The Midnight Tour

A man-style haircut.

Dana suddenly felt self-conscious in her revealing swimsuit. She blushed as the cop looked her over.

A name plate pinned above the uniform’s right breast pocket read, CHANEY.

“You must be the lifeguard around here,” officer Chaney said. Coming up with a lopsided smile, she held out her hand.

“Right. I’m Dana Lake.” They shook hands.

“I’m Eve...”

“Of Destruction!” Tuck called, striding into the foyer without her revolver. “How’s it going, Eve?”

“Hey, Lynn.”

“You’ve met Dana?”

“Yep.”

“She’s my old friend from L.A.,” Tuck explained. “We’re holding down the fort while Dad and Janice are off on their cruise.” To Dana, she said, “This is Eve Chaney. We lucked out. She’s the best damn cop in Malcasa Point, maybe in the country.”

Eve smiled. “I’m not really the best,” she said. “Just the most dangerous.”

“That’s how come I call her Eve of Destruction,” Tuck explained. To Eve, she said, “If I’d known it was you, I wouldn’t have bothered hiding the forty-four. I was afraid it might be Cochran or some other jerk.”

“You lucked out. Cochran’s on the day watch. So, what’s going on? Trouble with a prowler?”

“Right. Out behind the pool.”

“Let’s go,” Eve said. She stepped between them and led the way.

Dana hurried after her, eyes on the officer’s back.

The pale blue blouse of Eve’s uniform had short sleeves. It was wrinkled, probably from being pressed against the seatback of the patrol car. The way the blouse lay against her back, Dana could see that she wasn’t wearing a protective vest.

Maybe cops don’t get shot in this neck of the woods.

Just occasionally get torn up by a monster.

A Kevlar vest seemed to be about the only equipment Eve lacked. Her black leather belt was loaded. As she walked through the house, hips shifting with each stride, leather creaked and squeaked, metal rattled. She sounded as if she were wearing a horse saddle.

“How long since you saw him?” she asked.

Tuck shrugged. “Ten minutes, maybe?”

“Something like that,” Dana agreed.

“And you don’t have any idea who it might’ve been?”

“All I saw was an arm.”

Stopping a few paces from the glass door, Eve asked, “Where was he?”

“Over there.” Tuck pointed. “The other side of the pool. In the trees. But I don’t think he’s there anymore.”

At the sliding door, Eve stopped and switched off the lock. “You two wait here. I’ll take a look around.” She rolled the door open. With a glance back, she said, “Go ahead and lock this after I’m out.”

“You’re going out there alone?” Dana asked.

“Sure.”

“Be careful, okay?”

“You bet.”

Frowning, Tuck said, “Maybe we oughta come with you. I can grab the forty-four, and...”

“No, that’s all right. Thanks anyway. Just stay put.”

Chapter Twenty-One

EVE

Eve Chaney stepped outside, slid the door shut, then walked toward the pool.

“That takes guts,” Dana said.

“Eve’s got ’em. I wasn’t kidding when I said she’s the best cop in town. Hell, she makes the others look like a bunch of sissies. She’ll do anything, You wouldn’t believe all the commendations she has. She’s actually shot five or six bad guys.”

“Look at that,” Diana said, watching Eve through the glass door. “She doesn’t even have her gun out.”

A few strides away from the pool, Eve stopped walking. Her head moved slowly from side to side. Then she swung to the right, broke into a jog and hurried toward the end of the pool.

She runs like a guy, Dana thought.

Off to the right, beyond the pool’s apron of well-lit concrete, Eve switched her flashlight on. With its strong beam slanting out ahead of her, she hunched over and ducked into the foliage.

“She isn’t wearing any vest,” Dana said.

“Never does,” Tuck said. “Which I think is stupid. I’ve told her so. I mean, plenty of other cops wear them all the time. She won’t have anything to do with the things. She says they get in the way. And they’re hot. And they hide her girlish figure.”

Dana chuckled. “She said that?”

“She’s sort of a wise-ass.”

“Like you. No wonder you think she’s so great.”

“She worries me, though. I mean, she’s always taking unnecessary risks. Like this thing about the Kevlar vests. Would it kill her to wear one?”

“Maybe she thinks she’s invincible.”

“Maybe. I don’t know what it is. She drives me up the wall. I mean, she’s very smart and dedicated and everything, but... What the hell is taking her so long?”

“It hasn’t been all that long,” Dana said.

“She thinks she’s so tough.”

“Apparently, she is tough. From what you said...”

“But someone might get her from behind, you know?” Tuck grabbed the door handle.

“She told us to stay here.”

“She might be in trouble. What if she yells for help? We won’t even be able to hear her.”

Tuck slid the door open. The night air came in, wrapping Dana with its chill.

Nobody was calling for help. Dana heard only the hissing, bubbling sounds of the spa and a few distant squeals that she supposed were coming from seagulls.

Tuck stepped out onto the patio.

“Get back in here!”

Not even glancing back, Tuck simply shook her head.

Dana stepped out and stood next to her. “She told us to stay inside.”

“Yep. So what’s she gonna do, arrest us?”

“Well, since we’re out here anyway...” Dana stopped talking and walked away from Tuck’s side.

“Where’re you going? You’d better get back here.”

Ignoring Tuck, she strolled over to the table. She lifted her robe off the back of a chair and put it on. The soft fabric felt cozy. She was glad to be warm again, and glad to have her body covered, hidden away from anyone who might be out there watching. After tying her belt, she picked up Tuck’s robe and both towels.

As she approached the door, Tuck gave her a peeved look.

“I was freezing,” Dana explained. “Anyway, you’re the one who wanted to come outside.”

“I didn’t mean we should go wandering around.”

“I didn’t wander far. Anyway, I’m back.”

After taking Tuck’s robe and towels into the house, she came back out and stood beside her.

“I’m just a little rattled by all this,” Tuck said.