Her Something Impetuous

by Hunt Harris, Kim

  “You don't have to keep silent. Just answer all legitimate questions with the truth, and let the smartass questions go by.”

  “Sure. No problem.” She scrubbed at mud on her ankle with the big toe of the other foot. “I'll be the picture of restraint.”

  He gave her a doubtful look, but didn't say anything else. The two officers came back. “Said his car was stolen,” Chicken Chest said to the other.

  The other cop looked like he had been out of the academy for about fifteen minutes. His hair was so short Karen could see scalp through it. He was a good foot taller than Chicken Chest and deferred to the more veteran officer.

  The young guy held a clipboard and unhooked a pen from it. “What kind of car was it?”

  Will gave the make, model, color and year number, while Chicken Chest looked on, his lip in a slight sneer and his arms folded across his chest.

  “What were you doing over in this neighborhood, anyway? This isn't the kind of neighborhood you want to leave anything unattended.”

  “We were here to visit someone.” Will's face was neutral and he met Chicken Chest's gaze steadily.

  “Visiting who?”

  “A woman. Do you think you'll be able to find my car?”

  Chicken Chest shrugged. “We'll do everything we can, but you know how it is.”

  “Oh, I know,” Will said. He focused his gaze between the two men.

  Chicken Chest raised an eyebrow, and Karen thought that perhaps Will could take some of his own advice. She stepped a little closer to him and rubbed her elbow against his.

  “We were only inside about fifteen minutes.”

  “Takes less than three to hotwire a car, ma'am,” Rookie said gravely.

  “Fifteen minutes?” Chicken Chest said. “What were you doing for fifteen minutes? Most purchases take less than a minute.”

  “Most purchases?” Karen said. “We weren't here to buy anything.”

  Will cleared his throat and slid his toe against her foot.

  She frowned at him and tried to convey with her eyes the words, “It's all right.”

  Chicken Chest shifted his feet. “Most, if not all, the traffic to this address is for the express purpose of purchasing illegal drugs. Are you saying you weren't here to buy drugs?”

  Karen had had about enough of this guy. “Of course we weren't here to buy drugs. We don't use drugs. Therefore we have no need to buy them.”

  “You weren't here to replace the crack that was confiscated from you just yesterday?”

  “Hell no.”

  Will stepped on her foot.

  “Ouch!”

  “We were here to talk to a woman named Kitty. She wasn't home.”

  “And you weren't here to buy drugs?”

  Will stared at Chicken Chest for a full ten seconds before he said, “No.”

  “Then you won't have any reason to protest a search.”

  “No reason except my civil rights, which call for probable cause for search and seizure.”

  Chicken Chest nodded, as if this sounded imminently reasonable to him. “You're right. Probable cause.” He turned to the rookie. “Let's see. A couple who've been recently arrested for possession of a controlled substance are at the residence of a known drug dealer. Does that sound like probable cause to you?”

  Rookie looked doubtful. “According to the statute –”

  “Yep, sounds like probable cause. Who wants to go first?”

  “You jerk,” Karen said. “You scrawny, obnoxious, Barney Fyffe-looking, pin-headed little weasel.”

  So she got to go first. Will stood by with murder in his eyes while Chicken Chest patted her down.

  “Do you have one of those cameras in your car?” She faced the windshield and waved her hands. “Because I want to make sure all of this is being recorded. This is the most asinine thing I've ever heard of. A person reports a stolen car and ends up being searched.” She went on in her tirade, while the idiot officer patted away. She was pretty sure he would have been freer with his hands, though, if she hadn't said she would definitely have her attorney subpoena the video from his car camera when she filed her civil case against him and the police department.

  He gave Will only a peremptory pat, probably only then because he felt he had to follow through to save face. Will glared at her and mouthed, “Nice show of restraint” as the cop patted down his legs.

  “Can we get to the business of finding my car now, please,” he asked tiredly.

  Chicken Chest nodded. “We have the report, and we will follow up.”

