Page 2 of Stilettos & Whiskey (Deputy Gemma Stone)

Since I was eight years old, Gemma and I had never spent more than a day apart.

I couldn’t believe how much I missed her, but after her kidnapping ordeal, the trip to Kauai with her fiancée, Dante, was just what she needed.

I hoped they didn’t get drunk and do something stupid like getting married in Hawaii.

Mom would have a meltdown of epic proportions.

“Breakfast is ready, Julie,” Mom called.

Bertha’s wild parties and gentlemen callers were legendary. The horny old goats were always ringing my doorbell by mistake and hitting on me. Ugh.

Since I was a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy the manager always called me when there was a major problem.

Like the night Bertha and her friends went swimming in the pool at the same time a family was throwing a birthday party for their ten-year-old son.

There wouldn’t have been a problem except the drunk old geezers stripped down.

The kids freaked out and the parents went for their guns. What a clusterfuck.

The minute I walked into the kitchen, Mom frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I still haven’t figured out a way to deal with my neighbor, Bertha.”

“She’s still having those wild parties?”

I shuddered. “I’ve seen enough shriveled dicks to last me a lifetime.”

Mom laughed. “I’ll bet. Have you talked to the manager about getting her evicted?”

“Yes, but Bertha owns the complex and she ain’t leaving.”

“Put your stuff in storage and move back in, peanut. This will always be your home,” Dad said, placing the hot sauce on the kitchen table.

I sighed. God was it tempting, but I was a big girl now. “I’ve almost saved enough money for a down payment on the Benson place. I love the house, and it has an acre lot.”

“You can live here rent free and you’ll have enough money by December to buy the place,” Mom pointed out.

“I wouldn’t feel right freeloading off you. You’ve done so much for me already.”

Mom hugged me tightly. “You’re the daughter of our hearts. Never forget that.”

“I won’t.” I kissed her cheek. “You literally saved my life.”

A muscle twitched in Dad’s cheek. “Your grandfather was granted an early release from prison for medical reasons.”

“What?” I dropped down on a kitchen chair. “How is that possible? He tried to kill you, and he was going to give me to that pervert.”

“He has liver cancer, and his jailhouse lawyer got him released for humanitarian reasons,” Dad said grimly.

I threw my hands up in disgust. “Humanitarian reasons? Seriously? I still think he had something to do with my parents’ deaths.”

“The Alpha Dogs could never find any evidence to prove that sweetie,” Mom replied.

“I know.” Gemma and I had made several trips to Albuquerque to talk to witnesses, and the arson investigator, but we never found any new evidence.

Mom placed a plate with a Mexican omelet and toast in front of me. “Eat up. You’re on duty in forty minutes.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I dug into the omelet. God was she a good cook.

Someone banged on the kitchen door. “Let go of my pants, you little furball.”

Crap! That was Sergeant Bergman, and he didn’t sound happy. I jumped up.

“I’ve got it,” Mom said and hurried over to the door.

Dad growled, “That cat is a menace.”

“That cat is family.” Mom opened the door. The kitten was clinging to Sergeant Bergman’s left leg. “Off, Miss Kitty.”

Miss Kitty zoomed into the kitchen and jumped onto the table.

I grabbed her before she could help herself to Dad’s omelet. “Bad kitty.”

Mom took the dirty, white kitten from me. “What did you get into?”

“Looks like manure,” Dad drawled.

I looked down at my hands. Damn, it was. With a sigh, I headed for the kitchen sink.

“I’ll deal with you later.” Mom stuck Miss Kitty in the pantry. She meowed loudly in protest.

Sergeant Bergman let out a long breath. “I need to borrow some coffee and a lint brush.”

I opened a drawer next to the sink, pulled out the lint brush and handed it to him.

“Thanks.” The sarge brushed away the long, white hairs clinging to his pants.

I washed my hands. “Wasn’t it Sergeant Denson’s turn to buy coffee?”

“It was, but he got tied up on that ten car pileup.”

“How much do you need?” Mom asked.

Sergeant Bergman rubbed his jaw. “Five pounds should do it.”

