“Interesting.” Hiram took a sip of his coffee. “What’s her problem?”
“In addition to renting out rooms to my niece and her friends, Dani has this business called Chef-to-Go.” Spencer ate a strip of bacon, then continued, “One of her clients was murdered the night after an event that Dani and the girls catered. And the party didn’t end on a good note for Dani or Ivy.”
“I see.” Hiram took a small red notebook from his shirt pocket. “So Dani’s a suspect and Ivy could turn into one.” He jotted down a note. “Do they have an alibi for the time of death?”
“Unfortunately, the TOD isn’t as important as when the insulin was injected, and evidently, that isn’t as easy to pin down.” Spencer knew where Hiram was going and outlined the circumstances of Regina’s murder.
“Ah.” Hiram pinched his bottom lip between his index finger and thumb and pulled it out. “You need to get a copy of the coroner’s report to find out when and where this girl was injected.”
“Any possibility you know someone who can get me a peek at it?” Spencer slid his cup in circles on the cracked plastic top of the table.
“I have someone who works in the coroner’s office,” Hiram said. “He’ll want something for his trouble. A hundred bucks should do it.”
“That’s fine.” Spencer dug out his wallet and handed over two fifties. At the rate he was paying for information, he’d better make an ATM stop on his way back to his office.
“Is the detective handling the case someone reasonable who you can work with?”
“Just the opposite.” Spencer ate a bite of crispy hash browns. “In fact, the asshat’s the bigger of the two problems.” He explained to Hiram what he’d discovered about Mikeloff’s penchant for using his position for revenge, then added, “And this jerkwad apparently has some sort of hard-on where Dani is concerned.”
“Why is that?” Hiram leaned back in his seat and extended his arms across the back. “Does she know him? Have they had a run-in before?”
“She says that she hasn’t and I believe her.” Between bites, Spencer filled his mentor in on his conversation with Dani regarding the detective. “However, while I’m fairly sure she’s telling me the truth about Mikeloff, she is holding something back. And I think it has to do with her previous job in HR at the insurance company.”
“You want me to look into that?” Hiram asked. “I could call in a favor.”
“No.” Spencer dipped his toast into the yolk of a perfect sunny-side-up egg. Uriah was a genius with a spatula and frying pan. “At least not yet.”
“You want to give her time to tell you herself.” Hiram nodded approvingly. “That’s smart. My policy has always been never to make a woman mad. She can remember shit that hasn’t even happened yet. And that’s no way to start a relationship.”
“Relationship! What?” Spencer choked on the bite he’d just taken. “No! We aren’t… I’m not ready yet.”
“Keep telling yourself that, son.” Hiram chuckled and drank some coffee.
Clearing his throat, Spencer said, “Getting back to problem number three.”
“Which is?” Hiram clicked on his pen and tapped it against his notebook.
“With Mikeloff’s reputation for framing people he doesn’t like and no way that I can see to get him off the case”—Spencer clenched his jaw—“I…” He blew out a breath and shook his head. “I suggested to Dani that we look into the murder ourselves.”
“You advised a civilian to interfere with a police investigation,” Hiram sputtered before understanding dawned in his bright-brown eyes. “You’ve got the hots for Dani and you want to spend time with her without actually committing to a date.”
“No!” Spencer snapped. “That is yes, I’d like to get to know her as a friend, but mostly I’m concerned what Mikeloff might do.”
“Okay.” Hiram drew out the word and raised a brow indicating he thought Spencer was full of bull. “What’s your plan of attack?”
“Since Regina was an NU student, I have an appointment with the police chief to discuss the case. She’s been out of town and couldn’t squeeze me in until tomorrow.” Spencer finished his breakfast and pushed aside the empty plate. “I plan to feel her out about Mikeloff and see if she knows that Mikeloff is a bad cop.”
“The chief’s not going to remove him from the case without some ironclad reason.” Hiram’s thick, white eyebrows met over his nose. “Best scenario, she agrees to keep you in the loop regarding their progress. No way in hell is she showing you the file.”
“That’s my guess too.” Spencer nodded. “Which means Dani and I will need to interview witnesses and interrogate suspects on our own.”
“You didn’t fool me back when you were a rookie, and you don’t fool me now,” Hiram snorted. “Hell, just come clean. You like this woman and you want to protect her and spend time with her.”
“Maybe I do.” Spencer’s tone was stiff. “But all I can handle right now is friendship.” He raised both brows. “And after meeting her ex last night, that’s probably all she can handle too.”
Chapter 13
Early Wednesday afternoon, Dani handed a red-and-white paper sack to Abby Goodman and watched as the girl tapped her credit card against the machine. Because she liked to make sure she had dibs if she wanted any substitutions, Abby was usually among the first to arrive, but today she was the last. Even Smokey had beaten her to the counter.
Dani noticed the girl’s exhausted appearance and wondered if she had taken on too heavy a class load. Although they were technically sold out, Dani felt sorry for Abby and scraped together a healthy lunch-to-go bag for her.
After the girl hurried away, Dani turned and looked at the disaster that had once been her kitchen. Tippi, her assigned helper, had left an IOU saying she had to study for a test and would make up the hours she owed
