“You’re such a cop,” she said then wiped at her tears with the back of her hand.
“I am,” I agreed, lifting my hands to brush away her tears with my thumbs. “That doesn’t mean I’m without feeling, Freckles. It simply means I reserve them until I know the right ones to feel.”
“Oh, you’re right.” She waved her hands in the air like she was being silly. “I’m off to work now. I hope you have a great day and find out who is stealing chickens. Maybe you’ll even answer one of those odd calls.”
“They won’t leave a message, so how bad do they want to talk to me?”
“Maybe they’ve worked up the courage to dial your number but are too afraid to leave a message.” She clearly thought it was someone in my family who wanted to repair a broken relationship. She wouldn’t be so eager for me to answer if she found out it could be a dangerous man who escaped prison because of corrupt cops and a broken system no one could fix.
“They’d most likely hang up if I answer.”
“You won’t know if you don’t try,” she added. “Now kiss me so I can get to work.”
We started out with a chaste kiss, but I couldn’t resist lingering longer until her lips parted for my seeking tongue. Every molecule in my body reacted to this woman, so I broke our kiss and stepped back before things got out of control. We softly exchanged words of love once more before she got in her SUV and drove to work.
Memphis and Lyric were still in the attic when I returned to the house. I wasn’t due at the station until nine, but I would probably go in as soon as they finished because I suddenly was restless. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked out my incoming call log. I had more than twenty incoming calls from an unknown person since Captain Barker told me Axel Washington was a free man. They started out as once a day but had grown in frequency during the past week. Maybe Maegan was right, and I should answer the next fucking time they called me. Maybe it was another Markham finding the nerve to apologize or maybe it was one of Axel’s henchmen. Wasn’t it better to know than to keep guessing? If he was coming after me, I was only delaying his next move, not blocking it entirely.
“We’re all set. Are you sure you don’t mind us coming back tonight to record another EVP session?” Lyric asked. Hell, I hadn’t heard them come downstairs because I was so lost in thought while staring at my phone like it contained the answers I sought.
“I’m positive,” I replied, hoping I offered a friendly smile and not a grimace. “I was just kidding earlier.”
“I know,” Lyric said. “My traipsing through the attic is still intrusive. I would understand if you preferred to wait.”
“Can I ask you a question about the investigation? Maegan seemed upset about something you said even though she tried to distract me with kisses.” Well, first she brought up the calls then she got my mind off Anthony once my lips met hers.
“Man, I’m sorry. I should’ve just kept my mouth shut until I had some concrete answers.”
“I’m not busting your balls, Lyric. I want to know what you suspect happened. It’s the detective in me. I want to be the one to break it to Maegan when the time is right.”
“You want to know what I suspect, or would you rather wait to hear when I have concrete answers? I don’t want to put you in a position where you’re keeping secrets from Maegan. I know you want to protect her, but I get the feeling she’s not a shrinking violet, and I bet she has one hell of a temper.”
I smiled because my Freckles was a real wildcat. “You can say that again.” I blew out a breath because he made a valid point. “You’re right. You can tell us at the same time. I’ll be there if she needs me, but I won’t treat her like she’s helpless and can’t handle bad news.” It wasn’t lost on me how ironic this statement was since I was keeping a pretty damn big secret from her. I reasoned the pros and cons again of telling her and stuck to my original decision. No good would come from worrying her needlessly.
“Good call, Elijah,” Memphis said.
We agreed that seven was a good time then I invited them over to grill out before they started the video recording of their next interview with Anthony. After they were gone, I made sure all the doors on the first floor were secure and our pets had plenty of food and water before I headed to work. I had an idea how to find out who was stealing chickens from Blissville residents. It started out as a funny joke, but then I realized it had real merit.
Adrian was already at his desk when I arrived which rarely happened since he was the father of two small children. During the school year, Sally Ann’s teaching position required her to be at work before Adrian, and he was responsible for taking the kids to childcare. Sally Ann was still on summer break for a few more weeks, so Adrian was able to arrive earlier. I could tell by the serious look on his face he was cooking up a chicken plot too. No pun intended.
“I have an idea,” I told Adrian excitedly. “We need to set up a sting operation.”
“A sting operation? Was there a bank heist I didn’t hear about?”
“Are you no longer worried about Elvis, Aretha, and Gaga?” I wanted to know.
“You forgot Patsy, and no, I’m still worried about them. That’s why I’m here early looking for solutions. So far, I’ve only come up with offering a reward and setting up a tip line like we did when the Christmas bandits attacked. Damn, that was pure chaos with every lunatic calling the number at all hours of the day. Want to take a bet on how many people would report seeing Henery Hawk in the area before the crimes occurred?”
I shook my head but couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. Fuck, I loved small-town living. “I was thinking about a slightly more aggressive approach, partner.”
“Yeah?”
“Decoys and hidden cameras,” I said with pride. “What’s the one thing all of these chicken owners have in common?”
“They love chickens?”
“They advertised they had free-range eggs for sale with a sign in their yard.”
“Yeah, they did.”
