Sal gave an involuntary yelp as a photo of Peabody appeared on the screen.
The camera cut back to the reporter.
Sal winced. An attempted rape? What was that all about? Goddamn-could they be referring to Vinnie? Did he try to rape that bird-loving broad? That’s all he needed, the cops breathing down his neck on account of his hard- dick son. Time to have a talk with the boy, tell him to ease off till further notice.
And what about this new suspect in the Gammel case? It could take the heat off Sal, stop the cops from digging into his connection with Gammel. Then all he’d have hanging over his head would be Emmett Slaton-and Vinnie had sworn on his grandmother’s grave that there wasn’t anything to worry about there.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
John Marlin couldn’t remember the last time he had walked through his front door and smelled dinner cooking. Months, surely…since before Becky had made the move to Dallas. He called out to Inga, not wanting to startle her after what she’d been through.
“I’m in here”-her voice came from the kitchen.
He found her standing in front of the stove, dressed in a turquoise V-neck shirt and tan shorts. She had her long blonde hair pulled back, but a few tresses had escaped and gently framed her face.
“You’re just in time,” she said, turning and handing him a cold beer in a frosted mug. “I found a package of ground beef in your fridge and decided to make some spaghetti. I hope you don’t mind.”
Inga said, “Huh,” then leaned over the skillet and examined the saucy contents. “I was wondering about that. It smelled kind of different. I just figured-Texas cows.” She shrugged. “What the hell, I’ll give it a try.”
Marlin was shocked. “I thought you were against hunting. A few days ago, in the cafe, you said something about Rodney murdering innocent animals.”
“Well, this deer is already dead. Not a whole lot I can do for it now, is there?” She tapped a spatula against the side of the skillet and set it on the stovetop. “You think I’m a hypocrite?”
Marlin shook his head. “Hey, I’m not here to judge. I was just curious.”
She checked the spaghetti bubbling in a large pot. “Five more minutes and we’ll be ready to eat. You hungry?”
“Starving. And I really appreciate you-”
“Hey, it’s the least I can do, you helping me out like this.” She went to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer for herself. “So. Tell me about your day. Anything exciting happen?”
By dinnertime, Sal’s nerves had started to calm down a little. The power of positive thinking-either that, or a shitload of scotch.
Angela was sitting to his left in her usual place, quiet, avoiding eye contact. Jeez, there was no pleasing this woman. It had been-what? — a solid week since Sal had made a little trip out to Maria’s cabin, and Angela hadn’t warmed up at all. Woman was as cold as a New Jersey winter.
Vinnie was to his right, not exactly a fountain of conversation, either. The kid had been acting kind of weird ever since the cops had come by. He still had a lot to learn. Most of the time, when the cops ask a bunch of questions, it’s because they don’t have any answers. So you just keep your trap shut and tell them to get the fuck out of your house.
Maria entered through the kitchen door, her hands in oven mitts, carrying a casserole dish. Sal tried not to watch her, but it was damn near impossible. She was dressed in a big, loose blouse, but there was no hiding that body. The woman was hot, there was no denying it. She went to place the dish in the center of the table, and Sal couldn’t resist a peek down the front of her blouse. Just a quick glance before Angela could catch him. But then he saw something that put a lump in his throat and froze his eyes in place.
She was wearing one of those cheap homemade necklaces of hers. And hanging from it was the missing shell from his.35!
“Do you mind?” Angela asked.
Sal jerked his eyes toward her as Maria quickly left the room. “Wha…?”
Angela scowled and stared down at her plate. “Honestly, Sal.”
Sal attempted a gesture of innocence, then let it go. He ladled a large portion of casserole onto his plate and took a bite. “This food tastes like crap,” he said.
“This tastes great,” Marlin said, slurping down some spaghetti.
Inga nodded. “Thanks. I thought venison would be-I don’t know-kind of gamy. But it’s not.”
“Oh, you’ll get a batch now and then that’s pretty strong, but not this one. Sometimes, it’s all in how you prepare it.”
“Anyway,” she said, “you were going to tell me about this case you were working on.”
As they finished dinner, Marlin told her everything he was at liberty to reveal, without using any names. He left out the remark Vinnie Mameli had made, and he also didn’t mention anything about the dam. Garza wanted to keep that information under wraps until the dam had been inspected, in order to avoid unfounded panic about a damburst.
By the time Marlin finished his tale, Inga had stopped eating and was staring at him. “So you basically solved a murder investigation by yourself?”
“No, not by myself. The sheriff-”
“Yeah, but you were the one who kept digging around and found all the evidence.”
“Got lucky on a couple of things. But Bobby Garza was the one who got the confession. He has these questioning skills that they can’t teach you at the Academy. Played the guy just right.”
“Well, I’d say he was awfully lucky to have you around.”
Marlin was embarrassed, and he tried to conceal it with a nod. “It was interesting,” he said. “But now it’s almost over and then I can get back to my regular patrol.”
They cleared the dishes and made their way to the sofa in the living room. It was a beautiful evening, and a cool breeze drifted in through the open windows. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and Marlin felt at peace. He had been wondering if it would be awkward to have Inga in his home-but it felt completely comfortable. He knew there was an unspoken attraction between them, but there was also the beginnings of a friendship. He thought it would be best to keep it that way.
That’s when Inga suddenly leaned over and kissed him.
It was gentle at first, but then their lips parted and their tongues found each other. Wordlessly, their mouths still pressed together, Inga straddled him and began to unbutton his uniform. She ran her fingers through his chest hair and moaned softly deep in her throat. Marlin pulled her shirt free from her shorts and she slipped it off over her head. She gazed into his eyes as she removed her bra, then placed his hands on her breasts, the nipples round and hard. They kissed again, and a few seconds later, he could feel her hands tugging at his belt buckle.
Angela finally went to bed after the weather report, as usual. Smashed on vodka, also as usual. Sal had tuned to an Austin station instead of KHIL because he was getting tired of hearing about all the shit happening in Blanco County. The last thing he needed right now was an update on the Emmett Slaton case. His nerves couldn’t take it.
He had to get that shell, there was no getting around it. It was the only piece of evidence linking him to
