“Cass,I’m sorry,” Jed said for the fifth time that evening. “I swear. I had no idea Shannon had plans for you.”
“First Newcastle, then Handleman? Seriously? What did I ever do to Shannon to make her hate me so much?”
“She was taken in by a pretty face and a great body.”
She blinked at him, surprised to hear those words coming from her partner.
His cheeks pinkened. “Herwords, not mine.” He cringed. “I think Newcastle looks like a gecko, and Handleman should be named handlebarsfor that tire around his waist. He barely fits in his uniform. But what do I know?”
“Not romance, that’s for sure,” she muttered as he pulled up to a house that could use some maintenance. The streetlight overhead showed it needed a new coat of paint, a screen door that closed properly, and maybe a car with actual wheels in the cracked driveway.
She got out with Jed and waited while he knocked. Next door, a woman could be heard shouting at a man for stepping out on her with her sister. So, not much had changed since the last time they’d swung by just a few weeks ago.
“Not my fault,” Jed repeated, adding, “But I guess maybe I owe you one. For Shannon’s sake.”
“Owe me one? More like your soul for not breaking Newcastle’s jaw. He wouldn’t stop staring at my boobs.”
“Gross.”
“What? They’re nice. But not for him to be looking at.”
“Still gross. Stop talking.”
She grinned. She and Jed could talk about anything. Except sex. They both drew the line at hearing about the more intimate details of their private lives. Jed considered her a sister, and she liked him and Shannon too much to wonder about what they did in their personal time. Still, grossing him out was always a pleasure.
“Since you owe me, you take point.”
He sighed. “Fine. It’s my turn anyway since you talked last time.”
As one, they put on their game faces and waited to deal with Mrs. Cleary. The older woman was exceedingly polite, followed the rules, and called themat leastonce a month. She seemed to follow a pattern of complaint, whereby she had something to report about the latest man in her twenty-two-year-old granddaughter’s life.
The last time Cass and Jed had been by, they’d found nothing to support a case of domestic violence, when said abuser was busy with his tongue down the alleged victim’s throat and the victim had her limbs wound around him like a constrictor about to enjoy a meal. Upon questioning the pair, Mandy and her boyfriend had been surprised and amused.
Horny, yes. Violent, no.
Cassalwayspaid strict attention to any such accusation, but in Mrs. Cleary’s case, the woman honestly just didn’t like the men her granddaughter had been dating. Though at the rate Mandy Cleary seemed to be going through boyfriends, the odds were she’d end up with at least one rotten apple and find herself in real trouble.
Still, Cass and Jed had a duty to serve. And serve they did because Cass wanted to think if she were the one calling in a problem, she’d be treated with respect and taken seriously.
The elderly woman who opened the door smelled like day-old doughnuts and whiskey. Her rheumy brown eyes looked out from a wrinkled face that had seen too much sun and smoke, her skin a permanent yellowed-white, like a wall tarred with nicotine. But she was always sweet, slightly stooped over, and soft-spoken. Until she coughed and sounded on death’s door.
“Hello, Officers. Thanks so much for coming.”
Jed and Cas nodded, and Jed said, “Sure thing, Mrs. Cleary. What can we help you with?”
While Jed spoke, Cass looked for evidence of trouble but didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary.
“Please, come inside.” The elderly woman motioned for them to enter. “It’s so cold out.”
They followed her into the foyer and shut the door behind them.
The house smelled stale, like watered-down depression, and Cass wanted nothing more than to leave. Instead, she stood alert, letting Jed figure out what the heck was really going on while she scanned for danger.
“Coffee?” Mrs. Cleary offered.
“No, thank you,” Jed declined. “Mrs. Cleary, you told dispatch a male suspect broke in then left in a hurry. Do you know where he went? In what direction?”
“Sorry, no.” She sighed.
