Derrick’s scout car was parked in the same spot as the day before. He leaned his hip against the cruiser, his arms crossed as he watched the evidence teams work. His back was to me. I decided to use that to my advantage.
I sidled up behind him, moving close, but not near enough to tip him off. Then I let loose a breathy whisper. “Oh, detective, you look so hot in your uniform. I especially like how you forgot to zip your trousers. Was that for me?”
Derrick swiveled quickly, his eyes going wide. He frowned when he realized who was invading his space. I didn’t miss the fact that he checked to see if his pants were zipped. “You think you’re so funny,” he grumbled, scowling.
“I should have my own sitcom,” I agreed, looking him up and down. He seemed edgier than normal. He was obviously in charge of the investigation, which could be the biggest of his career to date. “Aren’t you happy to see me?” I decided to antagonize him in the hope he would let some crucial information slip. It was a tried-and-true tactic with other sources. He was familiar with my ways, though, and rarely fell for it.
“Every moment without you is torture,” he drawled. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you think I’m doing here?”
“Trying to drive me crazy.”
“Then why ask?”
He let out a heavy sigh and looked over my shoulder. “Who is that?”
“That’s Sabrina. I thought maybe you were sick of playing house with Devon so I brought a young firecracker to pique your interest.”
His expression was priceless. “Are you crazy?” He leaned closer. “You can’t bring a prostitute to a cop!”
It took me a moment to absorb what he was saying. “Who said she was a prostitute?”
“You did. You said you thought she could do things for me.”
Hmm. That was interesting. I was fairly certain I hadn’t said anything of the sort. I was crude enough to use prostitute jokes depending on my audience, but that had been the furthest thing from my mind.
“So, what’s up?” I relaxed my stance and leaned against the cruiser. “You seem wound a little tight.”
“Maybe you are wound tight,” he fired back. “Have you ever considered that?”
I bobbed my head. “Every day of my life. Eliot thinks I’m a time bomb ready to detonate at any moment. Despite that, you’re out of sorts. What gives?”
Before Derrick could answer, Sabrina decided to insert herself into the conversation. She opted to be assertive as she stuck out her hand in my cousin’s direction. “I’m Sabrina Holden with The Monitor. I want to know what information you have to share with us regarding the dead Santas. Do we think this was a massacre perpetrated by the mall industry to drum up business for waning sales?”
I had to hand it to her. If she were purposely trolling the cops, that would’ve been a brilliant way to go. Unfortunately for her, she was serious.
“Excuse me?” Derrick’s eyebrows hopped and his gaze went dark when it landed on me. “What did she say?”
“Ignore her.” I was already over having an intern as a sidekick. It was beyond frustrating. “Fish stuck me with her because she wants to learn from the best.”
Derrick snorted. “Then why did they send her with you? You almost lost your job twice in the last year because of your mouth.”
“Technically one of those times was because I was a suspect in an attempted murder plot,” I countered. “The other time was because of my mouth ... and I wasn’t fired. I was simply busted down to sports.”
“Which I believe you equated to a fate worse than death.”
He wasn’t wrong. “She’s an intern. Ignore her.” I leaned closer to him and lowered my voice. “Duncan and Marvin have been fighting over her and Fish wants to avoid a sexual harassment lawsuit.”
“Ah.” Derrick switched his gaze to Sabrina, who had a reporter’s notebook out and seemed poised to write down whatever he said. “What is she doing right now?”
“Acting like an intern,” I replied. “Focus on me, your favorite cousin.”
“Mario is my favorite cousin.”
“Mario is thinking about trying to find a way to turn ice cream tasting into a full-time job.”
Derrick’s smiled. “That’s why he’s my favorite cousin.”
“That’s hurtful,” I acknowledged. “We grew up together.”
“Which means I know you’re here to wheedle information out of me. Sorry to break it to you, but I don’t have any information to share. All news briefings will be handled by Jake at this time.”
Ugh. That’s exactly what I was afraid of. “Jake muzzled you.”
“Jake is the sheriff. It’s his job to prioritize what information goes public.”
“The public has a right to know what’s going on with these Santas,” Sabrina shot back. “If they’re meth dealers ... or human smugglers ... or even strippers on the side, we will track down the information and disseminate it. That’s our job ... as the press.” She puffed out her chest.
Derrick studied her a long moment and then grinned before turning back to me. “She’s kind of cute.”
“She’s adorable. I don’t want to talk about her. I want to talk about the case. What’s going on with the Santas?”
Derrick’s smile disappeared. “I can’t say. If you want information, you’ll have to talk to Jake, but he’s decided to embrace a media blackout — at least today.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “Well, great.” I straightened and planted my hands on my hips. I considered pushing Derrick on the Beau Burton angle but depending on his mood he might lie ... or decide to leak the information to other
