“Hey,” I said. “I didn’t hear the doorbell.”
Dylan snorted, but didn’t expose my lie as she gestured toward the bag.“Jake brought lunch. Wasn’t that... nice?” The nervous pitch of her voice told me nice wasn’t necessarily the word she wanted to use.
“Sorry to show up unannounced,” he said, facing me with a smile. I swallowed convulsively. “But I think we got off on the wrong foot, and I wanted to bring a peace offering.”
“A peace offering?” Well that wasnice.
“Yeah.” He opened the bag and set wrappedsandwiches before him and Dylan before sliding me a salad. “It’s a grilled chicken and strawberry with balsamic.”
“From Whole Foods?” I asked, intrigued.
He nodded, handing me a fork and a napkin. “Your brother told me it was your favorite.”
That was also really sweet. “It is. Thank you.”
Dylan read the sticker on her sandwich and blushed. “Apparently Asher told you my favorite too. Thanks.”She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started pushing buttons, no doubt thanking Asher as well.
I grabbed plates and napkins from the cabinet and carried them to the table. Dylan set her sandwich on a plate and sat, still staring at her phone.
“Have a seat, Detective Parker.”
“Jake, please,” he said, and joined us at the table.
I popped open my salad container. “So why did you bringus peace offerings again?”
“I wanted to apologize and explain something.” Jake frowned. “Because of my job, I see some messed up shit sometimes. I can’t always afford to give people the benefit of the doubt. But at the same time, I never want to alienate a suspect, or their family and friends, and make them feel like they can’t bring evidence to me.”
Now I got it. “This is about the recording.”
“Yes. I need you to know I am on the side of the law. Always. And if you have evidence that can help in Ms. James’s case, I need to know about it.”
Thinking over how I should respond, I took a bite of my salad and chewed while I filtered my thoughts. “You’re right, I probably should have given you the recording. In my defense, Iwasplanning to give it to you, but then you accused me of hidingevidence that would incriminate Dylan, and it kind of pissed me off.”
I glanced at Dylan, who took a bite of her sandwich and gave me her “Right on, Addie, you go girl” look... or at least that’s what I imagined her thinking since she was too busy eating (in between glancing at her screen) to comment. Apparently, solidarity flew out the window when cute boys brought us food.
“You still shouldhave given it to me,” Jake insisted.
“Well, you jumping to conclusions didn’t exactly make me feel like I could trust you with something important to prove her innocence.”
He stiffened. “I’d never tamper with evidence to make someone appear guilty, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“You’re the king of jumping to conclusions, aren’t you?” I accused.
“Blowfish,” Dylan whispered, then smiledat something on her phone.
I rolled my eyes and softened my tone. “All I’m saying, Detective Parker, is I don’t know you, and you seemed way too ready to convict my friend.”
Jake bristled, but I watched him school his features before he said, “The police force doesn’t convict. We gather information.”
Dylan glanced up from her phone long enough to say, “Great peace offering. Thanks.” Then shegrabbed her plate and headed to the kitchen before adding, “By the way, Detective Parker also came by to check on the detail, Addie.”
“Detail?” I asked. When her retreating back didn’t comment, I turned my question to Jake. “What detail?”
He frowned. “Your brother didn’t tell you?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
“I have officers watching your apartment around the clock.”
