you guys and Duncan Griffith. I didn't want to put you in a bad
spot.'
I wanted to be able to say that I was different from all the other MCU
deputies he'd seen over the years, impervious to hierarchical
pressures, but I couldn't begin to articulate the subtle distinctions
that I found so important.
'No, you didn't want me to tell you to back off. And, in the process,
you made me look like an idiot in front of my boss when I defended you.
Do anything like that again, and I'll forget you're my friend and start
acting like all the other MCU deputies you never would have pulled this
on.'
'Yep, friends. Got it.'
'Ray, I meant that, but I also need to do my job.'
He was biting his lip again, but at least now he was looking me in the
eyes. He finally smiled and shook his head. 'Yeah, we'll be all
right. Go wait for your bus or whatever it is you do after work.'
'I drove today, as a matter of fact, but, sorry, we're not quite done
yet. When do you plan to talk to the councilman?' If Griffith gave me
a sit-down based on Susan Kerr s concerns about etiquette, I'd really
be in the doghouse if Johnson accused an elected official like T. J.
Caffrey of murder under my watch.
'I figured I'd go by his house tonight and ask him whether he's been
keeping a little piece on the side. I'll make sure the wife's nearby
when I get to the Trojans. Kids, too, if he has any.' He placed his
hand on my shoulder to make sure I knew he was kidding. 'Don't worry,
Kincaid, this is me we're talking about. Tough stuff won't work on a
guy like that anyway.'
True, and tact was right up Johnson's alley. As long as he agreed that
some diplomacy was called for, I couldn't be in better hands.
With work wrapped up, I was more interested in getting into the hands
of another detective. I stopped by Chuck's desk just long enough to
tell him to meet me at my house. I was going to my father's for
dinner, but I could spare an hour or so if he wanted to catch up.
'Catch up' is precisely what I meant when I said it, but his expression
when he said, 'Leaving right now. An hour might be enough,' had me
scrambling out the door, sucking down Altoids as fast as I could take
them. Damn that Greek Cusina. By the time I got to the Jetta, I had
broken into a full sprint and was sweating garlic. Very attractive.
I used the wonder of cell technology to multitask in the car, calling
Griffith with the update while I maneuvered various body parts in front
of the air vents in an attempt to cool off. The commute was remarkably
quick. Drivers in front of me would look in their rearview mirrors and
immediately yield the lane. Apparently jerking around like a
strung-out freak pays off when others practice defensive driving,
When I rolled past Chuck's '67 Jag to pull into the driveway,
I gave him my best come-hither look. I placed both feet on the ground
before stepping out of the car. Slinkier than my normal spread-eagle
hoist.
I bent purposefully and ever so seductively at the waist to reach my
suit jacket in the passenger seat and then flicked it over my shoulder,
one New Balance thrusting to the side with a determined hip. I parted
my lips and let my tongue linger at the break before I spoke. 'You
coming in with me or not?'
He returned my blistering gaze. Then he started laughing. A full-on,
eyes shut, hands-to-the-face bust-up.
I fought competing urges to run away and cry, or to punch him in the
head and then run away. 'That wasn't the response I was looking
for.'
He tried to regain his composure but couldn't help himself. 'I'm
sorry. But I just left you fifteen minutes ago at the precinct. What
the hell happened to you?'
I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the driver s window. The
combination of the air vents, my sweaty head, and that damn mud Grace
had given me had left my hair in a state of Rocky Horror. Throw in the
white Altoid powder sprinkled across my clothing, and I was totally
pathetic. I draped my jacket over my arm, pulled in my thrusted hip,
and tried to explain.
'I was running to my car and got a little warm and '
What was this? Maybe Grace was right when she said I didn't understand
men, because this one was racing up my walkway steps, straight toward
me, and he wasn't laughing.
I ran ahead of him into the house and let him catch me at the end of my
upstairs hallway. Just outside the bedroom.
If there is a mathematical formula to calculate sex maybe intensity
times duration then the next hour could very well have brought us back
to par despite the two-week break.
