I nodded and flipped to what was next. Richland, Washington was pretty smack dab in between Seattle, Portland, and Spokane, so it would be a toss-up who would cover it.
Then again, I didn’t know if Spokane was even big enough to have its own new stations? I would think so, but with budget cuts to media in recent years… Not the point.
“I’m running out of covers,” I muttered as I looked up a few other things.
“I already have Tracey putting together ten deeper ones you can use first but can stand up for people in the spotlight. That way our managers for potential new clubs or people who need to feel safe in that area always have the best protection.”
“Good. Oh, you’re being promoted in some way. I don’t know how, but you are,” I told him, swallowing my amusement at his shock. “It’s not negotiable.”
“Jasmine, I like my job and—” he worried.
Which was why it wasn’t funny.
“I know, love,” I said gently. “It’s out who I am now and I’m not even junior vice president anymore. We’re reorganizing and I need my right hand.” I gave him the best look I could. “I need you, Lewis. I don’t run without you. You know that. We’ll figure it out or if you want to be an aide to me as councilwoman—however we do it. You need a better title too.”
He reached out and rubbed my hand. “I’m in this for real and always got your back, Superwoman. I just need you to always keep me inside and as the sidekick that doesn’t go out into danger.”
I snorted. “I can’t ever risk my best guy.” I leaned in and kissed his hair. “I just want you to boss around more people because it’s fun to watch.”
“I do it so well after all,” he purred, smiling when I walked off laughing.
I went home to get everything for the cover that Lewis and the team would need and froze as I found it. I glanced around and realized this wasn’t my home anymore.
No, this was just my condo in Berlin.
When the fuck had that happened?
“Another issue for another day, Jasmine,” I mumbled as I locked it all up again and headed for the portal.
I did what I needed to and then accepted what Lewis had ready for me so I could fake being a cop and get in on the scene. I rolled my eyes when I pulled up and my meticulous nature wasn’t even needed. They didn’t even have a patrolman watching the scene. One little piece of police tape was up.
And the fucking door was unlocked.
Seriously?
Wow, they were making this too easy for killers. Just because a town or area had a low crime rate in the past didn’t actually mean it was safe.
Sometimes it meant people were inept and not enough got reported orsolved.
At least it made things easier for me and I was trying to help. I stepped inside and kept my glamour up from the visible badge to every needed detail, ignoring the amount of energy it took.
I learned a lot in less than five minutes in the house. Lots relevant to the case, and mostly what we had already said. No forced entry. If it involved someone and was a murder, it was someone he knew or someone who managed to get inside. There wasn’t any sort of evidence of another person or disturbances.
Nothing out of order.
But then there was the list of things I learned that could help me figure out why him given the vantage point I was coming into this from.
First, Steven Scalf was a fucking slob.
Oh sure, he picked up his house, but anyone with a real eye knew what to look for. Robovacs were great, but they were for daily cleanings, not the full solution. The baseboards were filthy and there were piles of dust and more behind every door—places where the robovac didn’t get.
So the man also didn’t pay attention to details. That was clear from the overdue bills I found in the kitchen. He made more than enough money for his life, so he either couldn’t handle anything that wasn’t auto-pay or mismanaged things.
I snorted. I couldn’t judge that. Lewis handled all of that for me.
But the pile of takeout containers on top of the full garbage—that, I judged. That was just gross. No matter how deep we were in a case at home base with all the testosterone and tons of takeout, we still took out the fucking garbage and didn’t act like savages. We cleaned up the kitchen and were adults.
Basically, Steven Scalf was a shitty adult.