Opening a cabinet door, Mom took out a five-pound can of dry-roasted and set it on the counter. “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“No.” Sergeant Bergman eyed the omelet on my plate hungrily.

Mom smiled. “Sit down. I’ll fix you one.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Sergeant Bergman happily took the chair next to me.

Dad poured him a cup of coffee. “The county attorney is dismissing the charges against Chuck Hennessey.”

“It’s the right thing to do. His dementia is getting worse, and his family agreed to put him in a secure care home.”

I snorted. “That crazy old coot almost killed Gemma and me. He needs to be locked up, not sent to a care home.”

“I agree,” Mom said. “He likes making bombs too much.”

Dad shrugged. “It’s out of our hands.”

“Which care home are they putting him in?” Please don’t let it be in my beat.

“Sun Gardens,” Sergeant Bergman answered.

Damn. It was in my beat. “They’ve had three walk aways in the last six months.”

“They’ve upgraded their security,” Dad advised.

I made a face and gulped down the rest of my omelet. I had a report I needed to finish.

“Oh, by the way, I assigned Roger Evans to work Gemma’s beat today,” Sergeant Bergman said.

“What? Are you kidding me? When there’s trouble, he runs the other way.”

Sergeant Bergman fixed his cold-eyed stare on me. “It’s not up for debate, Garza.”

“Yes, sir.” I picked up my plate and put it in the dishwasher. “Thanks for breakfast, Mom.”

“Keep hydrated, sweetie. It’s supposed to be one hundred and eighteen today.”

“Yes, ma’am.” From the look on Dad’s face, I knew he was going to ask about Evans.

Fighting back a grin, I walked out the kitchen door and the heat hit me like a sledgehammer.

Thank God the Sheriff’s Department was still using the Alpha Dogs training center as a substation, and it was only a short walk away.

Edgar trotted up and dumped a dead rabbit at my feet. I stroked our pet coyote’s head. “Thanks, but I’ve already had breakfast. You go ahead and eat it.”

He cocked his head and yipped.

“Yep,” I patted my stomach. “All full.”

Edgar wagged his tail, picked up the rabbit and headed for the orange grove.

Bodacious, Dad’s ornery Brahma bull, bellowed at me. His beach ball was sitting on my side of the fence. Dad had to buy him his own beach ball to keep him out of the pool. The silly cow loved playing with it.

I walked over to the barn. “You want your ball back, don’t ya?”

Bodacious snorted.

“Okay.” I picked up the ball and threw it over the fence. “Go get it big boy.”

The bull scampered after it.

Max, Dad’s cutting horse, got to it first and a game of keep away started.

I laughed as they galloped around the pasture. “Get it, Max. Get it.”

A chubby deputy in his thirties stopped next to me. “You really think that stupid horse or bull understands you?”

“I do, Evans.” The buttons on his uniform shirt were about a pound away from popping off. “You have some jelly on your shirt.”

He swiped at the jelly, smearing it across his bulging belly. “I’m working Gemma’s beat today. Stay out of my way. I’m tired of covering for you incompetent females.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “What?”

“The only one who is incompetent is you,” Frank, a good friend and fellow officer, interjected coldly.

Evans balled his fists. “You are such a suck up, Frank.”

“And the only reason you still have a job is because your aunt is the governor,” I shot back.

“Bitch!”

“And proud of it.”

Giving me the one-fingered salute, Evans stormed off.

“Is the governor really his aunt?” The disbelief in Frank’s voice was amusing.

I wiped the sweat out of my eyes. “Yep.”

“That explains why the sarge gives him special treatment.”

“Do I?” Sergeant Bergman drawled ominously.

Frank and I exchanged oh shit looks.

I turned, took one look at Sergeant Bergman’s pissed off expression and smothered a groan. He must have inhaled his omelet. “I’m sure you have a perfectly good reason for treating him differently, sir.”

“Both of you are on dead animal pickup today.”

“Why thank you, sir,” I said brightly. “I love playing in traffic.”

Sergeant Bergman got in my face. “Are you being a smart ass, Garza?”

