I looked back when the bouncer scoffed. He watched the dog, bewildered. “How’d you get him to be so well-behaved?”
Heidi threw an arm around my shoulder, a tease in her voice. “My friend’s a real dog whisperer.”
I shot her a flat look, and she giggled.
We soon wound our way through the dark, narrow alleyways until we spotted Will, Peter, and Daisy waiting in the doorway of a closed shop.
Daisy noticed us first and leapt to her feet, barking. Who is that?
Peter turned and grinned at me. “Did you get any good information?”
“No!” Heidi skipped up to them with Rufio trotting behind her. “But we got a dog!”
“Ha!” Will scoffed and shook a huge finger at Heidi. “We’re not keeping him.”
She pushed the finger away and rolled her eyes. “I know.” She grinned down at Rufio, who was trying to sniff Daisy’s backside. “He’s cute though.”
Daisy kept turning and turning to thwart the pit.
What are you doing? Stop. That’s so undignified!
22
ALL NIGHTER
“Hngh?” I startled awake, the world a blur. My head ached, and I plopped my face right back down into the pillow.
Bang bang bang! Knocks sounded at my door again. I groaned and without looking felt around for my other pillow and tossed it in the general direction of the front room.
“Go away!” My voice sounded muffled against the pillow under me.
Another muffled one yelled a moment later.
“Jolene? It’s me—Peter.”
Oh, Peter. We have to stop meeting this way.
After I’d yanked my tangled mess of long hair into a lopsided bun and thrown on a random assortment of clothes, hardly what one might deem an outfit, I clomped downstairs still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
“Coming.”
I slid the various locks open and yanked the door open. “Ah!” I threw an arm up to block the bright sunlight that streamed in and blinded me. “No wonder I’m tired. What time is it?”
“Oof. Sorry. I know it’s early.”
I sniffed. The warm, earthy aroma of coffee wafted into my nostrils and prompted me to peek through my fingers at Peter. “You brought me coffee?”
He nodded.
I grinned and held out my hand for the cup. “Then you’re forgiven. What’s up?” My vision was gradually coming back. Today Peter wore his police uniform with its navy cloth and gold buttons.
He looked as handsome as ever, and I looked as trash panda as ever. Daisy stood with her back to us, ears pricked, scanning the street. Did this dog ever relax?
Peter grinned back and tipped his head toward the street behind him. “Can you walk and talk?”
I sighed—not really up for anything requiring ambulation or speech at this early hour—but nodded. As I slipped into my boots by the door, I glanced up at him. “How are you so chipper? We were out together last night, and I’m pretty sure neither of us has had more than a few hours of sleep.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and gave me a sheepish grin. “I, uh—didn’t sleep, actually.”
I straightened and eyed him warily. “Why?”
We stepped into the street, and I locked the metal door behind me, then walked beside Peter, the coffee cup warming my hand in the chilly morning air.
He shrugged. “I ran by the station before heading home last night, to see if there’d been any updates.”
I swallowed a sip of coffee. “And?”
“And… nothing yet.”
Daisy whipped her head around to look at Peter, dark eyes wide, but said nothing and continued on.
I frowned as we walked uphill through the cobblestone streets. It was early, so the streets were still fairly empty, but human tourists were beginning to fill the narrow passageways with their chatter and picture taking. A few gulls circled overhead in the gray sky.
“Sorry if this sounds insensitive…” I glanced up at Peter to make sure it was okay to continue.
He nodded me to go ahead.
“…but you didn’t seem like the biggest fan of Davies. Why are you so committed to this case?”
Peter shrugged. “It’s not insensitive—just true.” He shook his head. “I have to admit, it bothered me that Davies was being given Officer of the Year. I mean the guy’s a—” He stopped himself and looked around, then leaned close and lowered his voice. “He’s a real jerk sometimes.”
I fought to hold back my smile. Such strong language, Officer Flint.
He shook his head. “I know I was acting a little… out of character the other night.” He huffed. “It’s just… when I first started as a cop, I got hazed, just like those guys were hazing the rookie, Russo. And Davies was often the ringleader of shenanigans like that.”
I frowned. I’d forgotten about that. And Russo was the one who’d first reported the murder—could he have been behind Davies’s death? He’d had opportunity, and possibly motive if he’d wanted revenge for being mistreated.
“And my first partner, before I got Daisy”—Peter nodded at the German shepherd who trotted ahead of us—“lied to me and betrayed me.”
I blinked up at him, surprised. I’d assumed Daisy had always been his partner. My stomach twisted. And now here I was, lying to him, like his first partner.
“I can’t stand cops that bully newcomers or those of us willing to stand up for what’s right—even if it means going against the code.”
I raised a brow. “The code?”
“Cop code.” Peter quirked his lips to the side. “We protect each other… sometimes at the expense of protecting the public.” His expression darkened. “I can’t stand that stuff. It really… breaks my barnacle.” He shot me a quick glance. “Pardon my language.”
I had to bite my cheek to keep from smirking.
He went on, a crease between his brows, and I had to jog to keep up with his quick pace. “I mean, it just didn’t sit well with me in the first place, Davies
