Page 24 of Long Pig
Well, damn. She wanted to run into the house and lock the door. She was not good at this. “You caught me,” she finally said. “Dale isn’t here, and I don’t like talking to strange men when I’m alone. Call him and arrange a time,” she said, and took two steps back.
Wallard grinned, and it sent chills down her spine. “The last thing I am is a strange man. You know it’s illegal to lie to law enforcement?” It was said offhandedly, but there was a mean glint in his eyes.
She wasn’t sure if what he said was truth or a lie. She would ask Dale, and until then there wasn’t much she could do. “My safety comes first. If you want to write me a ticket or something, do it.”
He rolled the window down another few inches. This time Daisy joined Max’s growl. Wallard’s expression changed again.
“You don’t need to worry about me; I’m just teasing. A beautiful woman out here alone needs to be cautious. Let me take you to dinner, and we can get to know each other better.” His grin widened as he spoke.
Willow was stumped for a moment. This was the first time she’d been asked on a date in her entire life. It was also the last thing she wanted from the deputy. She was at a loss. Should she be rude? If he checked into her, would he find out who she really was?
Dale’s truck tires crunched rock as he came up the drive. Overwhelming relief filled Willow.
“Dale’s here. You can talk to him. I need to get back to work.” She turned and walked away, deciding Dale could handle this.
Max followed Willow inside while Daisy waited for Dale. Her fingers trembled as she began sanding again. Twenty minutes later, Dale entered the barn. She stopped working on the difficult corner and faced him.
“I’m glad you came back when you did,” she said.
Dale sat on the corner of the generator. “He wanted to let me know the case would be left open and the remains kept at the state lab. It was a total bullshit excuse. What did he say to you?”
“He asked me on a date,” she replied as she used her arm to scratch her ear, which was tickling.
It took less than two seconds for Dale’s face to turn alarmingly red. “That son of a bitch used the bones as an excuse to come around you,” he stated.
“That’s what I figured. I don’t like him.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Dale promised.
“No, I don’t want him finding out about me. I don’t want to make him angry.”
Dale stepped closer and placed his hand on her shoulder. “You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll make it clear this is mydoing. I don’t want him bothering you in any way. I’ll call my friend at the sheriff’s office and find out what the dirt on him is. My friend will talk to a deputy in Gila County and find out the real reason he left if he needs to.”
It still made her nervous. “Max and Daisy kept him from leaving his car. I told him you were inside sleeping, but he noticed your truck missing, and I had to come clean. He said it was illegal to lie to him. Can I get in trouble?”
Dale turned away and let out a string of not-so-nice words as he stomped to the barn door. He finally walked back and hugged her for a moment. “No. There is nothing he can do unless you lie in an investigation,” he said after pulling back. “If it’s a misdemeanor investigation, the most you can get is a misdemeanor citation. A felony is a felony. He, however, can get in a lot of trouble for harassing someone while he’s in uniform. I’ll make that clear to him. I don’t have a lot of friends at the department, but I can be a huge pain in the ass if this continues.”
“Thank you.” She released a sigh of relief.
“Let’s go inside and have some iced tea. I saw you put out a new jug this morning.”
After they settled on the couch and chair with their tea, Willow asked about his visits.
“Nothing,” he said. “One guy talked my ear off about rabies which he swears every mouse and rabbit has now. He’s a little cracked in the head, but mostly harmless. The other only grunted. He was good at it, too. I left feeling like a fool.” He smiled. “I’ll need to work on my grunting technique just like you.”
That made Willow laugh, which she knew was why he said it. “I think you have a good grunt,” she teased. “You just don’t use it often enough, and it gets lonely.”
That made him chuckle before his face turned serious. “I mean it. Don’t worry about Wallard. I’ll handle him.”
She nodded.
The deputy scared the shit out of her, and she needed to be prepared if he showed up again. She had a feeling he would.
Chapter Fourteen
The Barbecue
Larry