Page 11 of Tide and Seek (Dr. Maxwell Thornton Murder Mysteries #8)

Face tense, Gonzalez said, “We canvassed the neighbors after the break-in. Ms. Jameson next door was home but didn’t hear anything.

The guy at the far end, Westbrook? Useless.

He didn’t see anything. Said he didn’t even hear the alarm.

Not sure how. The home alarms tend to be loud to scare off intruders.

But to be honest, he was so high, I wouldn’t have trusted anything he said anyway.

Dr. Harper was out of state so we weren’t able to talk to him.

We’ve been shorthanded, but we’ll get to him soon. ”

“Maybe we can save you a trip,” Royce said, his tone casual. “Max and I just happened to talk with James Harper last night.”

“Is that right?” Gonzalez perked up.

Grimacing, Royce said, “Sorry to say, he didn’t see anyone suspicious before or after the robbery. I was hoping maybe he had, but apparently not.”

Gonzalez exhaled tiredly. “Sure. Why would we get lucky? That stuff only happens in the movies.”

“Ain’t that the truth?” Royce said. “Max and I will be here until next Thursday. We’ll try to keep our eyes and ears open. Who knows, maybe we’ll hear something useful.”

Gonzalez nodded. “If you do, give me a call. I’ll try to follow up.”

“Will do.” Royce held out his hand. “I appreciate your time, deputy.”

“My pleasure.” He shook Royce’s hand and I got the feeling he genuinely liked Royce. Then his gaze shifted to me and his mouth tightened. “Let me know if you need anything from my department, Dr. Thornton.”

“Sure.” I noticed he didn’t shake my hand.

Maxwell Thornton, making friends and spreading goodwill everywhere he goes.

Since we’d already given our statements and there wasn’t anything we could do to help, Royce and I left the scene, making our way back to my beach house.

I grabbed my shirt off the patio and slipped into it.

I felt drained as we entered the house. So far this trip wasn’t going as planned.

I’d really hoped Royce and I could just relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Finding dead bodies on the beach hadn’t been on the trip’s itinerary.

Royce must have sensed my dour mood because once inside, he hugged me, kissing the side of my head. “Why don’t you call that car rental place C.J. suggested? Once we have wheels, we could go into town and have some food. We’ll feel better if we get away from here and eat.”

“You think so?” My voice was muffled against his shirt.

“I do.”

I held him tight, relishing the comforting feel of his arms around me.

I was still bothered by the conversation we’d begun right before we’d discovered the body.

Why had Royce hinted he thought I wanted to move back to LA?

I’d given up that idea when Royce and I admitted we were in love and wanted a future together.

I didn’t think I’d said or done anything since we’d been here to make him think I wanted to move back to LA. It wasn’t even true.

“Sorry about all this,” I mumbled. “Do I know how to show a guy a good time, or what?”

He rubbed my back in comforting small circles. “None of this is your fault.”

“I know that, logically. Still, I really hoped we could just unwind and not have a bunch of stress. At this rate, we should have just stayed home. I can’t believe these words are coming out of my mouth, but I’m beginning to regret not just staying in Rainy Dale and handling this remotely.”

“Nah, I’m glad we came here.” He kissed the side of my neck, sending warm shivers down my spine. “I’m enjoying just being with you, Max.”

I lifted my head, staring into his warm brown eyes. “Promise?”

“Yep.” He smiled down at me. “I promise.”

“Thank goodness you offered to come with me. I can’t even imagine what I’d be feeling right now if I’d come here by myself. I’d have to deal with all of this insanity on my own.”

His eyes flickered. “Oh, you’d have been fine.”

“No. You know how I am.” I sighed. “I’m fairly certain Deputy Gonzalez already hates me. Without you there, I’d most likely have insulted all those police officers out on the beach. I’d probably be in handcuffs by now or tucked away in a jail cell. You’d have had to come rescue me.”

He released me. “I’m sure one of your LA pals would have stepped in and saved the day.”

“What LA pals?” I laughed.

“C.J. or maybe… James.” His voice was way too casual. “Anyway, how about you give that car rental place a jingle, and let’s go eat. I’m going to go put on a shirt.”

I watched him head upstairs, frowning. He was trying to hide it, but something was most definitely bothering Royce.

Maybe he regretted coming with me? Was LA just too stressful for him?

Or perhaps he was simply uneasy because we’d found a dead body.

That was certainly a reason to feel stressed.

I was probably overthinking everything like I often did because I really wanted Royce to have a good time on this trip.

I decided the best option was to stop obsessing and call the car rental place. I gave the answering service at Tippity Top Car Rentals all my information. When she asked for my car of choice, I opted for a BMW sedan, and she assured me it would be dropped off within the hour.

While I waited for Royce to return downstairs, and for the car to be delivered, I texted Girdy to let her know what was going on.

She was horrified to hear about the body on the beach, but also told me not to let that ruin the trip.

She stressed how important time with Royce was for the health of our relationship.

Ever since Girdy had rented Royce’s house with her boyfriend Todd, she’d been reading lots of books on relationships.

She’d always had a penchant for self-help books, but was reading even more than usual lately.

Maybe living with Todd wasn’t all she’d hoped it would be?

Or maybe she just really wanted things to go well.

I affectionately pictured Girdy, feet up, a wine cooler beside her, reading gems like How to Share a Bathroom Without Committing a Felony or perhaps I Love You, But I Need You to Stop Breathing So Loudly.

Royce came downstairs just as a car honked out front, signaling the arrival of the rental. When I opened the door, expecting to see the BMW sedan I’d requested, I instead found a young man in jeans and a white shirt with a yellow bow tie standing beside a bright red Hummer.