  “I'll need a copy for my insurance.”

  “Officer Hyatt will take care of that for you.” Chicken Chest ran a tongue over his teeth and nodded again. “I feel compelled to offer you two a bit of advice.”

  “Fabulous,” Karen said. “I'm all ears.”

  Will shot her a warning look, but she figured at that point it was all out the window anyway.

  Chicken Chest glared at her. “You already have a felony drug possession charge pending against you. This is not exactly the kind of place you want to hang out. The woman who lives here is a career criminal.”

  “No kidding. She's the one who planted the drugs you arrested us for.”

  Chicken Chest's upper lip curled up. “Oh yes, the real drug dealer.”

  “That's right.”

  “You're sticking with that story?”

  “Of course I am. It's the truth.”

  “Right.” He nodded solemnly. “Right.”

  Rookie nodded, too. “Sounds believable to me.”

  Chicken Chest looked at him, eyebrows raised.

  “Sure,” Rookie said. “Just last week I saw O.J. here, looking for the real killer.”

  The two cops laughed and Karen faced Chicken Chest's windshield. “Did you hear that? Our city's finest, making such funny jokes. What a talented bunch of officers we have.”

  Will stepped up to Rookie. “Do you have everything you need?”

  Rookie nodded, still laughing. “Yes, I have everything.”

  “Good. Let me know if you have any more questions or find anything.”

  “Will do.” Rookie saluted Will and tore off a copy of the report. “Let me know if your car shows up.”

  “Certainly.” Will reached for Karen's hand. “Let's go.”

  Karen let him lead her away, and refrained from asking where they were going until they got to the street.

  “Anywhere.” His jaw was set and his voice tight.

  Karen looked down. Would it be whiney if she mentioned her bare feet? She was still trying to decide when he said, “We'll find a shoe store on the way.”

  “On the way to anywhere?”

  “And a cab. I just want to get off this block.”

  They made it to the end of the block and turned toward downtown. A white van pulled to the curb beside them.

  “Need a ride?”

  Karen craned her neck around Will and saw Brad behind the wheel of the Paws & Claws delivery van.

  “Oh, thank God,” she said. “Yes, we need a ride.”

  Brad put the van in park and came around to open the door.

  “Will's car was stolen and my cell phone was in my purse in his car and my sandals are destroyed,” she said as Brad held the door open for her. “And I have a feeling a cab isn’t going to be easy to find on this side of town. I thought we were going to have to walk at least a dozen blocks.”

  She slid in and Brad tried to close the door. Will grabbed it.

  “Oh, are you going, too?” Brad asked.

  “Umm…yeah.”

  “Oh, well…” Brad scratched his head. “You’ll have to ride in back. With the other – with the dogs.”

  “I’m sorry,” Karen said. “I didn’t think about that. The van only has the two seats. Do you want to just wait and get a cab? Or ride in back? Who’s back there, Brad?”

  “Just Max Blackwell and Angel Monroe.”

  Karen looked at Will. He appeared to have lost his good humor ab
out half an hour ago. “I don’t mind sitting on the floor between the cages,” she offered.

  He shook his head. “I’ll do it.” He climbed in and bent double as he squeezed in between the cages.

  “You sure?”

  He set his jaw and took a deep breath. “No big deal. Let’s just go, okay?” He glared at Brad as if he’d planned the whole thing.

  “Okay, if you’re sure.” She started to shut the door, then remembered something. “But keep one eye on Max, okay? He tends to hike his leg.”

  She settled back in her seat and turned to Brad. “How are things at the store?”

  He grunted, and she decided to assume that meant everything was fine.

  “Who are you delivering over in this part of town?”

  “Buffy Peterson.”

  “Really? Did the Petersons move?”

  “I guess so. What are you doing over here?”

  “Looking for the girl who got us arrested. A guy Will works with said she lived over here. But she ran away when we got to her house.”

