Page 9 of Hostile Witness
Tia huffed. “They heard our conversation just now.”
He halted mid-stride. “So what? We had a friendly exchange.”
She wheeled around and poked him in the chest with a finger. “Friendly exchange? They think you left my house this morning while I was in these pajamas.”
He shook his head. “Impossible. I spoke very softly.”
“Yeah, you did. So did I. But the principal wears one of those new miracle hearing aid things. I know she heard everything we said. People can hear the grass grow with those devices.”
Ethan shoved his hands into his pockets. “Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“We’ve just been dumped into the Sandy Beach Elementary rumor mill, and I shouldn’t worry about it?”
Ethan chuckled. “I don’t mind. I haven’t been part of a school rumor mill since middle school when I changed schools midyear and the kids thought I was a narc.”
“Pfftt! You probably were a narc. And you should mind. This isn’t the precinct, Detective, and I’m not your buddy. This is my place of employment.”
“Now wait a minute. It was an honest mistake. How was I to know that Principal Decker wore a bionic hearing aid?”
She inhaled a deep breath. “My point is that you should’ve kept your mouth shut.” Her head pounded. Honest to goodness. This was exactly the kind of unintended consequences she’d been trying to avoid for eighteen months, and no good-looking clueless detective was going to mess up the order she’d established in her life. “If you are done handling the truant situation, then please leave.”
He gave her anI’m watching yousign with two fingers.
She responded with an unladylikeSlit your throatsign with hers.
Storming down the hallway, Tia just knew this wasn’t the end of the matter. It would take about a half hour for news of the office conversation with the drop-dead gorgeous detective to make its way around the school.
She had stopped at the restroom because she was still spooked about the possibility of having a full bladder with no bathroom available, when one of the first-grade teachers leaned out the door of her classroom and whispered, “You go, girl! I hear he’s a real hottie!”
What? It’d only been three minutes.Tia walked fast to her classroom, clicked on her email, and opened one from her principal. It read:
My dear friend, if I were a younger woman, I’d have to mud wrestle you for him. I’ll send an email and let you know when he’s in the building again.
Yolanda had signed it with several variations of naughty smiley faces.
Tia’s cheeksheated when a couple of teachers gave her a standing ovation as she entered the teacher’s lounge during second lunch. She started to explain the events culminating with the conversation in the office with Detective Kelley, but soon discovered her possible involvement with him enthralled her coworkers. Several of them had tried to fix her up with their grown sons or nephews last year.
Even Mr. Russo, the gentlemanly middle-aged music teacher, ribbed her. “Be careful, Tia. I hear he has quite a sidearm.” Everyone chuckled. Mr. Russo didn’t look half as deranged as the rest of the teachers. His version of Pajama Day was a pair of gray flannel pants and a long-sleeve Superman T-shirt. But Mrs. Spencer was the most authentic in her pajamas. She was seven months pregnant and wore Winnie-the-Pooh footed pajamas complete with the bulging tummy.
Tia laughed along with them. They weren’t interested in the fact that there was nothing between her and Detective Kelley. There would never be anything between them. She’d make sure of it. The time for that had been fifteen years ago, and she hadn’t seen him again until the ill-fated ride along. He could take his big muscles and his helping hands somewhere else. And from now on? He’d better keep his comments to himself.
9
Ethan climbed into his cruiser and grinned. He hadn’t enjoyed teasing a woman like that in averylong time. Who’d have thought he’d run into her when she was wearing those ridiculous cartoon pajamas again? It was the most humorous opportunity he’d had in months, and it had simply plopped at his feet.He couldn’t ignore it.Well, that and he absolutely refused to let the woman intimidate him.
There was something about her that was intriguing. What the hell had happened to her? She was mentally tough to be at work today ready to teach. Some people would need to take a week off and down a bottle of Valium after stumbling onto a murder scene the way she had.
He hadn’t meant for anyone but her to hear his words in the office. The things he’d said were alittlesuggestive, but he was only having fun and trying to get a smile out of her. She beamed like sunlight when she smiled, and he’d just wanted to see it once more. But he hadn’t intended to place her in an awkward situation with her coworkers.
Perhaps he’d do something to try to apologize. But the obvious flowers were out. That would only make the situationworse and really piss her off. Plus, there was no way in hell he wanted to give her the idea that he was even remotely interested, because he was not and never would be. Tia O’Rourke was the prickliest woman he’d ever met.
Yup. Flowers were out. But she did need one thing. He turned left and headed for the nearest hardware store.
Ethan eyeballedthe descriptions on the sides of all the coffeepot boxes. Which one to pick for Tia? He’d purchased a Keurig for his house, but not everyone liked the single-brew idea. He sauntered over to the customer service area and patiently waited for help from a clerk named Louann (according to her name tag), a plump and cheerful-looking woman in her fifties.
“Whatcha buying the coffeepot for?” she asked, clacking her blue gum fiercely as they walked together toward the small-appliance section.
“Excuse me?”Weren’t coffeepots for making coffee?