Page 93 of Last Girls Alive

“I know. Just curious. How long?”

“I don’t know. It depends on the situation. What’s going on in their lives. Katie, there’s no set timeline for the right time to ask someone to marry you.”

“Okay,” she said.

“Wait,” he said and stopped her. “Did something happen that I don’t know about? Did your firefighter…”

“No. Well, maybe… well, actually, no. I’m just curious, that’s all.” She swiped her badge and pushed the door open, abruptly ending the potentially embarrassing conversation.

Katie and McGaven returned to the office, trying to piece together what they had from the social worker and from Bramble’s interview.

Katie’s cell phone buzzed and she looked at the text:Katie, I can meet you at Gypsy’s Diner at 2pm, Dottie.

“Oh no,” she said in a low tone.

“What? News?”

“I forgot that I said I would have lunch with the undersheriff today.”

McGaven made an unhappy face. “Good luck with that.”

“She cornered me yesterday. What was I supposed to say?”

“Well, it’s better to get it out of the way.”

“Why do you say that?”

“It seems to me that she wants something—or…?”

“Or what?”

McGaven swiveled his office chair. “Look, it’s none of my business.”

“We’re way past that.”

“I’m just saying that it seems like she might be fishing for something or giving you a warning, considering her new position and all…”

Katie nodded. The thought made her cringe, but the sooner she found out what this transplant from Fresno Police Department wanted, the better. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

She sent a text back:Looking forward to it. I’ll see you there.

Thirty-Eight

Tuesday 1350 hours

Gypsy’s Diner was a new restaurant Katie hadn’t had a chance to check out yet. The interior was decorated in black and white with pink highlights and silver accents in a 1950s-type diner atmosphere. There was no jukebox, but pop hits from every decade were piped in from speakers embedded in the walls.

Glancing at her watch, Katie saw that it was nearly 2 p.m. She didn’t see the undersheriff yet, so she decided to get a booth and wait for her. It was then that she noticed that all the staff were dressed as celebrities from the past eighty years. With everything going on in her professional and personal life, Katie thought this lunch distraction might be what she needed. She began perusing the menu, deciding on what she wanted.

Just as Katie began to relax, she saw Undersheriff Dorothy Sullivan enter the restaurant. She was dressed in a pricy suit and her blonde hair seemed to be more on the platinum side than yesterday. The undersheriff smiled brightly to the waitress, dressed as Marilyn Monroe, and then was directed to where Katie was sitting. She made her way through the restaurant and around tables of patrons before seating herself across from Katie.

“Hi. I’m so glad that you could make it,” she said with an overly friendly smile.

“My pleasure,” said Katie forcing a smile.

The undersheriff took her jacket off and made herself comfortable.

The Marilyn lookalike appeared and asked, “What can I get you two ladies to drink?”