“Hello?”Daisy answered with a cautious note in her voice.
“Hey, it’s Amka.On Christian’s phone.”
“Oh wow.Why is that?”
Amka shifted her weight, acutely aware of how wrong everything felt, right down to not wearing her own jeans.“That’s definitely a long story.But for now, are you at home?”
“No.I’m at the tavern.You weren’t here to open it.”
Amka’s brain just wasn’t locking in.“Thank you for doing that for me.”
“Of course.”
“I need a favor.”
Glasses clinked.“Anytime.”
Amka needed to start thinking clearly.“Is Nixi around?”
“Yeah.She’s slurping coffee with a bunch of her friends.They’re filming more videos.Why?”
Amka thought through the specials of the day.Rudolph could easily handle the kitchen, and if Nixi would work the tables, they should be okay.“I’ll meet you in the back room of the tavern where I keep an extra change of clothes.Daisy, I need a lawyer.”
Christian insistedon driving them the few blocks from the tavern to the sheriff’s station, his eyes sweeping the rooftops.Only a few nights had passed since someone shot at them, but it already felt like years.He parked right out front and ushered them inside, covering their backs.
Inside, Brock lounged against the counter while Flossy sat behind it, alert as always.The two troopers stood near the hallway leading to the offices and interrogation room.
Flossy looked up.“Oh, Amka.I’m so sorry about Jarod.”The elderly woman had run the front of the sheriff’s station for years.
“Thanks,” Amka said.
Brock pushed off the counter.“Christian, why don’t I talk to you outside while the troopers speak with Amka?”
“No.I’m going in with her,” Christian said.
“No, you’re not,” Jeb cut in.“We’ll speak with you next.”
Christian leveled them both with a cold look.“I’m fine.”
Amka patted his arm.Both troopers tracked the movement.
“Come on into the conference room,” Jeb said, opening the door.
“Hey, Amka,” Amos called from the basement.“We have a lawyer in town now.She should be with you.”Amos had been their resident weather guru for eons, and he lived in the basement, rarely venturing out.
Amka paused and raised her voice enough to reach him.“Thanks, Amos.I brought Daisy.”She shivered and stepped into the conference room, aware of every inch of herself.No makeup with her hair a mess, though she’d at least brushed it out at the tavern.She sat at the table next to Daisy, across from the female trooper with the red hair.It was time to be formal, so she looked up and focused on the lead officer.“Trooper Pontevo, what happened to Jarod?”
“Amka, we met the other day.Call me Jeb.”He shut the door behind himself and walked around to sit next to his new partner.“We’re friendly here.”
“You can call me Paige, as well.Where were you last night?”Paige jumped right into the questioning.
Amka sighed.There was no point in dancing around it.“I was at Christian’s.He has a cabin.”
Paige placed her phone on the table and rattled off the names of everyone present as well as the date and time.“Sorry about that.I forgot the recording.You spent the night with Christian Osprey last night?”
Daisy shook her head.“That’s irrelevant.”She sounded like a badass lawyer all of a sudden.
“If he’s her alibi—” Paige started.
