, but her legs looked miles long in those shorts. I swallowed in an attempt to quench a thirst the coffee couldn’t cure. Laughing it off, she slowly wrapped the robe around her and secured the belt.

“You made me jump. Can I make you some breakfast?”

“As much as I would love that, I’m running a little late. I’ll grab something at the café once I check in at work.”

She moved out of the way of the bathroom and I stepped toward it, still facing her.

“If I don’t see you before you leave, thank you again for staying over.”

“Thank you for letting me stay.” I spoke the absolute truth. Whatever the reason for me staying here didn’t matter, I was grateful for the opportunity to sit with her on the sofa all night until I fell asleep. “Just text or call if you need me.”

“I will.” She reached out and squeezed my arm. Maybe arm squeezes were her way of hugging without really hugging. She let go and stepped inside her room, closing the door behind her. I began counting down the hours until New Year’s Eve.

—

The clouds threatened to release another snowfall as I pulled up to the station. The reality of what had happened in this town hit me as soon at the brisk wind struck my face. I needed to be as positive as I could. We would find Erica Gunter’s killer, starting with the tip Grace gave me regarding Erica’s interest in the bartender. An early afternoon visit to Dixie’s was in order.

A blast of wind slammed the station door shut behind me. I shrugged off my coat and hung it up on the rack in the lobby. I smiled at Charley as I passed her in the hallway.

“You ironed your shirt?”

I spun back around to find Charley wearing a pleased grin.

“I did.” I turned away to discourage any further questioning.

“I didn’t think you knew how to use an iron.”

I stopped and turned back to her. “You’ve been hanging out with your best friend Evan too much. You’re turning into a little shit.”

“Aw, thanks for the compliment, detective.” She headed toward the break room with a grin still plastered on her face.

A cackle rose up from the pit of my stomach, but I put a stop to it quickly. If they caught me wearing an ironed shirt while laughing this early in the morning, they’d immediately know I’d been with someone last night. They’d also know it wasn’t Megan.

I stepped into my office and came to an abrupt halt.

“Oh, Wyatt! I forgot to tell you!” Charley hollered, running back through the lobby. Once she met me at the door she winced.

Occupying Mike’s chair, a woman with a case folder for Erica Gunter open in front of her.

“Can I help you?” I approached my desk.

“She’s your new partner,” whispered Charley, which really wasn’t that much of a whisper.

The woman appeared amused at the situation unfolding. She stood, stretched her hand out to me.

“Detective Lara Allen.”

I shook the hand of the woman who would be my new partner. Her hair was cut short in a defined angle against her face, colored as dark as her suit. She oozed city life, but not a southern city, something like New York or Washington, DC. I didn’t know what to make of this.

“Detective Wyatt Peterman.”

“Would you care to brief me on the case? Sheriff Harris handed me this file and said he would get with me after his conference call with the coroner’s office.”

“Has he made that phone call yet?”

“Not quite.” She looked at her watch. “He said about…”

I didn’t listen to the rest of what she said. I brushed past Charley and headed straight into his office without knocking. I walked right up to his desk and my hands immediately went to my hips. Irritation was an understatement. Caleb casually took a sip of coffee, not looking up from the computer screen.

“Yes, I hired a new detective,” he said between sips.

“I can see that. Any reason why I wasn’t at least brought in on the decision? Or at least told about it before you hired someone?”

“I did the preliminary interviews before Christmas.”

“So, that whole conversation about needing a new detective was your subtle way of telling me you’d already made your decision?”

“Wyatt.” He finally looked at me. “Is this because the new detective is a woman? I assumed you were above that.”

I was taken aback for a second. “Of course, not. I’d be just as annoyed if you’d hired a man without involving me.”

“I understand your aggravation, Wyatt, but it’s not really up to you. To be honest, I planned to bring you in on the final round of interviews, but after yesterday’s murder, she seemed like the best candidate.”

“Why’s that?”

“She’s from Atlanta. The rest were from within the county. I needed someone with an experienced eye working this case.”

I deflated a little. His reasoning was understandable and I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.

“I just wish I had been consulted.”

“We didn’t have time for that. You and I both know the death of Erica Gunter wasn’t random. A brutal murder like that is never completely random. We have to dig deeper. Somebody knows something.”

“Grace actually gave me a little information last night.”

He sat back in his chair, eyes me closely. “Was this before or after she ironed your shirt?”

“Look, Chloe was scared and asked me to stay the night. Not Grace.”

“So, you stayed for Chloe?” He pursed his lips, waiting for me to elaborate.

“Yes, I stayed for Chloe.” It was the only elaboration I was willing to offer.

He raised his hands and leaned up in his chair, forfeiting my interrogation. “Okay, so what information did Grace give you?”

“She said the nurses sometimes go out to Dixie’s after work. The week of Thanksgiving, Erica Gunter had joined them. Grace said Erica had a thing for Jeremy the bartender.”

“Did Erica leave before or after Grace?”

“I … don’t know.”

“Why don’t you text Grace and find out?”

I bowed my head. “I guess I’m not exactly experienced in questioning after a murder.”

“Now do you see why I brought in Lara?”

I grumbled as I pulled out my phone.

Me: The night Erica was with you at Dixie’s. Did she leave before or after you?”

I held the phone in my hand as I waited on her reply. My phone vibrated in my hand almost immediately.

Grace: I was the first to leave. I only stayed for one drink.

Me: How many other people were there?

Grace: It was me, Camille Roy, Andrea Crosby, and Danielle Fletcher.

Me: Thanks, Grace. I might need to bug you later.

Grace: Bugging is always welcome. :-)

I stared at the emoji. It wasn’t odd to have a smile within our texts, but for some reason, this one made me feel even more anxious about New Year’s Eve.

“Grace was the first to leave, so I’m not sure when Erica left. But there were two other nurses there, as well as her roommate. I’m sure we can find out.”

“Okay, first, you and I will question Jeremy. Then you and Lara will question Camille Roy. It might help that a woman is there during the process.”

“Yeah, you have a point.”

“I’ll call Mrs. Betty and see when Jeremy’s on the schedule at Dixie’s.”

“If he’s not working today, she should have contact information for him.”

“See? You are getting the hang of this,” he said as he picked up his phone.

I rolled my eyes at the sheriff and headed back to my office. I stopped when I saw her occupying the chair. It would take time to get used to all of this, but I could do it.

Lara looked up at me from her case notes. “I’m sorry if I caught you off guard.”

I waved her off. “I just wasn’t informed. I’m sorry if I seemed put off.”

“I know I have big shoes to fill. I’m not trying to replace your partner. I’m just here to do my job. I’m filling in because I’m needed.”

“You and I have to question the roommate today.”

“He’s not wasting anytime putting me to work.”

“Might as well jump in feet first. I’m going to go grab some breakfast at the café. When I come back, we can discuss the case. Can I get you anything while I’m out?”

“No, thank you.” She smiled and went back to her notes.

She seemed up to the task, but she wasn’t Mike. No one could ever replace Mike. Not here … or with Grace.