Page 8 of Hostile Witness
“Not my story, Son. Just do it for the chief. There’s nothing illegal about protecting an innocent person who had a miserable ride along.”
He nodded slowly. “No problem.” Even if it was odd.
“And if you’ve got any sense, don’t get distracted by her red hair. Hands off. Go sniff in another direction for a woman.”
What the hell?“First of all, Earl, I wasn’t sniffing but simply stating a fact. She has red hair. I need a woman in my life like I need a piercing on my trigger finger. One divorce is enough on my resume.”Sniffing, my ass.“Chief sent me over there on Saturday to make sure her place was secure. I’m not doing that again.”
Earl snickered. “Hellcat, huh?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. She asked me to attack her so she could show off her self-defense moves.”
He chuckled. “Good for her.”
Ethan leaned back in his chair. “What does that mean?”
Earl plastered one sticky on the table and started writing another. “Like I said, not my story, Son.”
Ethan shook his head. Why was he feeling defensive? “Any contact I’ve had with her has been at the chief’s request.” This time, at least. But he remembered kissing her senseless at that beach bonfire way back when. She’d been funny and carefree and was the most beautiful girl he’d ever met. Funny thing... that. Because she wasn’t beautiful by magazine standards, but when Tia had smiled, she’d taken his breath away. She hadn’t smiled on Saturday though, not really. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize he’d been an annoying imposition to her.
“I understand. Sniffing comment withdrawn.” Earl looked him square in the eye. “Relax. The chief and I appreciate how valuable you are. That’s why he has you cover certain shifts and work with delicate people and situations.”
Uh-huh.Well, there was nothing delicate about present-day Tia O’Rourke. And judging by the undertone of Earl’s statement, the woman was a situation requiring discretion. Discreet, he could handle. But intimidated by her? No freaking way.
8
Tia perused the school office, enjoying the funny and sometimes bizarre Pajama Day outfits. While she’d kept it low-key with her slippers, pigtails, and cartoon pajamas, the principal, Yolanda Decker, had gone all out with huge curlers that made her look like an antennae for space aliens.
Their friendship went way back. Yolanda had been Tia’s fiercest supporter through her life-altering fiasco the past couple of years. Some teachers barely tolerated their principals, but Tia loved hers. It had been Yolanda who’d hired a substitute and promised she’d save Tia’s job for her no matter how long it took. It had been Yolanda who’d handled the press with a firm hand and replied “no comment” to the invasive questions dozens of times. Yolanda had been principal at Sandy Beach Elementary for some twenty plus years, having been Tia’s principal in fifth grade. Yolanda was good people.
Tia was playing catch-up after taking Friday off for the disastrous ride along. The butterfly shipment she’d been waiting for was somewhere in the school but not in or near her mail slot. Usually she’d email the office and wait for a reply, but she needed those butterflies for her second class of the day. Sighing,she got in line to wait. Tempting as it was, she couldn’t take advantage of her personal relationship with the administration and cut the line. Her foot tapped impatiently.
Someone bumped her left side. “Oh, good morning, Miss O’Rourke. I see you’re wearing the same clothes as when I left you.” He gave her an ornery smile. “Did you happen to call the precinct and schedule my visit to your class yet?”
Tia almost dropped her coffee cup.Ethan Kelley.The reverberation of his velvet voice trickling down her neck and spine was delicious and downright unnerving. She rolled her shoulders to shake it off.
“Good morning, Detective Kelley. For your information, it’s Pajama Day. That’s why I’m wearing this otherwise-inappropriate outfit, and no, I haven’t called the precinct yet. What brings you to our humble school today?”
“I just finished handling a truant situation with one of the older kids.” He fastened a devious half smile on his face and winked. “I see you have coffee. Something you lacked Saturday morning, if I remember correctly.”
“Ah, yes, you have seen me at my worst recently, haven’t you?” She glanced into his eyes. They danced with humor.
He leaned slightly closer. “Is this your first cup or second?”
She inspected a hangnail on her pinkie. “Second. Why?”
“So you’re in the proceed-with-caution stage of your day?”
“Yes, I suppose I am.” Why was he doing this? The last time she’d seen him, he’d been frustrated as hell with her and had said he’d never bother her again. Why did she suddenly feel like they were sharing a cozy corner booth in a late-night diner?
Doris, the school secretary, who wore a pink Tinker Bell nightshirt and a velvet shower cap, pointed at her. “What can I do for you, Tia?”
She thought for a couple of seconds.Why was she here? Ooh. Ooh.“Butterflies—a package was delivered on Friday, and I can’t locate it.”
Doris rummaged behind the counter and handed her a small parcel. Yolanda, the curler-wearing principal, had perched herself next to Doris and watched Ethan as she tapped her pencil on a pad.
Tia clutched the box to her chest. “Thanks, Doris, I appreciate your help.”
“You two have a good day,” Yolanda called out. Tia glanced at them as she and Detective Kelley left the office. Both women wore Cheshire-cat grins.