Chapter 10 Michael #2
“It comes with the territory,” she grinned.
“Of being the oldest sister?”
“Of being raised with the three of you jackasses.”
My jaw dropped at her words. “Little Lizzy, did you just call me a jackass?”
She flushed red, but fought the overwhelming desire to backpedal. “Serves you right for staying away for so long.”
“I’ll be around for good now. I just got a job working at the department.”
“You did?” she squealed. Rushing over to me, she jumped into my arms.
“Yeah, yeah, but don’t tell anyone. I haven’t even told Blake yet.”
Stepping out of my arms, her smile beamed bright. “I bet she’ll be so happy for you. She really does seem like a nice woman.”
“That’s because you don’t know her that well.”
“Michael Parker, I may not know a lot about love, but I have never seen you so obsessed with a woman before. Besides, I heard she pushed Maverick through a window. She’s gotta be amazing.”
“And did you run over to him and patch up his wounds?”
Blushing, she turned away from me. “I’m not a gawky teenager anymore. Maverick is nothing more than a friend.”
“Yeah, just keep it that way. He’s not nearly good enough for you.”
“As far as you’re concerned, no one will ever be good enough for me.”
“Got that right.”
“Well, as much as I would love to sit around and talk all day, the lunch rush is gonna start soon.”
“I’ll leave you to it. And Lizzy—”
She spun and smiled at me, but the words died on my lips. There wasn’t a single thing I could tell her that she didn’t already know. She’d taken this town by storm while I cut and run. She was long past needing my advice.
“Love you.”
“Love you, too, Mike.”
When I walked through the door, the last thing I expected to see was Blake on the floor with papers spread out all around her.
“What are you doing?”
I stood over her, looking down at the gruesome images of a dead little girl. Okay, this was definitely not what I expected her to be looking at.
“You know, when you said you were catching a ride with Liam into town, I assumed you were going to see Mayor Cameron.”
“Uh…yeah, I did,” she answered distractedly.
“And…you picked up a murder case along the way?”
“Mayor Cameron asked me to look into it.” Holding up a photograph, she pointed to the girl’s neck. “Does that look like it could be an indent from a ring?”
I wasn’t squeamish in the slightest, but this was a kid. How could she look at this? “I don’t know. Maybe?”
I took a seat, staring at her as she lost herself in the file. It was like I wasn’t even here. Not that I minded. She seemed to be enjoying herself. Grabbing the file, I started reading the introduction, surprised that this was from around here.
Not just from around here.
It was at Murky Falls. And there were only two ways to access the falls. One, from our ranch, and the other, from the Callahans.
“This was from twenty-five years ago.”
“Uh…yeah.”
“I was just a kid.”
Her head snapped up, and she eyed me curiously. “Do you remember this?”
I shook my head. “No, but I was pretty young. I remember people talking about it, but it always seemed like it happened before I was born. I had no idea this happened when I was just a kid.”
“Liam was older. Do you think he remembers anything?”
“Maybe, but…”
She glanced down at the paper, then back up at me. The crease between her brows was adorable.
“It’s a little strange that the whole town wasn’t constantly gossiping about it. Wouldn’t they warn the kids about the dangers of going out alone or something?”
She had a point. This girl should have been the poster child for reasons you don’t talk to strangers. “Why did Mayor Cameron want you to look into this?”
“Because the little girl is her half-sister.”
“Seriously?”
That was extremely strange. How had a town like this basically brushed a murder of a small girl under the rug?
I got down on the ground and started sifting through the papers with her. “Any suspects yet?”
She shook her head. “I’m still going over the facts of the case.” Glancing up at me, she cocked her head. “You know what I could use?”
“A murder board.”
“And post-it notes. Markers. Pictures of everyone in town—”
“Sounds like you could use a lawman on your side to help you sort through all this,” I grinned. “I happen to know one.”
“I don’t think Maverick likes me very much,” she said, rolling her eyes at me.
“I wasn’t talking about Maverick. I meant me.”
Her gaze snapped up to meet mine in surprise. “What?”
“He called me in and talked me into taking the job.”
Her eyes sparkled with mirth as she grinned at me. “Yeah, I can see he really had to twist your arm.”
“Well, he made a few good points. Job security, the baby’s on the way. Plus, he’s going to get a better coffee maker.”
“Ooh, that should make all the difference,” she mocked.
“Hey, you and I both know that a good cup of coffee is hard to come by, and I can’t stop in the Daily Grind every day.”
Jumping to her feet, she looked surprisingly happy. “This is so exciting.”
“Really? You’ve really come around since yesterday.”
“Well, yesterday, neither of us had jobs or any direction in life. Today, I have a cold case that I can sink my teeth into.”
“And a lawman to cuff you at night.”
I stepped over the paperwork and pulled her against my body. “How would you like to take a ride in my cruiser?”
She pecked me on the lips, pulling away instantly. “That’s great, but I have so many things to do. I have to go shopping and get all the things, and I’ll need a desk to work at,” she murmured, making a list as she grabbed her purse. “Ooh, what about one of those awesome office chairs?”
“Oh, one of those?” I teased.
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“Yes, but for that, we need to go to the big city.”
“And what is the big city?”
“Missoula.”
“Perfect! That means we can get everything I need. I didn’t see any office furniture I liked in town.”
“That’s because there was no office furniture at any of the stores. You know Missoula is a good two-hour drive, right?”
“Then I’d better bring the file so I can study it on the way,” she grinned, pecking me again on the lips.
“You know, when we get home, I’m gonna want more than just these piddly little kisses!”
She craned her head back in the door and grinned at me. “Come on. We’re burnin’ daylight!”
Shaking my head, I followed her. “I never should have taught her that.”