She dropped behind her desk and found a to-go cup from Hannah’s Diner there, along with a sticky note.
Figured you’d appreciate the coffee. We have a search warrant for Spencer’s house. You can meet me there, if you wish. Trent.
The sentiment was nice, but she didn’t appreciate he felt the need to coddle her. Not that she had it in her to turn down a Hannah’s coffee. A free one, at that.
She got up, taking the coffee she’d brought in and the new one, and headed toward the station’s lot.There are worse things than double-fisting Hannah’s…
“Detective Steele,” Malone called out, stopping her steps.
She turned around to see him curling his finger at her in acomeheremotion. She took a steadying breath and followed him to his office.
Malone sat at his desk just as she cleared the doorway. “Shut the door.”
She did as he directed. When she woke up that morning, she expected she couldn’t put off a conversation with Malone for long. She had just hoped it was after another coffee or two. She set the two cups on his desk.
He pointed at the coffees. “One for me?”
“You can have this one.” She pointed at the one Trent bought her. “It’s black, so you can add your milk and sugar.”
Malone gave her the flicker of a smile. “I shouldn’t. Too much caffeine, my heart starts pounding and my stomach turns to acid.”
Amanda was smarter than to suggest it might have to do with his age.
“I’m guessing you didn’t get a good night’s sleep,” Malone said.
“Not really.” She’d leave it at that.
“How are you feeling this morning?”
“Better than last night.” Not exactly enthusiastic sounding, but it was what she could muster.
“Glad to hear it. Trent’s over at Spencer’s right now with a couple CSIs, executing a search warrant.”
“He left me a note to join him.”
“Depending on what we find there, we’ll determine if a warrant for his financials is supported.”
“To see if we can confirm the purchase of a tarp and rope?”
“Precisely. Spencer’s DNA and prints have also been collected and forwarded to the lab.”
“Trent got a warrant approved for that?”
“Nope, he ended up convincing Spencer to volunteer it.”
“Oh. Wow. He sounded dead set against it last night.”
“I think he wants this all over with, sooner than later.”
He’s not the only one…Just knowing was better than existing in limbo. But they were at the mercy of the lab while they waited for the ballistics testing to be done.
“There is no shame in backing out of this case, Amanda. No one would blame you.”
“I’m fine, Scott. I promise.” She didn’t dredge out her sergeant’s given name often, but his concern felt personal.
“Should that change, I want you to let me know.”
“I will,” she told him and stood. “How’s your back, by the way?”
