Page 28 of Death on Riddle Road

CHAPTER TWELVE

No message fromTeague, which meant I should expect him for breakfast.Even better,bringingbreakfast.

When he arrived, I wasn’t as pulled together as Dova Dorrio, but I also wasn’t in torn jeans and a flannel shirt.Or my PJs.Though he never seemed to mind either outfit.

He also didn’t seem to notice the sartorial step-up I’d achieved.

Didn’t bother me at all, because he zeroed in on me as soon as he walked in and kissed me even while we leaned forward to bridge both dogs.After a timeout for him to adequately acknowledge them, we did even better.

We microwaved the eggs and bacon he’d brought from the café to take the chill off without turning them to rubber.Then we feasted on those and warmed-up pastries and fresh coffee.

Our conversation centered on the dogs and their unpredictable and exorbitantly cute habit of trading off beds throughout the night.Wake up one time and they’re each in their own bed.Roll over and they’ve swapped.Get up for a trip to the toilet and both are curled together in one bed.Finally acquiesce to opening your eyes and both occupied the other bed.

Not a word of murder or investigation or questions Clara and I might have asked and answers we might have received.

Until he stood to leave.

I fought an instinct to try to keep him here.He looked tired and there’d be more of that to come.

He said, “Anything you want to tell me about Derrick?”

“No.Like you, we’re just getting started.”

“But you did talk to his wife and son.”Not a question.

“How do you—?”

“Don’t ask and I won’t have to avoid answering.”

Fair enough.

He pulled his jacket on.

“Teague.”

He turned back to me.

“I was thinking...”

He didn’t say anything smart to fill in my gap.Another of his positive attributes.

“With you working so much — with your job at the sheriff’s department and substitute teaching.I mean, not this week, of course, since there’s no school, but there will be soon and sometimes you leave things here and if you needed something quickly...”

He waited.

I jumped sideways, to something I’d known I’d talk to him about, but hadn’t known it would be now.

“What Clara said to you yesterday, that wasn’t fair or accurate.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I do worry about it.I’m disappointed that she, that my friend—”

“Don’t let it hurt your relationship with Clara.It doesn’t change how I feel about her.They teach us early on that we’re often encountering people under the worst circumstances of their lives.Some lash out.You have to put it in perspective.”

“But Clara knows you—”

“She also empathizes with people.It’s one of the things you love about her.In this case, these are people who are hurting, who had someone they love convicted of murder — rightfully.But that doesn’t change how much it hurts them.It’s part of my job.Knew that going in.You get used to it.”