“Look, Libby, I’m not suggesting we handle all this alone from the beginning to the end. All I’m suggesting is that we learn more about everything before we make any final decisions about who to give the necklace to.” He tapped the end of his nose. “Some cops rely on their gut reaction. I always relied on my nose, and it’s telling me to take all this very slow.”
She stared at him for a long moment, noting the energy that radiated through him, the glint of anticipation that lit his eyes. He wants to do this, she thought in amazement.
She relented. “Okay, we go to the Ozarks and see what we can find out, but only on one condition.”
“What?”
“If things get really dangerous and I feel like we’re in over our heads, you’ll call somebody in to help us.”
“It’s a deal.” He smiled at her, the smile that always made her heart jump erratically in her chest. She suddenly found herself wondering if she wasn’t already in over her head.
He got up and shut off the coffeemaker and looked at his watch. “It’s almost nine o’clock now. If we get on the road right away we should get to the lab sometime this afternoon.”
“I’m ready when you are,” she said, placing their coffee cups in the sink. “Oh, what about Twilight? What are we going to do with him while we’re gone?” she asked as the cat came into the kitchen and sat down at Tony’s feet, staring up at him balefully.
Tony stared back at the big, gray tomcat, unconsciously rubbing his chest where the cat’s claws had made contact with his skin the night before. Twilight meowed as if to protest the dastardly thoughts whirling around in Tony’s head as he considered the fate of the cat. “We should be able to find out what we need and make it back sometime late tonight. Won’t he be all right in the house until then?”
“I suppose so.” She looked at Twilight fondly, silently amused at the way the cat’s unblinking stare seemed to make Tony uncomfortable. “We’ll need to leave him some food and water.”
“Why don’t you take care of that? Help yourself to whatever bowls and feline-type food you can find.”
Libby nodded and smiled down at the cat as she quickly got him some water and a can of tuna. As she set the bowls down, she leaned over and petted him behind his ears. The large cat rolled over on his back, baring his furry belly to her gently scratching hand. “You’re a sweet kitty,” she murmured softly.
“If I roll over on my back, will you scratch my belly?” Tony asked with a wide smile.
Libby straightened up and eyed him levelly. “Has that kind of smooth flirting always come so easily to you?”
He winced. “Ouch. Are you always such a straight shooter?”
“Always. That’s one thing my father taught me.”
“What else did your father teach you?” he asked once they were in the car and on their way.
“He taught me how to bluff at poker, curse like a sailor and spit between my two front teeth, the latter of which I gave up upon reaching puberty.”
Tony laughed. “He sounds like a hell of a guy.”
“Oh, he is,” she replied, warmed by thoughts of her father. “He retired to Florida a year ago and I miss him dreadfully.”
Tony thought of his own father and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He envied her the loving relationship she shared with her father. He’d spent years trying to develop something with his own old man. The desire to please Anthony Pandolinni, Sr., was what had prompted Tony to join the police force, but even that move couldn’t bridge the distance between the two men.
He shoved these thoughts from his head, refusing to dwell on painful memories, old baggage. Instead he focused on the mystery at hand, surprised to feel the old familiar adrenaline kicking in at the challenge he sensed lay ahead. He hadn’t felt this way since he’d left the force. “Damn!” he suddenly exploded, hitting the steering wheel with the palm of his hand.
“What’s the matter?” Libby asked worriedly.
“I left the directions to Higgens’s lab lying on the kitchen table.”
“Should we turn around and go back for them?”
He thought for a moment. “No,” he finally answered. “I think I can remember everything I wrote down.”
She nodded and settled back in the seat.
Tony slowly began to relax as the monotony of highway driving overtook him and he realized Libby had fallen asleep. Small wonder…they had both been up late the night before and up this morning with the dawn.
He looked over at the sleeping woman, fighting an impulse to reach over and run a finger down the softness of her cheek, or trail his fingers through the pale blond hair that fell down to her shoulders. Her scent surrounded him, and like a bloodhound on the trail of a rabbit, it enticed him.
Once again he found his grip tightening on the steering wheel. Damn, what was the matter with him? He’d always prided himself on his ability to stay coolly detached from any emotional relationship with members of the opposite sex. What was it about Libby Weatherby that touched him in a way he’d never been touched before?
