Jack’s hands clenched into fists at his sides, but he remained where he was standing thanks to a warning look from Brian.
“I didn’t disparage her,” Greg countered. “I explained that I was the boss, which I am.”
“No, I’m the boss on this particular scene,” Deacon countered. “I’m the one in charge of gathering evidence, which makes me the boss.”
“And I’m a magistrate, so we all know I’m the boss, too.” Grisham folded his arms over his chest as he regarded the scene. “The county evidence technicians have the right of way, Mr. Decker. If you don’t like that ... well ... I don’t really care.”
He held up his hand to quiet Greg before the man could explode. “You have a job to do as well. You don’t need to do it directly here, though. You can move that way.”
“That screws up the flow,” Greg grumbled.
“Somehow I think you’ll survive. A young woman lost her life here and finding out exactly what happened to her takes precedence. As for Ms. Morgan ... .” He trailed off as he regarded the pink-haired woman.
For a moment, Jack’s heart flared with hope. Perhaps the magistrate would realize she was being treated poorly and cut her loose. That would be the best outcome for all of them. Instead, though, Grisham merely shook his head.
“I can guarantee that Ms. Morgan wasn’t the individual who called my office,” he said. “Also, I know for a fact that lumberyard belongs to her brother. It makes sense for her to leave her vehicle and phone there. If you have a problem with that, then get over it. You have no say in where she parks her car.
“As for the rest, I don’t see why you need to be so difficult,” he continued. “Take your team in that direction and finish out your shift. It’s pretty simple in my book.”
Rather than argue, as Ivy had expected, Greg dejectedly kicked his foot against the ground. “Yes, Your Honor.”
“Great.” Grisham paused before turning, his eyes landing on Ivy. He looked conflicted, but even he realized it was bad optics to throw his weight around in this particular situation. “I’ll be placing a call to your superior when I return to my office. I would tread lightly going forward.”
“I’ll consider it,” Greg said through a sneer.
“Great.” Grisham held Ivy’s gaze for a beat longer and then turned. “Stay out of the way of the evidence teams. If I get called out here again, you’re not going to like the outcome.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
IVY WISELY KEPT HER DISTANCE FROM GREG for the rest of the afternoon. She was filthy, sweaty, and exhausted by the time she turned her poker over to him. She didn’t say a word in the face of his pointed glare as she hurried toward the road shoulder so she could return to the lumberyard.
She held her breath, waiting for him to offer some snide remark to her back, but he didn’t say a word. For that, she was grateful.
Ivy was halfway to the lumberyard when she noticed a car driving erratically along the highway. Sensing trouble, she moved inland several feet and watched in amazement as an old Cadillac came to a screeching stop about twenty feet behind her. When she shifted to get a better look, she found the vehicle had stopped directly in front of Jason, who was standing on the other side of a nondescript Ford.
“I’m going to kill you,” a woman announced, hopping out of the car while it was still running. Her gaze was squarely on Jason, so Ivy had no doubt who she was directing the threat toward.
“Keep your voice down,” Jason snapped, annoyance on full display. “Do you want to make a scene?”
“I don’t care!” The woman slammed the car door shut so loudly it echoed through the serene wilderness. “Do you see that?” She gestured at the Cadillac as she stalked toward Jason. “Do you see what I have to drive now that you banged up my car?”
Jason darted his eyes to Ivy, as if he sensed her watching the argument, and then focused on the brunette. “Now is not the time to talk about this. Let’s go somewhere private.”
“Oh, you think I care who hears, do you?” The woman threw her hands in the air. “Jason dinged up my brand-new car!” she screeched into the words. “He says I’m a crappy driver, and yet he ruined my perfect new vehicle. I’ve never had a new vehicle before, and now it’s ruined. Not only did he hit something — probably a garbage can when you were smoking pot, huh? That would be just like you — but he didn’t bother telling me. It was on the passenger side so I didn’t even notice until I took a break from work today.”
Ivy let out a breath. She hadn’t even realized she was holding it in until it came whooshing out.
“I said we’ll talk about it someplace else,” Jason growled, his pointed gaze landing on Ivy as he grabbed the woman’s arm to direct her back toward her vehicle. “Do you mind?”
Ivy immediately shook her head. “Sorry. I just ... wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Obviously I’m fine,” he shot back. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m a big boy.”
“Right.” Ivy put her head down and headed back toward the shoulder. “Sorry. It’s none of my business.”
“It’s not,” Jason agreed. “It seems to me that you’re up in everybody’s business, though. I bet if you asked Greg about that, he would agree with me.”
Ivy didn’t particularly care what Greg had to say about anything, but she kept a biting retort from escaping her mouth. She knew it would only make things worse, and that’s the last thing she wanted. “I said I was sorry. I meant it. I’ll be going now.”
“Yeah.”
Ivy kept her eyes facing forward, refusing