  Brad nodded and continued to drive in silence. Karen felt like an idiot for saying so much. Brad had obviously just been polite when he asked what she was doing in this part of town, and she'd given him much more than he wanted to hear.

  “I'm glad you came by. I feel like I've been through a marathon.” Six minutes with the Shake Weight didn't hold a candle to chasing a stripper down a muddy alley.

  “My house is over in Rockridge, two blocks from the country club.”

  Brad drove silently, and Karen twisted in her seat so she could check on Will. Oh my. He didn’t look very happy. Of course, he didn’t have a lot to be happy about.

  She pointed in the general direction of her house, but Brad was already pulling into the driveway. She didn’t realize he knew where she lived.

  Brad pulled to the curb and got out. He opened the door for Karen and cast a suspicious glance at Will as he stepped, stooped over, toward the van’s double doors. “Do you want me to stay a while?” he asked quietly.

  “No, Brad, that’s fine.”

  He didn’t look reassured.

  “Really. It’s fine. Will is a friend.”

  Brad just glowered at Will and then dug his keys back out of his pocket. “Okay. Call me at the store if you need anything.”

  “I will. And thanks for the ride.”

  Karen picked her way up the driveway in her bare feet and tiptoed through the flowerbed until she found the fake rock with the key in it. “I can’t believe I actually lost my purse. I loved that purse.”

  She turned around to see a decidedly sour expression on Will’s face. “Which, of course, is nothing like having your car stolen.”

  “Of course.”

  “You can call the insurance company from here, if you want. Then I’ll take you home.”

  “I’m not going home.”

  Karen straightened. “You’re not?”

  “No, we’re going to find that girl. Kitty.”

  “Of course. But…how?”

  “Both that reporter and her roommate said she was a dancer. So we’ll look for dancers.”

  “Where?” Dare she hope he was going to suggest the grocery store and the park?

  He didn’t. He didn’t say anything. He just raised one eyebrow and quirked a grin.

  Karen sighed and looked at her feet. “Okay, but I’m going to take a quick shower and change first.” She led the way up the porch. As she pushed the door open, she turned to him and said, “And as soon as we get back from looking at naked boobies, I have to get started on those Hallelujah muffins.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Won’t people think it’s weird if we go in together?”

  Will pulled a twenty out of his wallet and handed it to the bikini-clad girl behind the front counter. “They’ll think it’s weirder if you go in by yourself.”

  “True.” She looked around the dim room. She didn’t know why she cared if anyone in this place thought she was weird. She realized as she saw the girl squatting against the pole in the center of the stage that it was highly unlikely anyone here glanced once at her, much less twice.

  She grabbed Will’s arm as they made their way to an empty table. “Do we have a plan here? Or are we just going to wait until she comes onstage and waylay her?”

  Will took a deep breath. “A plan would be good.”

  Was it her imagination or was he paying an inordinate amount of interest to the boobs onstage? She raised her eyebrows. “Well, that’s definitely not her, so you can quit staring.”

  He turned to her and grinned. “Was I staring?” He swiveled in his chair until he faced Karen. “Tell me if she comes on, okay?”

  “You come to this kind of place all the time, don’t you?”

  He looked amused. “This is one of those times when I’m supposed to lie, isn’t it?”

  She thought about it for a minute. “You know, I was actually going to insist on an honest answer. But I think a lie would be better.”

  “Okay, the truth is I’ve never, ever, ever in my life been inside a strip club.”

  “Really?”

  “No, not really. I go all the time. At least once a week, sometimes twice.”

  She sighed.

  “The truth is somewhere in the middle.” He studied her for a moment, and she wondered what was going on behind those blue eyes. “And it’s not something you need to worry about, believe me.”

  “Who’s worried? I’m not worried. I’m glad one of us is accustomed to this environment. It’s very…helpful.”

  She looked around at the pathetic men, staring rapt at the girl gyrating on the pole. She and Will sat at a table the size of a dinner plate, and Karen felt like crawling under it. Then she thought about what kind of disgusting body fluids were probably on the floor and decided staying in her chair was a safer bet.

