Chapter Twenty-Six
Lila was waiting for me at the head of the stairs inside the door that gave us the privacy of the landing, because almost everyone else but Charleston and me took the elevator. I must have looked surprised, because she said, “I wanted to be sure and talk to you before Adam Thornton found me again.”
I frowned at her, confused now instead of surprised. “Why are you hiding from Adam? I know he can be annoying, but he’s not that bad.”
“He wants the evidence that we took from the parents’ house.”
“He is the medical examiner’s assistant, so she probably sent him.”
“I have Dr. Trent’s permission to show you the items before they go to her lab.”
I widened my eyes at that. “Why would the evidence go to the ME anyway?” I asked.
“Because it’s biologicals, and anything that came off a living person or being goes to the ME now.”
“Unless it needs special magical protection,” I said.
Lila nodded. “Then it goes to the most appropriate authorized body, or organization, or personage that is best capable of dealing with it in a safe and sane manner that does not endanger themselves, the public, or any property or person that might be impacted by said evidence.”
“Wow, I’m impressed that you’ve got that memorized,” I said.
“I didn’t, but I do after Mr. Adam Thornton has repeated it to me like a hundred times while we waited on you.”
“If you have the ME’s permission, why is he here?” I asked.
“Because she sent him along to make sure that the evidence goes to her lab after we’ve investigated it fully,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“That means we have time to look at it magically,” I said.
“By our definition of ‘investigated fully,’ yes, but Adam’s interpretation is a lot different from ours.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am hiding in a stairwell, Havoc, hoping I can sneak you in to look at the evidence without Adam Thornton hanging all over us.”
“He’s persistent, but he doesn’t interfere with us doing our jobs.”
“He’s persistent with you, but he’s always worse with me.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She shook her head hard enough to make her ponytail bounce.
“It doesn’t matter right now; what does matter is you getting to see the evidence before Adam pillages it.
” She crossed her arms, her face far more unhappy than I expected from dealing with any coworker.
I felt like I was missing something but didn’t know what question to ask.
For a second it felt like being back with Reggie, trying to figure out what women want, or what one woman in particular wants, or means.
I closed my eyes and took a few deep, even breaths, trying to find my balance, trying to find me after therapy had ripped me open.
Okay, after dealing with Reggie had made me deliriously happy, miserable, and confused.
“Sorry, Havoc, was therapy rough?”
I opened my eyes and shook my head. “The parking lot conversation was hard. She accused me of trying to follow her around to see if she was dating anyone else.”
Lila sighed and closed her eyes as if I’d said a lot more than that. “Annie accused me of that, too.”
“I know I haven’t done it, and I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt,” I said.
“I followed her after she accused me of doing it.”
I must have looked surprised, because she added, “I know my wife, my ex-wife, she’s crazy, but there’s a logic to it. I was pretty sure if she accused me of it, she was worried I would follow her, so I did.”
I didn’t want to ask, but I wanted to know, and she’d brought it up. “You don’t have to answer, but was she?”
“Cheating on me, oh yeah. She’d found this cute brunette working as a barista at one of the coffee shops near her work. If I’d wanted proof, I could have taken plenty of pictures, she wasn’t being careful.”
“Did she want you to find out?” I asked.
Lila shrugged. “Who knows? I don’t think she cheated while we were together, but Annie isn’t a woman who likes to be alone. Once we weren’t living together, I wasn’t surprised she went looking for someone else to sleep over with.”
“Reggie is okay alone; her independence was one of the things that I liked about her.”
“Annie is not independent; she likes someone to take care of her, but then if you take care of her too much she feels smothered.”
“Sounds like a no-win situation,” I said.
Lila just nodded.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“And I’m sorry your marriage is going to shit, too.”
I smiled before I could stop it and told her about Reggie wanting to clear the air tomorrow before our dinner date. By the time I was finished Lila was grinning at me.
“That’s awesome, Havoc, really awesome.”
“Thanks, remind me to talk to Charleston about the time off tomorrow.”
“Will do, now let’s see if we can sneak past Adam and let you see what we found.”
“Come on, Lila, give me a hint, what’s got you so excited?”
“I guess I could say standing next to a stud like you, but you wouldn’t believe me.”
I laughed. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“You’ll see it in a few minutes. Charleston told me not to tell you ahead of time in case it’s not what we think it is; he doesn’t want me to contaminate your expectations or something like that.”
“He’s the lieutenant,” I said.
She reached for the door handle, then said, “Don’t talk until we’re in the room with the stuff; if Thornton hears your voice, he won’t let us see it without him hovering.”
“Mum’s the word,” I said.
She frowned at me. “You use some of the oldest, fuddy-duddy expressions sometimes, Havoc. You’d think you were old enough to be someone’s grandpa.”
“Where I was raised that’s just the way everyone talks,” I said.
“Oh, Havoc, I’m sorry, sometimes I forget you were raised in a monastery.”
“I was raised at the College of Angels,” I said.
“From what I hear, same diff, except it’s co-ed.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, and she must have realized it, so she saved us both from an awkward moment by opening the door, peering through, and then waving me inside. Apparently, the coast was clear.