Page 8 of Half Baked

I watched him head down the street, my stomach tightening with nerves. So many things could go wrong, but I had to admit that most of my worst-case scenarios weren’t likely to happen. My thoughts drifted to Maddie. Would she be upset if I showed up at St. Vincent’s after weeks of silence, or would she be relieved? Because Lance was right. He was perfectly capable of watching the place without me—as long as he promised not to go poking around after I left him alone. Still, it was crazy to go, but my father had always put work before anything in his personal life, including his wife and kids. If I chose Maddie over work—especially something important—then maybe it was proof that I could prioritize something or someone else over my job.

We could make this work.

Lance was about to walk into the garage office, so I picked up the binoculars, giving him my undivided attention. He entered through a glass door. Through it, I could see the waiting room was empty except for a few vacant plastic chairs. He approached the unmanned counter, and a guy came out of the back a few minutes later. Going off body language, he and Lance carried on a relaxed conversation for a couple of minutes.

Movement next to the building caught my attention. I noticed Kipsey walking out of the door he’d entered, heading toward a newer-looking, decked-out pickup truck. He looked pissed.

I held up my phone and took several photos as he exited the building, walked to his truck, then drove away.

Lance walked out of the building as Kipsey drove down the street. When he got back into the car, he said, “That was helpful.”

“What did you learn?”

“Not a whole lot, but as I was wrapping things up, I could hear Kipsey talking to an older man. He told the guy he’d be in touch, but it wasn’t in friendly way.”

“That’s it?”

“I learned that if I start getting my oil changed there, the tenth one is free.”

“About the case?” I asked with a sarcastic sidelong look.

“The guy at the counter didn’t seem all revved up because Kipsey was there. I could see some mechanics in the back, and they didn’t seem overly concerned either.”

“So they either didn’t know who he was or didn’t care.”

“I’d go with the latter,” Lance said. “Did you text Maddie?”

“I was too busy making sure you weren’t murdered.”

He placed a hand over his heart, making mooney eyes at me. “Nice to know you love me.”

“I can’t let you get killed,” I grumped. “With budget cuts and all, I have no guarantee the chief will get me a new partner. Besides, now that Kipsey’s dropped by, we need to stick around and see if the stolen car shows up.”

Lance laughed. “If I weren’t here, you’d do this alone. So if you insist on staying, you’re saying you don’t trust me to watch the place by myself. That true?”

“No, of course not—”

“The only exciting thing that’s likely to happen, already has. And as we already established, we weren’t planning on busting anyone today. Just observing. I know how to do that.” He gave me a pointed look.

“We’re driving my car.”

“That’s easily resolved.” He pulled his car keys out of his pocket and tossed them to me. “Walk a few blocks away and have a patrol car pick you up and take you back to the police lot. You can borrow my car.”

I glanced down at his car keys. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d accuse you of trying to get rid of me.”

He scoffed. “If I wanted to get rid of you, I wouldn’t be subtle.”

I couldn’t hold back my laugh. “Yeah, that’s for damn sure.”

I glanced at my phone, nervous about leaving Lance. Nervous about upsetting Maddie. Ever since Christmas, I’d been nervous about everything, thinking every step I took was in the wrong direction.

“I’ll be fine, Dad,” Lance teased.

“I know,” I said, turning serious. “I don’t want you to think I don’t believe you can do this.”

“It’s all good,” he said with a grin. “I know you’re a control freak who has trouble letting go.”

His words caught me by surprise. Was that an accurate assessment? If so, that made me more like my father than I cared to admit. Then again, hadn’t my father pointed out the very same thing a few weeks ago?

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