“Then you’re downsizing, while will be an adjustment,” Susan said, smiling.
“Maybe, but a welcome one,” Katie said.
They proceeded into the cafeteria, but just as Susan was showing Katie the exits from cafeteria to playground, there was a loud boom above their heads and then the sound of running feet.
Katie gasped, jumped, and then broke out in a cold sweat.
Susan immediately grasped her arm, talking quickly to alleviate Katie’s panic.
“Oh no! I forgot to tell you there is a crew on the roof. We had a leak last time it rained, and they’re applying a fresh layer of tar. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
Katie’s heart was pounding. “Yes. It just startled me.”
“Don’t apologize,” Susan said. “It scared me, too. Now, let’s head back up to my office and I’ll get your supplies for you.”
A short while later, Katie left the building carrying a tote bag with the school logo on it. It had her school laptop and a folder with more info in it. It was another thing grounding her to this place. As she reached her car, she looked back at the school and saw the roofing crew.
“Nearly died of a heart attack before I even got started,” she muttered.
She drove home long enough to drop off the laptop and tote bag, and then drove back uptown to the pharmacy.
She was getting out of the car when her cell rang.
“Hello?”
“Katie, it’s Louise. I forgot to mention that yard mowing comes with the rent, so you don’t worry about that. The man who mows my yard will mow yours as well. You don’t have to be home. Just know it’s being taken care of.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Katie said. “Thank you.”
***
Sam was in the first aid aisle with a shopping basket over his arm, gathering up items for the jailhouse, when he saw Katie walk in. She paused in the doorway, scanning the signs over the little aisles to figure out where she needed to go, and then headed for skin care. He was on the far side of the pharmacy where he knew she couldn’t see him, and he debated whether he should go speak to her. But when she tucked her hair behind her ear, giving him a clear view of her profile, he decided to stand his ground and enjoy the view instead.
As she began moving down the aisle, he moved with her, gathering up more first-aid items. When she meandered toward a shelf of bath products, he stopped, wondering if she’d go for shower gel or bubble bath.
She put a bottle of bubble bath in her basket, and his gut knotted, imagining her climbing out of a tub with tiny clusters of bubbles still stuck to her skin. And then the moment he thought it, he chided himself.
Dang it, Youngblood. What the hell’s wrong with you?
That was an image he did not need to live with, so he immediately looked away. He checked his list against what he had in the basket, then went back up the aisle, replacing the items he didn’t need, and headed for the register to check out. And then he heard footsteps behind him, caught a whiff of lilac, and wondered if that was her.
He got all the way to the register before he turned around. She was smiling at him, but those shadows in her eyes were still there.
“Hello, Katie. You look really pretty today.”
“Thank you. I toured the school today, so I wanted to look my best. And I met my principal. It’s been a good day.”
Then the clerk interrupted.
“Hey, Chief. Do we bill the PD for this stuff?”
“Yes. It’s for the jail,” Sam said, and then turned back to Katie while the clerk rang up the items, but she’d run back to pick up something she’d forgotten.
Accepting that he’d missed his chance, he grabbed the sack with his purchases and was on his way out as she came hurrying back up front.
He turned and waved.
She smiled, waved back, and then slid her basket onto the counter as he went out the door.
Sam sighed. Dammit. Then he got in the cruiser and drove back to the station.
***
Katie watched through the plate-glass windows as he walked toward the cruiser, measuring the width of his shoulders and his long legs as he got in and drove away. He looked like a man fully capable of handling the aspects of his job. She wouldn’t let herself think of him beyond the fact that he was a neighbor and the chief of police. She didn’t want to be attracted to anyone. Or want anyone attracted to her. Right now, Katie was all about self-preservation.
***
Craig Buttoni was at the Las Vegas airport, about to get on a plane to Chicago, when he got a text from Walt Lanier.
FYI. Megan was arrested. It was not circumstantial. I just bonded her out. She’s been living with me, so I’ll likely be next. But she’s going to need a top-notch lawyer, and that’s on you. I’m already gone.
Craig grunted like he’d been punched in the gut.
Lawyer? Like hell.
He stepped out of line and headed for a secluded corner of the boarding area and made a call. It rang twice, and then a man answered.
“Cleaning Service.”
“We have an emergency at the Walter Lanier residence in Albuquerque. Contact Megan Roman regarding cleanup.”
“Understood,” the man said, and disconnected.
Craig dropped his phone back in his pocket and headed for the ticket agent at the check-in desk. He got in line, but it was all going too slow for his comfort, and he kept shifting his carry-on from one shoulder to the other. His palms were itching. And at any moment, he expected someone to come up behind him, tap him on the shoulder, and arrest him in the middle of the airport.
And then finally the person in front of him was gone and he stepped up to the desk.
“Ma’am, I just got a message that will require me to change my plans. I will not be boarding the plane to Chicago after all. I need to be on the next flight to London. Can you help me?”
***
Megan went to jail, thinking it was the most mortifying time of her life, and she was right. The holding cell was like something out of a dystopian nightmare. A single toilet against a grimy wall. Old mattresses without bedclothes on the cot frames.
And she wasn’t alone. She took one look at the two other women in the cell with her, and when they nudged each other and then started catcalling and making snarky comments, she knew she was out of her league.
A lanky, too-thin woman with big boobs, a pockmarked face, and a leather miniskirt with a matching leather bustier cackled out a laugh and pointed at Megan.
“Damn, Leezy… Look what we got here. Hey, bitch, is that blouse real silk? I always wanted a real silk blouse.”