“No, sir. Wouldn’t think of it, sir.” Okay, I kinda was, but I would never tell him that.

Frank exclaimed, “Stop! I’m the one with a big mouth, not Julie, and I’ll do the dead animal pickups.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet, but…”

Sergeant Bergman cut me off. “Shut it. Both of you get to briefing.”

“Yes, sir.” Frank and I said in unison and sprinted to the training center.

I opened the door, and a sigh broke from me as cold air enveloped me. God, I loved air-conditioning.

“I’ll buy you a drink,” Frank said.

“You don’t need to do that.”

“Yeah, I really do.” He walked over to the vending machine.

I took a chair at the back of the classroom and wished I were in Hawaii with Gemma, and I didn’t have to deal with Bertha or Evans.

The other deputies rushed in and headed for the coffee pot.

“Damn, it’s empty,” Gramps complained.

Sergeant Bergman tossed him the coffee can. “Fix us some.”

“Yes, sir.” Gramps said happily.

Our briefing started at six sharp and anyone who showed up late was assigned to every garbage detail Sargent Bergman could think up.

Frank slid into the chair next to me and handed me a bottle of water. “The machine is out of that iced tea you like.”

I grumbled, “They just stocked it too.”

“Water is better for you anyway.”

“I need my caffeine, or I get really cranky and if it’s that time of the month, look out world.”

Frank stared at me in horror. “Is it?”

“Yep.”

“God, help us,” Frank muttered.

“Aw, c’mon, you’re married. You know how it is.”

“I do,” Frank replied with a shudder.

I punched him in the arm. “Knock it off. Your wife is wonderful.”

“And I’m the luckiest man on Earth.”

Sergeant Bergman walked up to the podium and surveyed the deputies crowded around the vending machine. “It’s six o’clock.”

There was a brief stampede as everyone grabbed a chair.

Slipping on a pair of reading glasses, Sergeant Bergman advised, “With Stone on vacation, Evans will be working her beat.

I loved the astonished expressions on everyone’s faces.

Huh? I looked around the room. Where was Evans?

Sergeant Bergman totally ignored the deputies’ reactions. “Sun City West is experiencing a high number of vehicle thefts. Edwards and Smith, I want you to concentrate your patrol time on that area.”

“Yes, sir,” they answered.

Evans strolled into the room munching on a jelly donut and acting like he didn’t have a care in the world. He took a seat and typed away on his cellphone.

Every deputy in the classroom stared at him in disbelief.

“Holy hell, this is gonna be good,” I whispered to Frank.

“Yep.”

The Sergeant looked over the top of his glasses. “Are we disturbing you Evans? Do you need more time to finish your text.”

He glanced up. “Nah, I’m done.”

“I’ll say,” Frank muttered.

Sergeant Bergman smiled like a vulture contemplating lunch. “I’m assigning you dead animal pickup.”

“What? You can’t do that!” Evans protested.

“I can and I have. There is a dead skunk at Grand and El Mirage Road, but first you need to pick up the egg sandwiches from Bitsie’s and deliver them to the prisoners working the chain gang at White Tanks Mountain Park.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. The egg sandwiches smelled so bad, I transported them in the trunk of my patrol car.

Evans shot me a furious look. “That’s Garza’s beat.”

“And I assigned the detail to you. Are you incapable of following orders, Evans?”

“No, sir.”

“Good. Everyone stay safe. Dismissed,” Sergeant Bergman said, and headed for his office.

Frank and I did a fist-bump and grinned like loons. No dead animal pickup!

Evans gave us a one-fingered salute and stormed out.

“I’m not feeling the love,” I said.

Frank chortled. “Watch. He’ll get lost in the park.”

“No, he won’t. There is only one road in and out.”

“But there are a lot of dirt tracks that go nowhere. I bet you twenty dollars; he takes a supposed shortcut and ends up in a ravine.” Frank stuck out his hand. “Deal?”

I took it. “You’re on. Even Evans isn’t that stupid.”

“Wait and see.” Frank headed for his locker.