“Well, I know now. I didn’t pay attention to the cars in the trail lot. I was concentrating on getting to my door without Jay stopping me.”
“Good for you.” He held out his hand for the tracker and snatched a kiss when he leaned in to get it. “Here’s your key.” He took off the plastic key ring and dangled it in front of her. When she made a grab for it, he managed another stealthy kiss.
Minutes later, Ramsey was still smiling as she exited the station.
As promised, Sullivan sent a text when he was in the driveway. She was ready for him at the door, having showered and changed from running gear to a nubby pullover sweater the color of oatmeal, skinny jeans, and thick socks. Her damp hair was pulled loosely behind her head and secured with a clip. She hastily removed the clip and pocketed it before relieving him of one of the bags he was carrying. “I set us up in the kitchen. My dining room turned into an office a long time ago. Office, by the way, is euphemism for hoarder space.”
Sullivan had seen the room before on his way to the kitchen. He barely noticed it now. He was watching heavy waves of her hair settle into place at her back. “It’s not so bad,” he said politely.
“Liar. I bet you had to suppress a shudder.” She placed her bag on the counter. “Bring your bag here. We’re not eating out of Styrofoam. I have plates and real utensils.”
“I see. Napkins too. Once we put this out, it’ll be just like you cooked.”
“That’s what I was going for. Have to stuff the bags and containers in the trash for the full effect. You want to get out a couple of beers and light some candles while I plate this? Mugs are in the freezer getting frosty and the matches are in the junk drawer at your hip.”
“Done and done.”
Ramsey dimmed the recessed lighting before she came to the table. When Sullivan rose to hold out her chair, she resisted the urge to wave him back down and accepted graciously.
“That was nice,” she said when he was seated again. “Jay used to do that in public. Never once in private that I recall. Thank you.”
“Thank my mother. If you could, I mean. It’s her influence.”
“Then I do thank her.” She forked some greens and a slice of cucumber from her salad. He’d chosen Italian dressing for her, which she appreciated. He had ranch. She thought about things she had ordered before and realized he’d remembered. She appreciated that too. “That bowl between us is for the bones, and I got the damp finger wipes from the bags.”
“I see that.” He ignored his salad and went straight for the ribs, tearing off a tender piece from the half-rack and raising it to his lips. “Am I drooling?” he asked. “I think I might be drooling.”
“Maybe a little around the edges.”
He chuckled and took a bite. “Heaven.”
They were halfway through their meal before Sullivan mentioned Finch. “Are you going to tell me what he said?”
“Nothing that will surprise you. He told me he’d do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it, and I said I wanted to think a little longer. I’m pretty sure he was relieved. I don’t know what he heard when I was talking to him, but I think he was suspicious that something was wrong. Maybe it was all my questions or the fact that I’ve never asked for that much money at one time. I didn’t even withdraw that kind of money when I bought this house.”
Sullivan’s eyebrows lifted. “Wait. You have a mortgage?”
“No, but this property isn’t worth half a million and my attorney closed the deal while I was still in Maryland.”
“Oh. Okay. That makes sense. A lottery winner with a mortgage doesnotmake sense.”
“It might if I only won a million.”
“Sure, but you won more than that. Considerably more, I’d guess. It isn’t the amount of money that Jay wants from you that is troubling you. It’s that he wants any money at all.”
“True. I can probably hold him off another day or so. Did you give Chief Bailey the routing numbers?”
“I did. He called in a favor and hopes to have the information in the morning.”
“And if it’s an out-of-country bank?”
“Jay’s going to be arrested regardless of where the money’s going, Ramsey. An overseas bank suggests he’s planning to flee, but it’s not proof. We have the tracker. You’ll have to file a complaint with details about him showing up here last night. We can add stalking. Then there’s the matter of a call to Willow Garden Health. That’s more or less the nail in his coffin.”
She took a deep breath and released it slowly as she nodded her understanding. “How long?”
“A couple days. Maybe tomorrow.”
“Is it wrong to feel so relieved?”
