Page 67 of Hot to Trot

He jerked the drawer open and didn’t notice anything missing.

But the computer keyboard was askew. He moved the mouse and the screen came up, the arrow over the folder that held the video from the holding area. Something pulled tight in his gut. He’d erased the minutes showing when he’d kissed Scarlet, but as every good law enforcement officer knows, nothing is ever really erased.

Adam closed the drawer and looked around.

Who would go digging for the footage from the night Scarlet had been held?

Wasn't Roz. She wouldn't even inch a toe inside his office. And Jared seemed too damn lazy. Roy Killough was nosy enough, but also respectful of Adam's rank. The other officer, Ian Fox, was new and eager to please. No way he'd be caught rifling through his chief's desk. So who?

Harvey's image appeared.

The old man had balls enough to pull it off, but Adam couldn’t quite see the older man being savvy enough to find anything on his desktop. Sure Primm had been accused of getting information in unorthodox ways, and Adam had once caught him going through Emile Prothro's trash the morning after the man had complained about the article on the pesticides sold to the local farmers' co-op. A man who resorted to that behavior would be the type to push boundaries. Harvey couldhave stopped by this afternoon while Adam was at lunch, told Roz he'd wait in the chief’s office, and then poked around on the computer. But that was essentially breaking and entering. At the least it was unauthorized access to government documents. But could Adam complain when he himself had destroyed evidence? Or maybe destroyed was the wrong word. He’d hidden evidence that he thought would never be sought.

But maybe someone had gone a-looking.

Adam sank into his chair. If Harvey had been the culprit, had he been able to locate the missing footage? And if so, what was he planning to do with it?

Adam rubbed a hand over his face. How had he screwed this up so badly?

One little kiss.

To be fair, it had been good one. Very good. But had it been worth risking his career? One whiff of misconduct and the press would have a field day. With balloons, hot dogs, and a dunk-the-police chief booth.

He was so screwed.

Of course, Harvey might not have found a thing. But Adam couldn't think of a better suspect.

At this moment he regretted the hell out of the day Scarlet had blown through the Welcome to Oak Stand sign and plowed right through his pure intentions.

Now his one indiscretion as police chief could be out there, floating around in someone's hands.

All he could do was pray that whoever had come snooping had come away much the same way he’d left the inn earlier…without what he really wanted.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

SCARLET WAVED HER ARMS. "Cut!"

Juan frowned. "What? I said it right that time."

“Juan, this is a tender moment. You've learned your grandmother, the dear woman who tucked you in your bed and told you lovely fairy tales, is the Magpie. Her spirit inhabits the bird and is guiding you in the quest for the jewel. We need more emotion. How do you feel? Imagine it isyourgrandmother," Scarlet said, stomping up the steps and stepping across the masking-tape lines stage of the Oak Stand auditorium.

"Yo, myabuelasmoked unfiltered Camel cigarettes and ran a gas station. She was too damned tired to tuck me in," Juan muttered.

Tito snickered. "Myabuelawas a sex worker.”

Scarlet frowned at him, wondering if that was true. Not her business. Instead she snapped her fingers. "Focus. This is acting. Feel free to pretend your grandmother is a freaking fairy godmother. Summon tenderness."

Miguel Two raised his eyebrows. "Tenderness is for pussies. I’m hard. You can come see for yourself.”

Scarlet whirled around and stabbed a finger at Miguel One and Miguel Two. “That’s it. I'm tired of the sexual innuendos. You're not clever. You're not sexy. And I don't want to have sex with either one of you. So keep your hardness to yourself and your mouth shut.”

"Damn, dude. She smoked your ass," one of the guys said.

Scarlet blinked. “What you're doing is considered harassment. This center is preparing you for the world, a different world than the one you lived in. Women are people. They are colleagues. They are bosses. You cannot make those types of comments and not expect to be reprimanded, fired, or even prosecuted for it. Mind your tongue and put the brakes on your sexist comments.”

Silence fell. Miguel One looked, dare she say it, ashamed.

"Now, get your asses up here and let's get this scene right."

---