Reviewing what little he has, I come up empty.
“Shit.” As a comparison, I pull up the cloud footage of a delivery to our house, yesterday. The guy arrives, jumps to the back of the truck, grabs a box, and rings the bell.
“Leave it there, I’ll be right down.” I hear myself say.
The driver nods, signs something on his iPad, and disappears. Seconds later, I bring the package in.
“That’s it!” I guess I was loud because Catrina yowls from her sunny spot in the window sill and Suds moans in the loft.
“On his stomach, he grabs the bars of the railing and peers through. “You two crazy? What time is it?”
“Half past virus time. Sorry I woke you.”
“It wasn’t you, it was Cat. She sure is loud in the morning. Damn. What the fuck. It’s still dark out.”
He lights up his phone. “Four AM? It ain’t morning. Hell, it’s the middle of the night, unless we’re going to start milking cows.”
“Yeah, I meant to tell you. While you were sick, I purchased some. You’re going to have to do chores before dawn, every day for the rest of your life.”
“Huh. Gives new meaning to bought-the-farm, don’t it?” He stretches and yawns. “As long as I’m awake, do y’all mind telling me what you discovered that was so damn noisy?”
“Only if you come down and keep me company.” I smile as he grumbles, slips on a pair of sweats, and circles down the steps. When he sees I drank the last of the milk, he curses about sharing.
“I’m sorry. I’ll go shopping as soon as they open, I promise.” I do feel a little guilty but not too much. My stomach can’t handle black coffee and his can.
He leans over and kisses me on the cheek. “It’s okay. A SEAL is taught how to deal with torture from enemy hands.”
“Seriously? There was only a drop left.” I go for a scratchy beard second smooch.
Grinning, he scoots his chair next to mine, places me on his lap, and stares at my screen. His arm wraps around my front, squishing my bra-less boobs.
“Mmm. Some good comes from no clean clothes.” He cups my breasts.
“What? You like having a dirty wife?”
“You have to ask?”
Chapter Twenty
Suds
I tug my little wifey into my chest and inhale. Damn, she smells good. I always thought getting hitched would be the end of good sex but I was wrong. Every time we make love, I learn something new. She does, too. By the time quarantine is done, we’ll probably rewrite the Kama Sutra.
“What are you laughing about?” Pretty brown eyes latched onto mine, Sam turns her head,
“Nothin’. Jes’ thinkin’ about you and me and last night against the fridge.”
She smiles. “Kitchen-sex is hot.”
“You sure were. Now, tell me what you figured out.” Otherwise, we’ll end up in bed all day and while fun, won’t catch the strangler.
Sitting, Sam logs on and shows me the video of our front door. “See how there’s a good five or ten seconds from the time the driver leaves to when I open the door? He’s supposed to wait for me but because of the pandemic, he’s doesn’t. I’m guessing that’s true everywhere.”
“So our killer is an opportunist.” Maybe, this is a way to keep Calamity Jane from harm.
Brows creased, she bites her lower lip. “I’m not so sure. Almost everyone has deliveries but far fewer have virtual meetings. It must be difficult to locate a proper target. However, once he finds the perfect one, he waits and watches for a delivery. Then, he steals their order off the truck. I would guess he holds onto it until right before his prey is scheduled to go online. He probably rings the door and gives some reason for getting close, like having to sign for something. Most people, if they see a uniform, will unlock their door. From there, all he has to do is push the door to gain entry.”
I nod. “Makes sense. Then, the strangler forces his quarry to join the event and kills them. But why didn’t they try to tell someone?”
