Jason nodded without offering up a word of a complaint. “I’m all for not getting hurt.”
“Come on.” Ivy gestured for him to follow her. “Do you want a bottle of water while you’re waiting with your face in the dirt?”
“That would be nice.”
“I’M MAD.”
Jack could hardly contain his annoyance when he arrived at the nursery and found Jason had already surrendered to his fiancée and her father. He was quiet during the car ride back to the police department — a trip he insisted Ivy make with them — and waited to unload only after Jason had been processed.
“I’m really mad.”
Ivy was used to Jack’s temper so she merely rolled her eyes. “You’ll get over it.” She futzed around in the small departmental kitchen, making a face when she opened an empty cupboard. “No tea?”
Jack considered torturing her, but he didn’t have it in him. He stalked into the next room and opened his top desk drawer, returning with a tin of her favorite loose-leaf brand and a latched infuser he purchased just for her.
She grinned when she saw it was a moon. “My hero.” She opened her arms to hug him, but he refused to move closer.
“I’m really mad,” he repeated, for what felt like the tenth time. “How could you take on a murderer by yourself?”
Ivy let loose a long and drawn-out sigh. “I didn’t take on a murderer. I took on a meth dealer.”
“Do you think that’s better?”
“He’s an inept meth dealer.”
Jack threw his hands into the air and stomped his feet as he moved to the coffee station. “I think you want to drive me crazy. There can be no other explanation for some of the things you do.”
“And I think you’re being a big baby,” she countered. “I had the situation under control the entire time.”
There was no way Jack would allow her to slide on that exaggeration. “Your father says you tried to sneak up on him, but he caught your reflection in the greenhouse windows. The only reason this turned out so well is because he was determined to turn himself in.”
“Well, my father often sees what he wants to see.”
“You inherited that trait from him.”
Ivy glared at him. “He’s in custody, Jack. You got the exact outcome you wanted. How is that a bad thing?”
He extended a warning finger. “We’re going to fight hard over this later. You’ve been warned.”
Rather than be appalled by the statement, Ivy grinned. “Does that mean we get to make up after?”
Despite his resolve to stay angry, Jack’s lips quirked. He managed to blank his face after the fact, but it took monumental effort. “We’ll talk about it later.” He turned to the door at the sound of shuffling feet and found his partner entering the room.
“Is it safe?” Brian asked, his gaze bouncing between faces. “I do not want to get sucked into a fight if you two are still going at it.”
“We’ve decided to table the argument for now,” Jack replied. “What’s the status of our two guests?”
“They’re in separate rooms and both of them are unhappy. Greg thinks we should cut him loose, and I’m not sure we have the right to hold him. He brought up some rather uncomfortable points.”
“He did,” Jack agreed. “I don’t know any judge that is going to take Marvin’s word over that of a community service chief, even if he is a total douche.”
Anxious to get caught up, Ivy sidled closer to Jack. “What’s the deal with Marvin?”
Jack slid her a sidelong look, debating. “Maybe I don’t think you need to know that information.”
She frowned. “You can’t cut me out now just because you’re irritated that you didn’t get to tackle Jason.”
“That is not why I’m mad!”
“Oh, geez.” Brian pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “Have you guys ever considered getting counseling? I think a mental health professional would have a field day with the two of you.”
“We’re perfectly sane,” Jack replied. “I’m simply saner than her.”
Ivy snorted. “Oh, that’s a load of crap if I ever smelled it.”
Before Jack could fire back a hot retort, Brian held up his hand. “While I understand the two of you are under a great deal of stress right now, it’s better if you don’t pick unnecessary fights with one another when we have a big problem in front of us.”
“What problem?” Jack queried, genuinely confused. “We have all our suspects in custody.”
“Yes, but we agree Marvin is unlikely to be our culprit because he simply doesn’t have it in him. Jason’s story doesn’t make him a good guy, but it’s likely he’s not a murderer. That brings us to Greg, who as far as I can tell, has no motive and will never be held on the word of a man who talks to imaginary friends.”
Jack frowned. “Well, when you put it like that ... .”
“I still don’t understand why you dragged Greg in,” Ivy persisted. “What evidence do you have on him?”
Brian waited for Jack to respond. When he didn’t, he heaved out a sigh and addressed Ivy himself. “Marvin claims he was out at the site two nights before he was scheduled to show up. He says new locations freak him out and he wanted to get familiar with his surroundings before more people flooded the area.”
Ivy thought back to her brief interactions with the man. “That actually makes sense.”
“It does,” Brian agreed. “He says he was in the woods the night Sasha was killed. He saw it happen. He didn’t see Jason do the deed, though. He pointed the finger at Greg.”
Ivy’s mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me?”
“No.”
“Well ... that’s your answer. Greg did it.”
Jack made a sound halfway between a snort and a grunt. “What’s his motive?”
“He’s mean.”
“Other than that.”
“I ... don’t know.” Frustration bubbled up. “What’s Marvin’s motive for lying?”
“Maybe he’s not lying,” Brian suggested. “I’ve been giving this some thought and I’ve
