Page 83 of State of Alert

“I hadsomuch bullshit before him that the lack thereof is the single best thing about being with him. Well, that and his?—”

“Stop! I get it.”

Sam laughed. “I was going to say his sweetness, his kindness, the way he worships the ground I walk on… among other things.”

“You make good points.”

“Call her out on the bullshit or cut her loose. Don’t have me or anyone else investigate her. What if there’s nothing to find? Andwhenshe finds out—not if—that’ll ruin everything.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Free of charge to you at any time.”

He laughed.

“Keep me posted?”

“I will.”

After he left, Sam marveled at how they’d managed to carve out a nice friendship after their friends-with-benefits arrangement had ended years ago. He was one of her favorite colleagues, as he could always be counted on to get the job done quickly and efficiently, which was hard to come by at times. Not with Archie. He was as reliable as it got.

“Everything okay with Archie?” Freddie asked when he appeared in the doorway.

“Believe it or not, he was looking for girlfriend advice.”

Freddie’s brows arched with surprise.

“What? I’m good for romance advice. You should know. You frequently benefit from my wisdom.”

It was a wonder he didn’t sprain his eyes from the force of the roll. “What.Ever.”

Sam snorted with laughter.

“Sometimes I think you actually believe your own PR.”

“I know my strengths, and romance is one of them. Just ask Nick.”

“I’ll pass on that, but thanks anyhow. Are we still working on the case, or are you off in la-la land somewhere?”

“I’m right here, ready to work. I want to dig into Elaine’s murdered sister and get the details on that.”

“Have you ruled out the daughter and her boyfriend?”

“For now. Their phones put them at the boyfriend’s house for hours yesterday afternoon. I still need a time of death from Lindsey?—”

Lindsey appeared behind Freddie.

“Speak of the devil.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Lindsey handed Sam several pages stapled together. “Elaine Myerson died from blunt force trauma to the head that cracked her skull. She died almost instantly at approximately three thirty yesterday afternoon. The tox screen has been submitted, and I’ll get you results when I have them.”

“Thank you. That’s just what we needed.”

“No problem.”

When Lindsey turned to leave, Sam called her back. “Give us a second, will you, Freddie?”

---