Page 47 of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

“How about I bring you girls dinner?” he said.

“Will you be bringin’ police reports with that food?” I asked.

“He’s bringin’ us food?” Dixie asked eagerly.

“I’ll try my best to bring those reports,” he said. “I’ll have Amber get started on it, and I’ll come back and pick them up at the station if need be.”

“Then you can bring us food,” I said, grinning at Dixie.

“Tell him to bring enough for Bill,” Dixie said. “He’s comin’ by to get ready for production next week.”

“Bring enough food for Bill too, and I’ll go home with you tonight. Get me those reports, and I’ll do that move you want me to try.”

“Gotta go,” Luke said, then hung up.

Dixie leveled a sly look on me. “What’s this about a special move?”

I winked at her. “Once we solve this case, not only will I tell you about it, but I’ll send you the link.”

Chapter Eighteen

Summer

By the time Luke showed up around an hour and a half later, Bill had already returned to the office. He was working on the whiteboard, adding Post-it notes of possible cases and separating them into primary versus secondary status. He hadn’t made much progress because he and Dixie kept bickering over the cases.

“A vandalized scarecrow isn’t a primary case, Dix,” he protested.

“Ordinarily no,” Dixie said as Luke walked through the door, juggling four Styrofoam containers, “but there aresixvandalized scarecrows.”

Bill popped up to take two of the containers. “You got dinner from Maybelline’s?”

Luke chuckled. “Maybelline’s special of the day was chicken pot pie. Wasn’t about to pass that up.” He caught Dixie’s eye. “And make thatsevenscarecrows.”

“See?” Dixie gloated. “There’s somethin’ goin’ on there.”

“Summer,” Bill pleaded. “Help me out here.”

“How about we table it for now,” I said, eyeing the folders tucked under Luke’s arm. Any other day, I’d be drooling overLuke’s body, but at the moment, I was more interested in the files.

“Fair enough.” Bill patted his belly with his free hand. “Oh, how I’ve missed Maybelline’s cookin’.”

“If you haven’t had her chicken pot pie, you’re in for a real treat,” Luke said. “Everyone got the same thing, so hand that other one to Dix.”

Then making his way to me, he asked Dixie, “How was Atlanta?”

“Awesome,” she said, then darting a brief look at me. “But it’s good to be home.”

Luke moved over to my desk and grinned. “I saved the best for last.”

I reached out a hand. “Gimme.”

He handed over one of the remaining containers.

“You know that’s not what I want.”

Laughing, he set the container on my desk, then handed me the folders. “I’m not sure you’re gonna get much more from the contents of those files.”

“You already looked?”

---