“That’s what you know about her?”
“Hey. I know where she works. I can figure out the rest. Bet it’s enough to get a date.”
“You’re nuts, Buddy. You know that? Wait. Is this Sophia at Eat’n Park you’re talking about? The hostess?”
“That’s her.”
“Out of your league.”
“I’d be offended if it weren’t true.” He shrugged. “Guess I could say the same about you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ramsey. She’s out of your league. Way out.”
Recalling what Ramsey had done for him in the Southridge parking lot only last night, Sullivan made an effort to keep his expression neutral. “Oh? How’s that?”
“I stopped at Eat’n Park for breakfast on way my home this morning. Saw Ramsey in a booth with some suit name of Carpenter. Really put together guy. Maybe not GQ cover type, but definitely inside material.” At Sullivan’s surprised look, he said, “Hey, I gotta look at something when I’m waiting for my lottery tickets at the newsstand. Anyway, he had the haircut. Clothes. Probably had the shoes, too, but I didn’t get a look at them. I bet the suit was pricy or he wore it like it was. Took him to be on the snooty side. He admitted he wasn’t from around here when I asked, but he didn’t offer any deets. I let it go because it struck me hanging around was making Ramsey uncomfortable.”
“Ramsey? Uncomfortable?”
“Yeah. Some. Enough so I noticed.”
“Huh.”
“Anyway, this suit was at least as good looking as…” Buddy stopped, mentally thumbing through TMZ celebrity interviews. “Zac Efron,” he said eventually. “Older, though.”
“Hmm.”
“And taller, maybe. Or Ryan Reynolds if all the humor was sucked out of him.”
“Okay.”
“You think you can compete with that?”
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
“Yeah, well, there’s that.” Buddy pushed back and stood. “Gotta go. Ramsey’s working today. Only a matter of time before there’s a call.”
There were calls. Plenty of them. But Buddy’s prediction that they would come from the Ridge did not pan out. Sullivan dealt with two overdoses, one incident of domestic violence, a rear end collision in which texting while driving was involved, and a frantic mother who called 9-1-1 when her three-year-old wandered out of the yard while she went into the house to grab her phone. He didn’t have a lot of time to think about the suit that had breakfast with Ramsey.
Sullivan was finishing his reports when Chief Bailey announced he wanted to see him. Bailey stood in his office doorway until Sullivan was on his way. He stepped aside and closed the door behind him. He did not invite Sullivan to sit.
“This will only take a minute,” the chief said. “Ramsey Masters called. She wants you to call her.”
Sullivan frowned. “Why didn’t she call me?”
“I figured she had your number, so I asked her. She did not want to interfere with your work. It’s a personal matter, she said, not professional. I asked her if there was anything I could do, and she said she would let me know. I have to say that her answer left me both intrigued and worried, but she didn’t elaborate and I chose not to inquire further. She was specific about a call. She doesn’t want you to drop by the Ridge.
“All right.”
Bailey nodded. “If there’s something I can do, I want to know. I mean it.”
“Buddy said she had breakfast with someone from out of town this morning. Maybe her call has something to do with that.”
“Maybe.”
Sullivan thought the chief sounded neither hopeful nor convinced. He was reminded that Bailey had an interest in recruiting Ramsey Masters. Hadn’t Bailey warned him not to screw it up with her? “I’ll let you know if I can.”
