Page 86 of Death on Riddle Road

I cocked my head as I started opening bags.“Are you saying there were sparks from the start, because — if anything — you were quite cool to me.”

“You never would have let me in your house to build shelves if you’d thought I was interested in you.”

I stopped with a wad of napkins in one hand and enough packets of soy sauce to lubricate the Chinese army in the other.“Youwereinterested in me then?”

He continued opening boxes and setting out the meal.“Certainly intrigued.”

I’d concentrated at the time on the danger he posed to connecting my current life to my past one and possibly to exposing the secrets aroundAbandon All.

Looking back, I suspect I was attracted to him, and scared by that, considering his detective past — past at the time, now back to the present.

By the time he displayed interest, my own feelings had worn me down.

Was he now saying that had been strategy on his part?

Did I care?

To be honest, no.

No wonder my instincts had told me to steer clear of him.The man was dangerous in so many ways.

Too late now.

“I ran into Deputy Hensen while I was waiting for you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he says to save any leftovers for him.”

Hehuh’dagreement and amusement, most likely at the idea of leftovers.

“Did you know he was first on the scene at Jaylynn Dorrio’s murder site?”

He looked over the top of the noodles and shrimp he’d caught in his chopsticks.“As it happens, yeah, I did.Read his report.”

Probably had a lot more detail than the transcript.Darn it.

“Seems to me,” I said, “the sheriff’s department and prosecution tried to have it both ways over the scene looking like she knew her killer.”

Yes, she knew Derrick, of course.But if there was conflict going on between them, as you would expect over an affair —ifshe knew about it — would she have trusted him to walk up to her car, especially unexpectedly, in an isolated area?

He got my point immediately.Because he was that quick or because he’d already thought of it himself?

“Most people wouldn’t expect a spouse to come up to their car and shoot them in the head — even one who was having an affair.Odds run against it.You going to let me have any soy sauce?”he asked with a glint in his green eyes I found irresistible.

“I will never deny you soy sauce,” I said dramatically.

He grinned.“How about this information Clara didn’t want you to share?”

As we ate, I told him about Rose Gleiner’s account of an irregular pillow being in Derrick Dorrio’s room when he was found dead.

“Huh,” he said.

Which told me Rose had already told the sheriff’s department.

“So, the question becomes who brought that pillow there,” I said needlessly.

“If Rose Gleiner is right.”