Page 41 of Killer Knows Best

The leaves are a stunning amber and gold and they pop against the fading twilight. Ahead, the majestic falls that give this place its name spill down the cliffside and the moonlight illuminates them and makes me feel as if I’m living in a sci-fi movie. They stretch into the night sky like silver ribbons, surrounded by mist and the scent of pine and wet earth. It’s a stunning view, but I’m too wired to fully appreciate it or snap a quick picture for posterity.

My mother’s diner appears like an apparition and I frown once I see that Nikki beat us here by a fraction of a second.

Jack pulls the truck into the diner parking lot, and I hop outand stretch my legs along with Nikki just as Buddy bolts out of the restaurant and leaps toward us.

The cute pooch’s nails click against the pavement as he bounds over and his tail is wagging like he’s been waiting all night for us.

“Look who’s happy to see us,” I say, hugging him briefly as he leaps in and out of my partial embrace.

Nikki drops to one knee and gives him a good scratch behind the ears. “Well, would you look at that? My hot date has arrived,” she says, grinning. And she means it, too.

“Careful”—Jack says, stepping around his truck—“you’re going to give him an ego.”

“Is that what happened to you?” I tease as I blink a smile at him.

“Too late,” Nikki practically sings to Buddy. “He knows he’s a heartbreaker.”

“Just like you.” I nod to Jack as we head for the diner.

“I’m not looking to break anyone’s heart,” he says as he opens the door. “I’m a lover, not a fighter.”

“You keep believing that.” Nikki laughs before turning my way. “Just tell me when it’s time to go after him with a bullet. I know how to make it look like an accident.”

“Hey,” Jack says as we pass him by. “You do realize I’m within earshot.”

“Consider it a warning,” Nikki shoots back.

The second we step inside my mother’s diner, the scent of pancakes and syrup battles it out with a freshly broiled steak. That’s a perfect example of what menu items rule the roost at this late hour in the evening.

Mom gives a friendly wave from a few tables over. “Find a seat, and don’t make a mess,” she says, pointing us toward the back.

My sister Riley pops up just as we land in the booth and hands us each a menu.

“Thanks,” Jack tells her with a frown. “How’s your investigation going, Detective Baxter? You hear any news about your sister?”

I’m glad Jack asked the question. Had I done it, the episode would have evolved into hair-pulling, fist-throwing chaos. I’m so angry that Riley feels bold enough to trek out on her own, but I get it. She wants to track down Erin as badly as we do.

“Thank you for acknowledging me like a real person,” she says to Jack with a click of her tongue before turning my way. “Some people don’t think I have the finesse for this line of work.”

“I never said you didn’t have the finesse,” I tell her. “The facts are that you don’t have nine lives. You don’t even have two, and if you start messing around in Elmwood, you soon won’t have one. What did you find out?”

Riley wrinkles her nose and suddenly looks like the spitting image of our mother’s younger years, a blonde ambition version.

“Nothing,” she says. “Apparently, no one on the streets wants to talk to me about her or the weather. They all think I’m a narc or a cop or one of you.” She hitches her head toward the kitchen. “You want coffee and pie?”

We all agree and she takes off.

The residents of Elmwood might think Riley is one of us, but she’s down one badge and more importantly down one Glock. I’ll need to have a private word with her and make it clear that she absolutely needs to stay away. Erin is my assignment. Maybe not an official one, but she’s my problem just the same.

Buddy bolts from Jack’s side of the table to the one with Nikki and me before sidling up between us.

“Looks like your hot date is getting comfortable,” Jack says toNikki with that signature grin of his tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Let him,” she says. “He’s the best date I’ve had in a while. He doesn’t talk back, doesn’t argue, and he’s loyal. What more could a girl want?”

“A guy who knows his way around a kitchen,” I tell her without missing a beat.

“Hey”—Jack offers a playful frown my way and looks decidedly sexy while doing so—“I know my way around a delivery menu.”

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