Several people bustled about, all with hair-nets, blue coveralls, and nitrile gloves.
Buck brought his gaze back to Bobbie, and noted that she wore none of that.
“I see you wondering why I’m not in my PPC’s,” she nudged him gently in the ribs. “It’s because we have an appointment. You don’t want me showing up at the police station looking like I’m about to cook lunch.”
She sent a wry snicker toward a woman who had stopped chopping, to grin in their direction.
“I’m guessing PPC is…Personal Protective Clothing?” Buck posited, trying to ignore the silent exchange.
“Ding, ding. Got it in one,” the grinning woman answered, clearly not afraid to engage. “Give the man a prize.” She jiggled her eyebrows, then tipped her head from Bobbie to Buck, then back again.
“Cut it out, Mel,” Bobbie huffed amusedly. “Buck, I want you to meet Melo, my right-hand woman who also happens to be my best friend. She’s mouthy and bossy, but she’s worth every minute of the aggravation because she’s damned good at what she does.”
“Aww, Bobbie. I love you too.” Mel’s eyes narrowed amusedly. “I take it this stud-muffin is the reason you’ve been off your game all morning?” she suggested cheekily.
Bobbie rolled her eyes. “Did I mention, mouthy?” She huffed at her friend. “And I wasnotoff my game.”
“And fresh bananaslikebeing in the freezer,” Melo laughed, going back to her dicing.
Bobbie groaned. “Okay. Enough.” She turned back to Buck. “Over here we have?—”
She was cut off by Buck’s phone ringing in his pocket.
He held up a finger. “Let me just…”
Buck pulled out his phone and looked at the screen. “It’s Spence. I was going to surprise him with today’s haul, but he can be impatient. I’m sure he wants to know if I bought all the equipment I was looking at. Do you mind?” He pointed to his phone.
“No. No. Not at all. Please feel free.”
Buck hit the button to connect. “Hey, Spence. What’s up?”
“We have a situation,” Spencer barked.
Buck was immediately all ears. “Tell me.”
“The Chief just called and said somebody fishing on the river bank reported seeing a truck jettisoning a big-ass, possibly people-sized suitcase into the water off the Main Street bridge. And get this. The bystander said there was noise coming frominside it as it got swept downstream. I don’t have to tell you, that things going to sink fast, and with something in it… The Chief called me because he wants a diver. I’m fifteen minutes out, which could be too late. How close are you?”
“I’m at Bobbie’s place. I can be there in two minutes. And I have gear.”
“Go, go, go. Who knows what the hell is inside.”
CHAPTER 12
Bobbie immediately knewsomething was wrong. Buck’s face had taken on such a battle-hardened cast, he became almost unfamiliar to her. She thought she’d seen him in every one of his guises, but if she had to say, this bad-ass look was new, and extremely hot.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, as soon as he hung up.
“I’ve got to go.”
His feet were already on the move, and Bobbie followed him as he continued to explain.
“Someone threw a big suitcase off the bridge into the river. A bystander thought they heard something inside.”
Bobbie’s stomach clenched, understanding immediately. This could be life or death, and Buck was going to retrieve whatever the hell was in the river.
“Will you be swimming or diving?”
“Diving,” he answered without hesitation. “The water can be fifteen feet deep at the bridge, and if the item jettisoned makes it downriver to the Penobscot, it could get caught up in a pretty nasty current, so it’s the safest route for me.”
