“Deal,” she said, now sounding amused. “Tell Nick he has a date and I’ll dress appropriately. Do not tell him that he’ll regret this stunt with every ounce of his being by the time I’m done with him.” She clicked off.
“No problem,” I murmured.
The door opened and Bud walked inside. “Pierce told me to pick you up here when I was done.”
I stood, looking him over. His eyes were clear and his stance set. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. The doctor cleared me. It’s not like I haven’t been tasered before.” Now he looked irritated. “When we find whoever did that, I’m going to have a fine discussion. For now, where do you want to go?”
“Give me just a sec,” I said.
He looked at the tree. “That’s depressing.”
“Right? I’ll be back in a minute.” I wandered back to Nick’s office. “Talked to Tessa, and you have a deal.”
He turned to face me, his expression clearing. “Seriously? That easy?”
“She’s my sister,” I said. “Of course she wanted to help me out, and more importantly, she wanted to help Violet. Tessa is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, and you’re a moron for not just asking her out and falling in love. But that’s your problem.”
“Fine.” Truth be told, there was a gleam in his eyes I didn’t know how to interpret.
I moved around the boxes with trial notebooks until I reached the edge of his desk. “With one caveat. This is now mine.” I took the necklace with the Celtic Knot. Aunt Rachel would love it.
Chapter 33
Iwalked outside Nick’s office with Bud on my heels, his solid presence giving me some sense of peace, although I just couldn’t figure out who’d pushed me against that brick wall. The man had felt solid, but he’d been wearing quite a bit of clothing, so who knew.
Bud looked down at me. “Where to now? How about nowhere? How about we stay at the station and do some paperwork?”
“Can’t. Have to at least get Bernie off the hook before I take that vacation,” I said, feeling the clock ticking down. Usually, Jareth had sent his Christmas card by now, and nothing. Well, unless the roses, heart, and dead body were gifts from him. I swallowed down panic and pushed open the door, noting that the snow had finally stopped falling, leaving the world white and sparkly. The clouds had even parted to reveal blue sky and a weak sun that increased the glitter across the snowy carpet. “How about some ice cream?”
“It’s too cold,” Bud said, at full alert, his gaze sweeping the parking area.
“It’s never too cold for ice cream.” I slipped into the passenger side of his cruiser and waited until he’d sat and started the engine. “Let’s go to Buck’s Candy Store and Ice Creamery over on Oakwood.”
Bud sighed but drove in that direction. “Why?”
“I need to interview a possible witness.” I watched a couple of young women shovel the sidewalk fronting the justice building.
“Great,” Bud said, driving slowly. We finally made it to Oakwood, and he parked right in front of the candy store. “You’re buying,” he muttered. “Stay in the car until I open your door.” Apparently he wasn’t taking any more chances.
I didn’t bother arguing that nobody knew we were headed to the candy store and that the attacker earlier had waited for us outside my place of business. The guy had been tased, so I might as well humor him.
He looked around and then opened my door, keeping his body between me and the street.
I slid across the snowy sidewalk into the door and kept going, pushing it open. The smell of butterscotch instantly hit me, and I inhaled deeply, smiling because it’s impossible not to smile when surrounded by butterscotch. Then I looked over at Bud and revised that thought. He was not smiling.
The candy displays, loose in glass barrels and already wrapped in bags with holiday ribbons had been placed to the left. To the right was the ice cream counter with all of the toppings in a separate case. A forty-something woman with curly black hair and light blue eyes was behind the counter, shoving scoops into the ice cream buckets. A red apron with a snowman across the top protected her white blouse and dark jeans. She looked up and smiled. “Hi. Can I help you?”
“Yes.” I moved toward the counter to see if they had huckleberry ice cream. It was often seasonal, and we were way out of season. “I’m looking for Lucy Gardiner?”
Her gaze took in Bud, who was still in his uniform. “Am I in trouble?”
“No,” I hastened to say. “He’s here for me.”
Her dark eyebrows rose. “Are you in trouble?”
“Always,” Bud muttered.
