Page 26 of Eye on the Ball
“This whole thing is odd. Why would she call you for help and then not tell you everything she knew?” I sat on the edge of Jack’s desk. “And where could Ace be? Do you think he’s dead?”
“I got the feeling that part of her wanted to talk to me, but something was stopping her.” He started pacing back and forth in the big, sunny office he rarely used. “I don’t know where Ace could be or who might have taken him. Riverton isn’t Dead End. I have no information on his life or any potential enemies. I’m really flying without instruments, here.”
“Are you still going to help Brenda, even though she’s not talking to you?” I sighed. “Of course you are. And you call me a softy.”
Just then, the door opened. “Hey, Tess. Susan is here. Are you sure you don’t want to tell her about the robbery this morning?”
Jack whipped his gaze from Eleanor to me. “Thewhat?”
Oops. Busted.
11
Tess
Sheriff Susan Gonzalez was taking a rare day off. She wore jeans and a long-sleeved black T-shirt that proclaimed tofu was the other white meat, and her gorgeous dark hair was up under a red ball cap.
When she saw us walk into the shop, she held up both hands. “Don’t know anything, don’t want to hear anything, don’t care. I’m just here to get a gift for my granny.”
“Okay.” Eleanor was talking to some people over by the gardening equipment, so I walked to the counter. “What are you thinking? Jewelry? A nice flower vase, maybe?”
Susan looked at me and then at Jack, who’d followed me. “Uh, huh? Just like that? Our team captain almost goes to jail, and you don’t want to talk about it?”
Susan was deadly at second base.
“You said you didn’t want to hear about it, and you’re clearly not on duty.” I shrugged. “I’m just doing what you asked.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. What happened?”
“How about we find your gift, and then we’ll walk out with you and tell you where there aren’t so many people around?” I tilted my head toward the customers.
She agreed. We spent a few minutes with the jewelry, and I pointed her to a slightly gaudy—okay, horribly gaudy—peacock brooch with red rhinestone feathers and blue rhinestone eyes.
“Are you sure?” Susan looked at it the way I looked at one of Lou’s infrequently coughed-up hairballs. “That’s … awful.”
“For you, yes. But your granny loves sparkles. The bolder, the better. You can buy her this tasteful topaz ring or those lovely jade earrings, and she’ll be happy because she loves you. Or you can get her this for less than half the price, and she’ll be ecstatic, because she loves the peacock,andshe loves you.”
Susan sighed but pulled out her wallet. Moments later, the peacock was in her purse, and she and Jack walked out the door. I told Eleanor I was on my way—I’d scheduled her to work alone the rest of the afternoon, since I had softball practice.
“Are you good?”
“Oh, sure. I’ve worked Saturday afternoons alone before. If we get busy, I just ask people kindly to be patient.”
“Soon, we’ll have Tina to help.”
“I hope so,” she said. “I really hope she works out, for her sake, as much as for ours.”
By the time I reached Jack and Susan at her car, he’d told her most of it.
“That sheriff is a piece of work,” she said, frowning. “He’s just as dirty as his cousin was. Reynolds called me, though. He’s a good guy. He’ll keep me up to speed.”
She looked at Jack. “He’s a wolf shifter.”
“I know.”
“You guys can … what? Sniff each other out?”
“Yeah,” he said dryly. “Makes it tough when I catch a cold.”