Miguel nodded. “I need to get back to the station, question the suspect who looks to be responsible for this incident, and probably book him.” Moving aside to one of the policemen, he said, “Be sure to obtain verification of the important elements before you leave here tonight, and stay until they remove the body. We can’t count on this remaining a clean crime scene.”
While Miguel was busy organizing his officers, Dr. Rayburn raised a blond eyebrow at Rosa and asked, “To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence again, Miss Reed?”
“Please, call me Rosa,” she said, feeling her face stupidly blush. “I’m here with friends. I was waiting for them to come off of a ride,” she glanced into her satchel at her sleeping kitten, “when I noticed the riders on the roller coaster were in a low level of distress. When I investigated, I found the body.”
“Well, Miss Rosa Reed,” he drawled, “I must admit, I couldn’t have asked for better fortune than Dr. Philpott being off duty today. It is so very nice to see you again.”
It seemed odd to be fighting a smile while standing so close to a dead body. Dr. Rayburn must have noticed this too as he touched Rosa’s elbow to lead her a few feet away from the control platform.
“Are y’all in town for a while, after all?”
“For a while, certainly,” Rosa answered. “I’m not sure when I’m going back to London.”
Or if.
Rosa was startled by the thought. Would she actually consider not going back? She quickly pushed the thought out of mind.
“Well, if you ever get a hankerin’ for the best seafood in town—or hamburger, whatever’s your fancy, ma’am—maybe you’d allow me to take ya out to dinner.”
Even though the sun was about to set, Rosa suddenly felt much warmer than she had all day.
“Oh, Dr. Rayburn, I—”
“Larry,” he said in his warm Texan accent.
Rosa’s eyes flitted to Miguel, just for a second, but it was enough to make her realize dinner with Larry might not be such a bad idea. Miguel was engaged to be married, after all, and Larry would be a welcome distraction.
“At least, let me get your number. I was about to head to Galveston, but I’ll be stickin’ around now with this new case.”
“Galveston?” Rosa asked, glad to have the subject on something else so she could catch her breath.
As she looked back at Larry, he nodded. “It’s where my family lives. I’m afraid I’m a real mama’s boy. Get back there as often as I can. Only goin’ for a couple days.”
Rosa still had her notebook out, so she scribbled down the Forresters’ phone number, tore out the page, and passed it over. Dr. Larry Rayburn was an attractive gentleman. There’s nothing wrong with accepting his invitation to dinner, she told herself. A weight of guilt still rested on her when it came to the idea of dating.
Just then, Miguel made his way back over. “Officer Richardson will be keeping an eye on everything and taking photos until the park closes,” he said to Dr. Rayburn. “If you wouldn’t mind checking in with him before your team leaves . . .”
Dr. Rayburn nodded to Miguel and gave a long look at Rosa before he held up her folded paper, raised his pale eyebrows, and headed off to contact his team.
After Dr. Rayburn had walked away, Miguel turned to Rosa. “Thank you for all of your help tonight. I’m sorry we seem to have disrupted your vacation once again, but hopefully, you can get back to your fun now.”
“I was happy to be of service,” Rosa said, even though she had no intention of leaving just yet. She hoped to look over the place a little more closely. Something about Victor Boyd’s death wasn’t sitting right with her. Perhaps it was the regret at not having taken time to have a word with him earlier and letting him know she remembered him and how he’d once come to her defense. Whatever the reason, she didn’t feel ready to leave.
Rosa turned to Gloria and the other girls. “Any chance you can catch a ride home with these ladies, Gloria?” she asked. “I might still be a few minutes and poor Diego needs a bit of food and water.”
“Sure I can,” Gloria said as she reached for the satchel.
“Gloria can ride with me,” Marjorie offered as the ladies drifted away. A moment ago, they had been in shock from discovering a dead body at the funfair. Now, it seemed, they had moved on to realizing their high school bully had finally gotten what he deserved.
As Rosa waved goodbye, Terence, Miguel’s bandmate, approached, accompanied by a striking blonde. Styled in large waves, her hair moved as one when she turned her head. She had thick eyelashes, and her bright-pink lipstick matched her shoes and her purse, which looked lovely against a creamy swing dress.
Terrence cocked his head as he stared at Miguel. “I told Charlene what had happened and offered her a ride home, but she insisted on speaking to you first.”
Charlene took three quick running steps, tiptoeing toward Miguel on her pink patent-leather T-strap ballroom pumps, and grasped his hand. “Oh, darling. I can’t believe what happened. Are you all right?”
Por todos los santos!
Rosa held in a groan. This was Charlene Winters. Gloria’s description of her hadn’t been far off—she did have a Marilyn Monroe quality. And that explained the gorgeous shoes. Rosa recalled that Miguel’s fiancée worked as a receptionist for a shoe company in Los Angeles while hoping to become the next movie star.
Miguel stroked Charlene’s hair in a manner that made Rosa’s chest tighten.
“All part of the job, sweetheart,” he said gently. “I’m just sorry I had to leave you alone all night. Will you forgive me if I find you another ride?”
Charlene pushed out her full lower lip. Miguel, seeing this, changed his mind.
“Actually, I was just leaving for the precinct. I can