  The place was done in a half-hearted jungle motif, with vines on the wall and blow-up monkeys hanging from the ceiling. They hadn't gone to a lot of trouble with ambience, however. After all, who would notice?

  “Want a drink?” Will asked, reaching for his wallet.

  “More than I ever have in my life.”

  He laughed, that soft chuckle that made her think he was laughing at her as much as with her. “Don't make a big deal of this, okay? They're just dancers.”

  “Oh, I know. Just naked dancers. It’s just boobs, after all.”

  He grinned crookedly. “Right. Just boobs.”

  “No big deal.”

  “Not at all. So relax.”

  “I mean, I see those every morning when I get out of the shower.”

  “Exactly.” He looked at her chest.

  “Hey.” She crossed her arms. “Let's not get that relaxed.”

  He tilted of his head. “If that's the way you want it.”

  “That's what we decided, right?”

  “Did we?”

  “As I understood it.”

  He stood. “As I understood it, we agreed to cool things off.” He raised an eyebrow. “I don't remember a 'no looking' rule.”

  She looked pointedly at his crotch. “Now that you mention it, neither do I.”

  The corner of his mouth tipped up. “I'll just go get us a drink.”

  “Wine for me, please.”

  She watched him walk away. It was a good thing they hadn't instituted a ‘no looking’ rule, because she'd be in serious trouble. She tried to nail down just exactly what it was that made him so sexy. Long, strong legs. Flat stomach. Broad shoulders, although not the type found at the gym. The type that some very blessed men were born with. Long fingers, wide palms. Blue eyes that drew her in, kept her fascinated, and had her fighting to look away from their intensity at the same time.

  It was the smile, she decided. She'd always been a sucker for a crooked smile, for the look that said they shared a private joke.

  She watched as every female eye in the place followed Will across to the bar. Well, maybe for her it was the smile,
but judging by the looks she saw, for others it was the butt. Cute butt. Or the hair. Rock star hair. Bad boy hair.

  She sighed and sat back in her seat. What was she doing? She'd made a logical decision last night, the first smart thing she'd done in weeks. She needed to keep her wits about her and focus on the job at hand. It was becoming more and more apparent that Will was right, that Michael had set them up. Why? Why would he do that to her? What could he possibly gain? He didn't want the house, her store, the kids. What did he want? Not knowing why was the scariest part. It meant she didn’t know exactly what she was fighting.

  Her head was beginning to hurt from wondering and worrying. The only thing she could do was find Kitty and figure out what was going on. She didn't need to get sidetracked by a sexy smile and long legs.

  She looked around the room to see if she recognized Kitty anywhere. There were several women with long blonde hair, but not the one they were looking for.

  Dear Lord. What if she recognized someone else, one of the men? One of the band booster dads or a school board member or someone from the country club. What if they recognized her?

  Will came back with a beer for him and a glass of wine for her. “I asked the bartender but he's never heard of her.”

  “I haven't seen her.” She glanced up at the stage. The girl there seemed entirely too fond of that pole.

  A waitress in a “Me Jane” costume appeared Will's elbow. “Can I get you a beer?”

  He lifted the bottle. “I'm good, thanks. We're looking for someone.”

  “Looking for someone in particular, or someone special? Because I've been told I'm someone special.” She raised an eyebrow at Will.

  “Ahem,” Karen said. She tapped Jane on the arm. “We're looking for a girl named Kitty.”

  “Blonde skank?” Jane asked.

  Karen nodded.

  “I think she used to work here. Let me ask some of the girls. I'm Scarlet, if you need anything.” She tapped the table twice and gave Will a pointed look.

  Karen drained half the glass of wine and tried not to look at the stage.

  “There's no need to be jealous, you know. They flirt like that because that's how they get their tips.”

  Karen steepled her fingers on her chest. “Jealous? I'm not jealous. Why would I be jealous?”