Grilled, Chilled and Killed
Page 23
“Coffee then?”
“Tell you what. I’ll let you take me bass fishing tomorrow morning bright and early. We can talk then. Goodnight. See you in the morning.”
She tried to close the door, but Donald leaned against it, keeping it open several inches.
“You can bring Lewis along. I doubt he can do much with that arm of his, but maybe we could cut him up for bait.” His voice came through the door followed by a deep chuckle. “Don’t keep him up too late. We leave the boat ramp at five, just before sunrise.”
Oh, yeah, he got it, Emily thought, but offering him a fishing opportunity was about as tempting to him as offering sex to another man, or that was how Emily read it. Of course, she’d never suggested sex to Donald.
She peeked through the opening in the door and watched Donald retreat to his truck. “That’s taken care of. I can’t think of anybody else who’s rude enough to bother us now.”
He patted the couch next to him. “Sit, please.”
She resumed her seat.
“Are you really going to meet him for fishing tomorrow?”
“Of course. He’s my friend, and he likes to fish. So do I.”
Then she gave Lewis a severe look. “He’s your friend too, you know. He did what you asked even though he wanted to take care of you when you were hurt.”
Lewis looked as if he might try to deny this, but instead he said,” I guess if I’m to have a guy friend, Donald’s the closest I’d come.”
Lewis got up from the couch. “Porch light.” He flipped it off and hit the switch on the wall, turning off all the lights in the living room. The candle flickered invitingly.
“Before we go any farther, I’d just like to say what a good detective I think you are. Salute.” He raised his glass to her.
“Thanks for saying that, but you know I didn’t get it quite right. I thought Melanie’s daughter-in-law bashed him over the head. Jasper wasn’t even on my list of suspects.”
“Why not?”
“He was too obvious.”
“Well, you came close enough to force his hand.”
“You’d have gotten it sooner or later if you hadn’t been put on leave.”
He shook his head. “You did something I could never do.”
“What’s that?”
“You thought with your heart, not your head. In this case, it was the right approach. Thank you, Emily.” He pulled a package from behind him.
“This is for you.”
“What is it?”
“Go ahead. Unwrap it.”
She saw a twinkle in his eyes, and it was very sexy. She tore off the paper.
“A bottle of shower gel?”
“Our little wager. Remember? I bet you I would find the poisoner before you did. But you won. This is pay up time.”
Oh, yes it is.
She turned the bottle around in her hand. Bubbles? She smiled. Exactly what she wanted.
“And this time, Emily?”
“Uhm?” She kicked off her shoes and looked around the room. Which way to the bathroom, she wondered.
“Let me remove my clothes before you pull me into the shower.”
“Better start dropping your drawers now then.”