“Hello, I’m Reggie from Tippity Top Car Rentals,” the kid announced.

“Wait… what’s this?” I stared at the Hummer in confusion. “That’s not a BMW sedan.”

Reggie grimaced. “No, it’s a Hummer.” He gave a perky smile. “Isn’t she gorgeous?”

The vehicle was the complete opposite of gorgeous.

It was big, boxy, and obnoxious. It had squared-off edges, bulging fender flares, and tires large enough to crush lesser vehicles to dust. The thick, upright windshield and flat hood gave it the aerodynamics of a brick.

As if the beast of a vehicle weren’t already screaming “look at me,” the candy-apple red paint could have been spotted from the space station.

I stepped outside, eyes wide. “Um, no. I… I didn’t order that monstrosity.”

Reggie winced, his forehead shiny with sweat. “I apologize, Mr. Thornton. We were all out of BMWs, and so we upgraded you to this beauty.” He swallowed loudly. “At the same low, low Tippity Top price.”

“What in tarnation,” Royce said under his breath as he stood behind me, his hand on my shoulder.

“I can’t drive that,” I squawked, moving forward. “It’s like a tank.”

“The ride is surprisingly smooth.” Reggie held out the keys.

“I’m afraid it was either this or a pink Smart Fortwo.

But that one is so small, we thought this was a better option for you.

I’m sorry we couldn’t give you your car of choice.

There’s a beach volleyball tournament in town and our inventory was all spoken for.

You’d be surprised how popular that event is. ”

“Why’d the person on the phone ask me what car I wanted?” I asked irritably. “If… if you only had two cars to choose from, why bother asking for my preference?”

Reggie seemed to wilt. “The exchange who answers the phone has no idea of our inventory. They just take the customer information. Usually it’s no problem accommodating a customer’s request.”

“Well, I don’t want a Hummer.”

“Like I said, we don’t have any other cars.

I believe the pink Fortwo has already been rented out.

” He glanced toward a pickup truck idling a few feet away, presumably his ride back to the rental place.

I got the impression he wanted to bolt, but he was too polite to leave when I was so obviously unhappy.

Royce rubbed my back as if trying to console me. “There are other car rental companies, Max. We could try one of them.”

Reggie didn’t seem to like that idea much and said quickly, “You could, but we’re the only local company that delivers. If you go with another rental place, you’ll need a ride to pick up your vehicle. That’s why Tippity Top Car Rentals is such a great choice. We bring the cars to you.”

“Sure, but not the car you ask for,” I muttered testily, snatching the keys from the kid’s hand. “I’m definitely not pleased. This is no way to do business.”

Sighing, Reggie looked beside himself. “I hate that you’re unhappy, Mr. Thornton.

Customer satisfaction is very important to us.

” He brightened, as if an idea had just occurred to him.

“You know, the volleyball convention ends the day after tomorrow. If you’d like, I can arrange to swap out the Hummer for a BMW then.

I’ll handle the whole thing. You won’t have to lift a finger. ”

“Now, that sounds fair,” Royce said in an agreeable tone. “What do you think, Max?”

I eyed the big red Hummer. “We’ll probably have spent a thousand dollars in gas by then.”

Reggie gave a nervous giggle. “Nah, not that much. Probably no more than three hundred.”

“Gee, what a bargain,” I said, tempted to throw the keys at Reggie and just Uber everywhere.

“I think we can make this work for now, don’t you, Max?” Royce squeezed my tense shoulders. “We just won’t do a lot of driving until we can switch out the car. It’ll be okay. I mean, it’s just a car, right?”

“That’s not a car,” I grumbled. “It’s a 747.”

Royce chuckled. “Come on, Max. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“I didn’t want an adventure. I just wanted a car.”

“I know, but it’s just for a day or so.” Royce’s voice was coaxing. “In the scheme of things, this is a small problem. Plus, Reggie here is going to fix the issue for us before you know it. We won’t even have time to get used to the Hummer before it’ll be nothing but a memory.”

“Fine,” I relented, staring down my nose at Reggie. “We’ll wait and swap out this monstrosity for a BMW the day after tomorrow.”

“Thank you both for being so understanding.” Looking relieved, Reggie stepped forward with an iPad for my signature. “Like I said, you just let me handle everything. Before you know it, you’ll be driving that BMW, Mr. Thornton.”

“I guess we’ll see,” I murmured.

Once he had my signature, Reggie tucked the iPad under his arm, gave me a sort of salute, and said brightly, “Again, my name is Reggie, and it’s been a pleasure giving you Tippity Top service, Mr. Thornton.”

I had to stifle my groan.

“Thank you, Reggie,” Royce said politely.

Reggie all but bolted for the pickup truck, and they tore out of the beach community, tires screeching.

“Tippity Top service, my ass,” I groused.

“Let’s go get some lunch. Maybe it’ll improve our mood.” Royce gently worked the keys free from my tight fingers. “I’ll drive, Max.”

I met his gaze. “Don’t tell me you want to drive that thing.”

He laughed. “Hell no, but I’ve driven a Hummer before, a few years ago. Something tells me you never have.”

“No. I’ve also never flown the Goodyear blimp.”

Grinning, Royce kissed me. “How about you lock up the house and we’ll go eat.”

I sighed, grateful Royce wasn’t fazed by my bad mood. I was once more thankful that he was with me on this trip. “Okay, but I might need a cocktail or six. So far, this day has been atrocious.”

“Then it can only get better, right?”

“Now you’ve done it.” I winced. “You’ve tempted fate to show us how much worse the day can be.”

Royce simply chuckled good-naturedly and headed toward the Hummer.