Page 22 of Immortal By Morning
“No,” Roberts said with a light chuckle, as he strode across the room to stand at the sliding glass doors. Peering out the window, he said, “You are very kind, Abril. And thank you for the offer, but I am neither hungry nor thirsty.”
Abril felt like a terrible host, but finally gave up on giving the man anything and turned to Detective Delacort in question. “Would you like coffee? I was going to make myself one.”
“I shall have a coffee with you,” the detective acquiesced. “Thank you.”
A relieved smile curving her lips, Abril set to work making them both a cup of the dark brew. Knowing it would only be the two of them, she chose to use the Keurig single cup coffee maker rather than bother with a full pot of coffee. She set up the first cup, and was putting the chili in the fridge while she waited for the Keurig to do its magic when Roberts asked, “Is one of these switches to an outside light?”
Abril glanced over to see that the light that had glowed from the interior of the tent earlier was now off. It was pitch-black out there and the detective had his hands cupped on either side of his head, his face close to the window as he tried to peer outside. Thinking he was probably leaving marks on the window and she’d have to clean the door before Gina came home, Abril answered, “The third switch from the left controls the outside light there.”
“Thanks. I shall clean the window later,” Roberts said as if she’d spoken her concern aloud, and then reached over and flicked the third switch on the panel next to the door.
Light immediately burst to life outside, revealing that Roberts had lifted the flap facing the kitchen as she suggested. They had a clear view of the inside of the tent just outside the doors, and the hole it covered.
“Perfect,” Detective Delacort said as he crossed the room to join his partner at the window.
“Yes,” Roberts agreed. “This will make guarding the site much easier. We will not have to worry about anyone slipping in the back of the tent while we are watching the front as we would from the car.”
“Well, then I’ll leave you to it,” Abril said, as she set the newly made coffee she’d prepared for Detective Delacort on the island.
Smiling at them both, she then slapped her leg to get Lilith to join her as she left. Abril really wanted to just stay in the kitchen with the two men, but knew she would just embarrass herself. She’d be unable to prevent herself from stealing glances at Delacort every chance she got. She’d also probably say something stupid and sound like a brainless twit. Whichshe apparently was, Abril decided when she realized she’d forgotten to make herself a coffee.
Abril paused in the entry, briefly debating returning to the kitchen to make herself that coffee, but then decided against it. She’d grab a soda from the little kitchenette at the back of the house instead. She couldn’t make a fool of herself that way. Then she’d have to decide what to do next.
“What do you think?” she asked Lilith as she crossed the living room, headed for the hall that led to the kitchenette. “Shall we cuddle on the couch with a movie? Cuddle on the couch with a book? Or finish some more work?”
Despite mentioning the option of working, that wasn’t really possible. She didn’t have her laptop, and didn’t want to walk past the men to get to her office and fetch it. She was feeling ridiculously self-conscious now and couldn’t understand why one little kiss would cause that. She was so super aware of Detective Delacort, and of her own body’s response to him that it was ridiculous.
The worst part was, she didn’t know what to do about it or how to make herself comfortable with him again. If that was even possible. Sighing, Abril glanced down toward Lilith as she finished the question, only to pause with a small frown when she realized the Lab was no longer with her. Turning, she peered back the way she’d come and almost groaned when she saw that Lilith was standing in the foyer, sitting patiently by the front door. It was time for what Gina referred to as “the after-dinner walkies.” The walk should have been taken after Lilith had eaten, but with her own dinner waiting, Abril had bypassed the walk andsimply taken her out into the yard to do her business. She’d rather hoped to skip the after-dinner walk altogether tonight, but it was looking like Lilith wasn’t down with that plan.
Resignation sliding through her, Abril gave up any hope of pop and the boob tube for now and retraced her steps to the closet across from the front door. She had only expected to retrieve her coat and shoes from it, but was pleased when she spotted the two leashes hanging from the peg shelf on the side wall of the closet. That was where the first two leashes had disappeared to. Delacort had assumed they belonged in the closet. Lucky her. It meant she didn’t have to go back into the kitchen and face the men presently guarding the skeleton garden.
Abril donned her coat and shoes, snapped the leash to Lilith’s collar, and headed outside with her. It was later than she usually walked Lilith and dark enough that she was now regretting not having done the chore directly after feeding her as she usually did. The lack of streetlights, combined with the houses being so far back from the road that their lights didn’t reach it, meant it was nearly pitch-black on the road. Fortunately, her eyes adjusted somewhat as she walked up the driveway and she was able to see enough not to stumble over Lilith or her own feet for the walk. She couldn’t see much more than that though. Everything more than a couple feet away was just dark black with only lights shining in the distant windows of the houses on either side of the street.
Hoping Lilith had better night vision, she wound the end of the leash around her wrist to ensure she didn’t lose it and followed along behind her as they started upthe road on the creepiest walk she’d ever taken. Abril had been raised in the country where streetlights were not a thing, but she hadn’t been allowed out after dark as a child. She’d pretty much been a city dweller since then, and no street was dark in the city. So this was a new experience. One Abril didn’t think she’d like to repeat as she glanced nervously around at every rustle of sound and there was a lot of rustling going on. Just rabbits and such, she told herself squinting hard to try to penetrate the darkness.
Damn, she would be sure she gave Lilith her nightly walk immediately after she ate from now on, Abril thought and then jerked to a halt with a squeak of alarm as a misshapen form appeared out of the darkness. Two forms, she corrected as they moved closer and she was able to see they weren’t misshapen at all, but two people. It wasn’t until the first person spoke that Abril realized that it was Gina’s neighbor, Kim.
“Sorry. We didn’t mean to startle you,” the woman said as she came to a halt before Lilith and bent to pet her head briefly. Straightening, she added, “You’re Abril right? Gina’s assistant?”
“Yes.” Managing a smile that she doubted the woman could see anyway, she glanced from Kim to the figure several steps behind her. Abril couldn’t see the person that well, but suspected from what she could make out that it was a woman. Probably the dark-haired woman that had been with Kim earlier when she’d spotted them outside talking to the construction crew.
“I’m Kim Stone,” Kim introduced herself. “I live in the blue house almost across the street from Gina’s.”
“Nice to meet you,” Abril murmured, taking thehand the other woman offered and shaking it briefly. Then she smiled faintly and added, “I guess I don’t have to tell you who I am, you already know.”
“Yes. Gina told me all about you at the neighborhood Christmas party.”
Gina had told her about that but from what she’d said it hadn’t really been a party in the traditional sense. The couple across the street from Gina had organized it. Everyone on the crescent had been invited. Appetizers and drinks had been on offer and everyone had stood around chatting. There had been no music or dancing. Really, it had been a gathering rather than a party, but Gina had enjoyed it and had most especially appreciated the chance to meet her neighbors.
“Gina also told me about the addition she planned to have built and the renovations she was going to have done,” Kim said, moving a little closer, and her friend doing the same a couple feet behind Kim. “I gather they’re going to pull out the indoor garden, fill it in and make it part of the living room?”
“Yes,” Abril murmured and glanced down at Lilith when the Lab began tugging on the leash. She was surprised to see that the pup had moved behind her and was trying to pull her back the way they’d come.
“When do they plan to start on removing the indoor garden?”
Abril tore her eyes from Lilith to return her gaze to Kim’s shadowy figure with a little confusion. There was no reason that she could think of for Kim to care about that.
“I just thought if Gina is going to get rid of the plants in the indoor garden, I’d love to take them offher hands,” she explained, her voice an odd combination of friendly and wooden at the same time.
