Page 50 of In Cold Blood

Parish hadn’t shared much, only that he felt it would give him a chance to talk. She’d tried to change the location to the Sheriff’s Office for the following day but he was insistent.

An excuse came to mind, having to speak with her realtor about a property she was going to move into at the end of the month — a partial truth — but then she figured she didn’t want the backlash from Sheriff Roberts. She was already on the razor’s edge with him over comments made in the Cyrus and Erikson case.

To make it clear that she wasn’t interested in anything more than keeping it professional, she showed up that evening still in uniform.

Windswept and damp from a mad dash from the cruiser to the lodge, she entered 46 Peaks a little behind schedule.

Parish was tucked into a booth, a single glass of red wine in front of him.

She gave a wave from across the room and threaded around tables to a cozy booth that was in the far back of the room. It was private. Leather seating. Away from the rest of the locals and tourists who frequented the lodge.

“Sorry, I’m late.” She adjusted her handbag over her shoulder. “Do you mind? I just have to nip into the bathroom.”

“Can I get you a drink?”

“Water and lemon is fine.”

“Sure you don’t want a glass of wine?”

“I drove here in the cruiser. Not a good look.”

He smiled back. She widened her eyes as she walked away from him. It was another reason why she didn’t change out of her uniform. And it had worked like a charm. She wasn’t opposed to letting her hair down and enjoying a nice drink with a man but, well, this wasn’t what she had in mind.

Inside the bathroom, she took a few handfuls of paper towels, patted her face to dry the rain, and then attempted to salvage the rat’s nest on her skull. A few minutes later she returned, finding Parish glancing at his watch. He didn’t look impressed.

Good. That was exactly what she was going for.

“The weather has really taken a turn for the worse out there,” she said, slipping into the booth and dabbing her face again with a napkin.

“Roberts said you knocked off at five.” He motioned to her uniform.

“On a regular day. With all that’s happened with Luke, I’ve been putting in a few more hours.”

“Determined. I like that.”

“So you’re staying at the lodge?”

“That’s right.”

She took a sip of her drink. Callie noticed he had a manila folder in front of him.

“Did you want to order some food?”

“I ate before I came,” she said. Her words fell like a heavy hammer.

His eyebrows shot up. Unimpressed. She was quick to clarify. “I got your message after. Otherwise, I would have. Though I could go for some nachos and cheese.” She figured she’d meet him halfway. Plus, there was nothing more unattractive than someone crunching nachos and sucking up a mouthful of sloppy cheese. If he had any ideas, a drowned rat slobbering on food would nix them.

Parish kept his eyes on her as he lifted a hand like he had a waitress on standby.

Sure enough, a young girl hustled over and took the order.

“So…” Callie said, leaning back as she took another gulp of water. “What… do you have there?”

“The Sutherland police report and autopsy, and some key incident reports from previous arrests. I figured I would familiarize myself with our victim. I was told by Roberts you worked closely with Luke.”

“Somewhat. Though I would have thought you were familiar with him through Noah?”

She tossed it out there hoping he might bite. Natural curiosity got the better of him.