“Any pizza left?” he asked, massaging this tummy.
She opened her eyes. “That’s why I made a salad,” she said. “I wasn’t sure I could handle more pizza.” He stared at her in surprise. She groaned. “I get it. There’s nothing wrong with pizza three times a day, seven days a week, if you’re a guy. I happen to like rabbit food too.”
He opened the fridge and laughed when he saw two pizza boxes. “So you’re not eating any more of this?”
“Oh, I so am,” she said. “I thought I’d have some veggies to go with it.”
He nodded. “Okay, good enough. Are you sharing?”
“Absolutely,” she said, smiling at him. “And they’re leftovers anyway.”
“Yep, but sometimes,” he said, “sometimes, you’re a little bit protective of food.”
“I don’t know about sometimes,” she said. “I think that’s all the time.”
He laughed as he opened the box and pulled out three pieces.
“Don’t you want some of the other one too? Isn’t it a different kind?” And she pulled out the other box, but he was already warming up those three slices in the microwave.
He looked at it and said, “I’ll have that the second time around.”
When he opened the back door to the kitchen, she cried out, “Don’t.”
He turned to look at her and said, “I’m just looking. I won’t go out there.”
“Good,” she said. “I was worried that you’d step on it and leave footprints.”
“No,” he said, “I wasn’t planning on it.”
“You have to watch for Mugs too,” she said. “He’s pretty unimpressed at not having his backyard.”
“Makes sense,” he said. “After another day, then that should be good.”
She nodded. “That’s what I was thinking. I asked Harry, and he said at least tomorrow. And hopefully we can take the framework off the bigger slabs of concrete by then too.”
“Maybe,” he said. “I’ll talk to Tony about that.”
“Hope so. Watch out for Mugs.”
He nodded, but his legs were braced up, and Mugs couldn’t squeeze past. Mack finally closed the door, and she let out a sigh of relief. He smiled at her. “Honestly I knew I’m not supposed to go out there.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s nerve-racking though. I can’t wait until it’s past the danger point.”
“You’re probably there already now,” he said. “I haven’t touched it to see if it’s dry, but this stuff is amazing with how quickly it sets.”
“Well, tomorrow will let us know,” she said. “Just have to get through until then.” In an effort to change the subject and to keep him away from the deck, she asked, “Any news on Rosie’s case?”
“No,” he said. “The worst thing about waiting for autopsy results is waiting on the toxicology. If they were given something to simulate a heart attack—of which, yes, I know several drugs are possible—it could take weeks.”
“Can you release the bodies in that case?”
“Yes,” he said, “we can.”
“So have any of the bodies been buried yet?”
“Interestingly enough,” he said, “all four had purchased burial plots together at one cemetery.”
“Wow,” she said. “Me, I want to be cremated.”
“What?” he said in a mocking tone. “Don’t you want a big monument to Doreen and all her cold cases that she solved, a place where all the tourists can come snapping their cameras all around and taking pictures of your final place of rest?”
She stared at him in horror. “The media taunts me constantly here, now that we’re on the Japanese tour bus route,” she cried out. “Whoever thought that was a good idea? And why would I want that to continue after I’m dead?”
He chuckled. “No clue.” He walked to the kitchen table with his hot pizza and sat down. Then he motioned at the other chair. “You’ll join me?”
She added salad dressing to her bowl and cut herself some cheese, which she put on the side of her salad and then walked over with a fork and said, “Yes, I am. But you still haven’t told me any results from the related cases yet.”
“Nothing to say yet,” he said. “So far, there’s no motive in anybody killing any of these people.”
“They don’t all have somebody awaiting their riches?”
“Two of them didn’t have any riches,” he said. “One was barely surviving, her retirement covering her room costs every month, and we have Rosie, whose assets we’re still working to track down based solely on her will made just days ago. We did find her lawyer though, so he’s on it.”
“Oh, good,” she said. “Speaking of lawyers …”
He nodded. “Remember? My brother’s supposed to come next weekend,” he said.
She wrinkled up her face. “It’d be really nice if I could miss that visit.”
“You can’t,” he said, a hard note entering his voice. “No way you can. We need to get to the bottom of this. And, at least, he’ll tell us what he’s found so far.”
“Yep,” she said. “Not exactly a highlight of my life.”
“Look at how much more exciting your life is now,” he said.
“It’s much more exciting.” She nodded with a big smile. “But how sad too because it reminds me of what I didn’t have for a life before now.”
“You can’t keep focusing on the past,” he said. “Maybe that’s a problem with you doing cold cases. All you’re doing is spending so much time looking at history.”
“Which is why,” she said with a big smile, “I’d be happy to help you with your current case.” He glared at her. “And then there’s the fact that Rosie’s husband just got up and walked away out of the blue. To never be heard from again.”
Mack, lifting a big piece of pizza with two hands, stopped and stared at her.
“Or did you not hear about that?”
“Tell me,” he commanded.
She shrugged and said, “I don’t really have too many details. But apparently her husband disappeared about ten years ago.”
“Interesting,” he said. “Was it ever reported to the police?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Mack, was it ever reported to the police?” She wiggled her eyebrows at him. “If anybody
