“You can hold out three weeks.”
Colson shook his head, giving me a look of pity not unlike how Sunny had looked at Brutus. “You really need to get a woman in your life, Jagg.”
“So I can get no sleep?”
“You don’t sleep anyway.”
He got me there.
“No,” he continued, “because if you had one, you’d at least know that when the baby comes, sleep will be even more elusive than with an emotional insomniac.”
“And that’s exactly why I don’t have a woman. Or a baby.”
“There’s more to life than a job, you know. What’s going to happen if you lose this one? What are you left with? A box television and a window AC unit that smells like burned cheese?”
“Did you come in here to give me a life lesson, Colson?”
“No.” He leaned forward on his elbows, his gaze sharpening. “I came here as a partner, a co-worker. A friend. You know how I feel about you dropping either Seagrave’s caseor the Harper case, regardless if you think they’re connected.Hear me,Jagg. You need to take a step back. Your little attitude with Sunny’s dad and the chief last night did nothing for you. I’m looking out for you, man, same as you would for me.”
“I don’t need it.”
“You need this job. Or a life. Both, preferably.”
“Noted.” Heat began to rise up my neck. I wasn’t in the mood.
“Fine.” He leaned back. “I’ve said my piece. Anyway, I wanted to tell you Bobbi’s brother, Wesley Cross, is going to take a look at the bullet casings from Seagrave’s scene sometime today. Hoping he’ll be able to determine the model of gun that was used. He’s not making any promises, though.”
“And he also knows to compare them to the one found at Sunny’s scene?”
Colson nodded.
“Let me know when you hear something.”
There were three big things this information would give us: One, if the casings found at Seagrave’s matched the ones found at Sunny’s, then it would be undisputed that the cases were linked. Two, if both those casings matched the gun Sunny carried the night of her attack, then she was in a world of trouble. Third, if the casings didnotmatch, and the bullet used to kill Julian didnotcome from Sunny’s gun, then she was telling the truth and we’d need to buckle down and find this third mystery person.
Colson leaned back in the chair. “Town’s already gotten wind of it. The church is in an uproar, demanding answers, wanting someone’s head. Whispers of witches returning with the full moon is already spreading like wildfire through town. Pun unintended.”
“Well, they’re going to have to keep their stakes at home.”
“No, they’re going to need answers before this thing gets out of hand. People are picketing on the square to cancel the Moon Magic Festival this weekend. It’s a mess, dude. The longer this thing?—”
“I get it. I know.”
Colson crossed his ankle over his knee and stared at me a minute. “How is she?”
“Who?”
“Miss Harper.”
I shrugged, keeping my eyes on my computer while taking notice of the defensiveness that sparked at the mere mention of her name. Like she was mine. Only mine.Mybusiness.
Not his.
“She must be in a boatload of pain today.”
I narrowed my eyes and looked up. “Say it.”
“You could have given her a ride or called me to take her to her car. You didn’t have to carry the woman like a new bride down Main Street in the middle of the night.”
