1
Iliked his hands. The way he gripped his glass in one, then reached for me across the table with the other. Warm hands. Strong. I traced the lines of the corded veins over his wrist and where they webbed around his knuckles.
“Mara?” he asked. “Did you hear me?”
My focus snapped back to his dark eyes. “What? Oh. Right. Hojo. Yes. I think he’ll be okay for the time being.”
Sheriff Sam Cruz raised a brow and brought his glass of lemonade to his lips.
“The time being,” he repeated. “You think he’s gonna run for the open seat outright in January?”
“I doubt it.” My colleague, Howard Jordan, had been thrust into the position of acting prosecutor after our last duly elected one ended up recalled for misconduct. “Hojo was starting to set up an exit strategy, not run for higher office. He’s doing a serviceable job though. He’s better in front of a camera than anyone gave him credit for.”
“You know, oddly, Gus and I were saying the same thing just this morning. I don’t know why it should surprise anyone. Howard’s got that ‘aw shucks’ charm thing. It serves him well against defense attorneys and in front of juries. You think he’s just some local yokel, then he zings you with something.”
“That’s always been his strong point,” I agreed. “Hojo benefits from underestimation. The problem is, I don’t think he’s handling the stress of it very well. He pops antacids like candy. He’s gained weight. I think his girlfriend isn’t fully on board with his new role. So, something’s going to have to give.”
“Are you two ready to order?” Sam and I sat on the outdoor patio of the newest downtown Waynetown eatery, The LadyBird. Right across from the Public Safety Building and the City-County Building, we were each a two-minute walk from our offices. With as busy as things had been for both of us, it was the first time we’d been able to steal an hour for just the two of us in almost two weeks.
“I’ll try the chicken salad sandwich,” I said.
“Kettle chips or French fries?” the server asked.
“Chips are fine.”
“I’ll do the Reuben,” Sam said. “Chips here too.”
The girl took our menus and headed to her next table.
“What about you?” Sam asked. “I know I’ve asked you before. And I know you know everybody’s wondering what you’ll do.”
“You already know the answer to that,” I said. “I like my current job. Running for political office was never an ambition of mine. I like trying cases. I’mgoodat trying cases.”
“You’re great at trying cases,” Sam said. “I’ll admit, for my position, I like you right where you are. I like knowing I’ve got a superstar sitting at the prosecutor’s table in that courtroom. But if Hojo doesn’t want to run, you leave yourself vulnerable to whoever comes in to take his place.”
“I haven’t given up hope that Kenya will come back.”
A year and a half ago, my former boss, Kenya Spaulding, was ousted in a political upset. She’d spent the intervening time as a woman of leisure but I knew it couldn’t last much longer. She did have the political ambitions I lacked. And she was damn good at her job.
“Well, that would be fantastic,” Sam said. “If there’s anything I can do to help persuade her, you let me know. Still, if you change your mind, you know you’d have my backing. You’d have the entire department’s backing.”
“You sure that wouldn’t cause a conflict for you, Sheriff Cruz?”
“I do not,” he said. “And I wouldn’t care if it did. And there’s nothing that says you couldn’t still try as many cases as you want if you took the top job instead of assistant prosecutor. You could run that office any way you wanted.”
“I know,” I said. “For a while, anyway. But I mean it. I’m not interested in the politics of it.”
A shadow crossed his face. “Mara,” he said. “I get what you’re saying. I do. I just … I want to make sure you’re not saying it because of me. Because of us. Sure. Us being together. Me as sheriff. You if you were elected prosecutor. It could get complicated. But there’s no law against it.”
“I know that. But I also know people would use it against you in your next election. That’s not too far off.”
“Mara …”
“No,” I said. “I need you to trust me on this. I’m not turning my back on a potential promotion because of the boy I’m dating.”
“Boy?” he said, letting his voice drop low in almost a growl.
“Figure of speech,” I said. “Don’t change the subject. Sam, have you ever known me to not say what I mean? Or mean what I say?”
