Page 67 of Not That Impossible

“I’ll—oh, really?”

“Just make it quick.”

“Thanks!” I beamed. “Can you watch my stuff while I’m gone? No? No worries. It’ll be fine, I’m sure. Back in a mo.”

It had never taken me so long to drain my bladder in my entire life. It just kept coming. What the fuck.

Painfully aware of every second, expecting to get back and find Kevin had been and gone and I’d missed my window, I zipped up, washed my hands, and bolted to the front of the shop.

Kevin was standing at the counter, chatting to Charlie.

“Hi, Kev,” I said.

He blinked at my sudden appearance on the wrong side of the counter. “Hi, Jasper.” He nodded at Charlie. “He says they don’t serve bacon here.”

“They don’t? Weird. I could have sworn they did. Must have taken it off the menu.”

“We have never served bacon here,” Charlie said.

“Are you sure? I must be misremembering. Never mind.” I said to Kevin, “Sorry about the bacon, mate. I’ll buy you whatever else you want instead.”

Kevin’s eyes brightened.

“Here you go, boys,” Charlie said, bringing the tray over to our table once Kevin’s panini was toasted. He unloaded it, grinning.

“Thanks, Charlie,” I said.

“Oh, any time.Anytime. We like big spenders around here.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Can I get you anything else?”

Kevin surveyed the spread. He’d ordered a ham and cheese panini, a cheese croissant, a cheese danish, and two chocolate muffins. He opened his mouth.

“No,” I said. “We’re good.”

“You sure now?”

“Yep.”

Charlie could keep on grinning. Kevin just blew through two week’s worth of my coffee and treats budget. Charlie wouldn’t be seeing meormy money for a while.

Kevin turned his attention to his breakfast banquet and was steadily mowing his way through, when someone came and sat himself down in the chair opposite. I glanced around, startled. There were plenty of free seats.

The man was short and stocky, with salt-and-pepper hair and a genial smile.

“This is Craig,” Kevin said. “My boss.”

“Craig Henderson,” the guy said, reaching over the table and holding out a hand. We shook, and he sat back. “The one who found the body.”

Kevin rolled his eyes.

Craig didn’t notice. After a quick assessment of Kevin’s spread, he said, “I’ll have the same, thanks,” and looked at me expectantly.

My mouth dropped open.

“Kev said you were offering breakfast in return for an exclusive interview?” Craig’s voice was light, his smile was friendly, and his gaze was beady. “It’s a bit short notice, of course, and I had to move some things around. You’re lucky we could spare the time.”