So they were dirty, glittery, and sticky. Riley couldn’t wait for a nice long shower. And then she remembered the damage upstairs.
While Burt and Nick raced each other around the parking lot, she pulled out her phone.
“Mom, can we come shower at your place? Our bathroom doesn’t have a ceiling.”
“Sure, sweetie! Come over, and I’ll make dinner.”
“Is Dad still on a diet?” Riley asked cautiously.
“He is, but this is a special occasion, seeing as how our daughter didn’t get murdered today. And your grandmother is leaving to go back to the guild today. How about I make my non-dairy mac and cheese, and we open six bottles of wine?”
It was a recipe that required only snacking beforehand rather than an entire drive-thru meal. “That sounds great, Mom. Thanks.”
“Nick can help your father put the fence back up.”
Riley shot a glance in Nick’s direction. He was lying face down in the tall grass of the neighboring property. “It might take us a little while to get there, and I wouldn’t trust Nick with any power tools today.”
“I’m gonna keep the party going,” Mrs. Penny shouted to them. “Who wants daiquiris?”
Nick raised his hand without lifting his head off the ground.
Burt followed Mrs. Penny into the house, leaving Riley to help Nick up.
“Let’s take a walk, pretty lady,” he slurred.
“Are you sure you’re up for it? If you fall in a doggy landmine, I might not help you back up.”
“I’m fit as a faddle,” he announced, dancing a jig in the grass.
“And I’m just going to record this for posterity’s sake,” Riley told him, cueing up her camera app.
“Let’s go. I’ve got somethin’ to show you, Thorn.”
He grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the neighboring house.
“Have you ever been inside this place?” he asked.
She shook her head. “It’s been vacant since before I moved in.”
Nick tripped on the front porch steps and nearly took a header before he steadied himself.
“You all right there?” she asked.
“Pfft. ’Course I’m all right. C’mere.”
He strolled purposefully to the front door and ducked under the crime scene tape.
“Um, if you think I’m having sex with you at a crime scene, you are sorely mistaken,” she pointed out as he fiddled with the lockbox.
With a flourish, he unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Just hear me out, ’kay?”
Riley gagged. “Oh, God. It smells.”
“Forget about the smell. Don’t think about the dead body I found here this morning. Focus on the marble floor. Look at the woodwork. The cool-ass foy-yay.”
“Have you decided to get into real estate?” she asked.
“Look over here at this room. Wouldn’t this be a nice office for a sexy girlfriend office manager?” Nick walked into a room off the admittedly cool-ass foyer.
