Maybe Nate was his least favorite Bennet, but Cal was right up there.And Sam had left them here alone.To work together.
But he couldn’t even sit in his irritation over that, because Cal asked a very thoughtful question, in a very respectful way.
“Do you think your dad’s accident was something else?”
“No,” Jake replied tersely.
He didn’t.He really,reallydidn’t.
“Then why are you looking into it?”
He hated that question—because it was his own.Over and over again, he found himself drawn back to his father’s death, and over and over again, he asked himselfwhy.
And he didn’t have a damn answer.
Jake sighed.He supposed he was man enough to treat Cal the way Cal was currently treating him—with some respect.If that changed, he’d reserve the right to punch the guy.But not on duty.No, he’d have to wait.
So for now… “Like I said, the timing is too weird.Sam asking questions… anything involving the Harringtons… it all leaves me itchy.I’m not so much expecting to find something terrible as much as I just want to… ensure there’s nothing terrible theretofind.”
Cal seemed to think this over and the silence stretched out, not entirely uncomfortable.More broody.For the both of them.
“Look, I’m all for unearthing truths—or making sure there aren’t any to unearth.We’re on the same page there.I guess it doesn’t hurt to start from that common ground.”
Common ground.With a Bennet.Seemed like a bad idea.
But maybe it could be… a temporary kind of thing.Just while all of these weird threads were tangling together.Once everything was straightened out and clarified, he could go back to hating Cal Bennet.
Actually, he could still hate Calandwork with him.He had no love lost for Brian Mathews—somehow lazyanda hothead—and they worked together just fine.
“Do you know what Mr.Everly is up to these days?”Cal asked casually, all friendly ease Jake wasn’t quite ready to believe yet.
“Retired.Lives in Livingston.Alone.”
“I assume you’ve got the address.”
“Yeah, but this isn’t official police business, and I’m on duty.”
“Until when?”
“Three.”
“I’ll come by at three then, unless you want to give me the address now?”
Jake said nothing, and Cal smiled—a shit-eating kind of smile.“Didn’t think so.Well, I’ll be back then.”He got up to leave, but Jake wasn’t about to let him leave feeling all… superior, or whatever it was that the Bennets exuded that pissed him off.
“You’re tight with the Harringtons.”
Cal paused in his walk toward the door.He turned to face Jake, who remained sitting.
He looked down at him, expression bland.“Not quite the word I’d use.”
“All that stuff Glenda said on the stand about helping your mom, that doesn’t make you tight?”Because in her testimony against Benjamin Bennet, Glenda Harrington had made it clear she’d helped Marie Bennet survive her husband’s abuse for a very long time.
Cal took his time answering.“I have a lot of complicated feelings about Glenda Harrington, and one of those complicated feelings is knowing that she’s still hiding a lot of things.Good or bad, I’d like to get to the bottom of them.”
It was complete and utter honesty.Even if it surprised the hell out of him, Jake couldn’t deny it was that.
But then Bennet grinned.“We’re going to be partners, Jake,” Cal said, with that overly familiar, jokey way he had that pissed Jake the hell off.He even added a friendly shoulder slap.“Better learn to trust each other.”
