Snowflakes danced in the crisp night air as we crossed the parking lot. White pinpricks no bigger than a grain of sand. The barest suggestion of a winter night. I stopped for a moment to admire them. The gloomy clouds that had shrouded the city all day were breaking up. A handful of glassy stars peeked through in places. The moon glowed with an orange hue, hidden behind a thinner patch of vapors.
Kobe waited.
I didn’t know what he drove or where he had parked, and I didn’t need him to follow me all the way to my vehicle, so I pointedly met the young detective’s gaze. “Is there something more I can help you with, Detective?”
The blunt statement seemed to put him off-balance. He buried his hands in his pockets and rocked on his feet. “Oh. Um…” He blew out his cheeks, a cloud of smoke forming and dissipating with the action. “I’ll probably kick myself later, but I’m going to ask anyway. I was wondering if… if you’d like to get a drink sometime.”
And there it was. I should have been flattered, and I was, in a way. The fact that Kobe could find anything about me appealing was miraculous considering I felt like roadkill most days.
Fixing my features, I studied the painfully awkward way Kobe held himself, as though shielded against rejection. I knew what he was asking and debated how to proceed. Staying quiet seemed the best course of action. He couldn’t possibly know I was gay, could he? I had gone out of my way not to give myself away. Or so I’d thought.
I furrowed my brow and licked my lips. “Did you have more questions about the autopsy?”
Kobe opened his mouth and closed it again with a frown. He shifted his gaze about the parking lot. “I might… once I see your report, but, um…” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and shyly laughed. “That wasn’t what I—”
“A phone call would be sufficient, would it not? To clarify anything you might find confusing.”
Kobe’s shoulders fell, the fight draining away. “It would.” A dusting of snow flecked his hair. A few more flakes landed on his face and melted, wetting his cheeks and amplifying his disappointment. His smile was strained as he backed away, finally disengaging. “Have a good evening, Doc.”
Chin to chest, Kobe crossed the parking lot toward an Alpine green Subaru Crosstrek, and I felt like an asshole.
Two paths stood before me. In the first, I remained a comfortable distance from the world, secure in the nest of grief I’d built. Alone with my choices. In the second, I entertained the idea of entangling my life with a smitten young police detective, whose timidity and insight both intrigued and terrified me.
I should have chosen the former, but as Kobe reached his vehicle, I called out, “Detective Haven.”
Kobe stopped and turned, and goddamn the hopeful look in his eyes begging me to change my mind.
I approached. The flakes, thicker now, swirled a vortex against the onyx sky and sucked me into the unknown. I halted severalfeet away from the curious detective who watched my every move.
“Phone calls are terribly impersonal and prone to interruptions,” I said, wetting my lips and squinting against the icy assault. “If you’d like to discuss my findings in a… more comfortable environment, I would not be opposed to having a drink.”
Kobe blinked a few times. The creases forming at the corners of his eyes suggested he was trying to decide what exactly I meant and if he should get his hopes up. “That would be… I’d like that.”
“Like I said earlier. I should have the preliminary report to you by tomorrow, so…”
Kobe hesitantly nodded. “So… tomorrow night? Or Tuesday? No rush. I know a place we could… It’s… The setting is private. Secluded, I guess. We could… talk. About the case.” He made a noise of frustration and glanced around the parking lot once before looking back. “The Apothecary. Do you know it?”
“I don’t. I’ll look it up. Email me with a time and day.”
“Great. I will.” The bashfully boyish smile I’d seen a handful of times that day returned, along with his unfairly adorable dimples. “Have a good night, Doc.”
As I watched him drive away, a niggling worry in the pit of my stomach told me I’d set the ball rolling on something I might come to regret.
I tipped my face to the night sky and closed my eyes as wet flakes landed like angel kisses on my cheeks. “I will not forget you, Angelique. I swear.”
4
Kobe
I met Rue atthe station at seven the following morning, with a bounce in my step I couldn’t hide. Although the time I’d spent the previous day with Dominique had left me with more questions than answers, he’d agreed to meet for drinks, so it wasn’t a complete loss. Whether our expectations aligned or not was yet to be determined.
Rue immediately noticed my high spirits—my partner never missed anything.
Her dark gaze lingered as I dropped into the seat at my desk. I suffered further dissection as I logged into the computer and pulled up my email. The autopsy report wouldn’t be there yet, but I was waiting on labs and correspondence for other cases, so it didn’t hurt to check.
“You asked out the handsome pathologist, didn’t you?”
I couldn’t contain my grin. “Maybe.”
