Page 22 of Bad to the Bone
Chapter Twelve
“SO?”Sam demanded when she and Alex met for breakfast Monday morning.
“So what?”
“So did you and Ricky Lee have dinner Saturday night?”
“We did,” Alex admitted and took a bite of his omelet.
“Let me remind you I am a sworn officer of the law.” Sam leaned across the table between them. “I carry a baton, and I won’t hesitate to use it.”
“Yes, we had dinner,” Alex said with a sigh. “We went to La Fiesta. Ricky Lee ordered the carne asada tacos, and I ordered carnitas. I had a beer. He didn’t.” When Sam reached for her belt, he grinned. “Sorry, you’re just so much fun to wind up.”
“Did he tell you what he’s been doing since he got expelled?”
Alex’s teasing mood evaporated. “He said getting sent to Lawton was one of the best things that could have happened to him, and I’m not sure he’s wrong. His situation at home was so much worse than any of us knew, Sam. His father should have been charged with child neglect, if not outright abuse.”
“Given what I saw of Billy Joe before he passed on, I can believe it.” Sam shook her head. “He didn’t give a damn for anyone but himself and his next drink. It’s a miracle he didn’t kill someone or himself driving drunk, and he was belligerent and abusive every time we pulled him over. I can only imagine what it must have been like to have to live with him.”
“Almost anywhere would have been better for Ricky Lee than staying there. It’s no wonder he learned to fight to defend himself. But it sounded like he really turned things around in the alternative program. His mentor there got him interested in computer programming and math competitions, and he won a full scholarship to the University of Washington. He works for a company called Polynomial Software.”
“Maybe they let him work remotely. That would explain how he’s able to spend so much time away from the office.” Sam looked thoughtful. “Must be a good-paying job.”
“And I’m sure he earns whatever salary he makes,” Alex said defensively.
Sam held up her hands. “I’m not implying he doesn’t.” She stirred her coffee and took a sip. “So you had dinner and a beer. Then what?”
“Then we walked back to the hotel.”
“And then?”
“Do you realize you sound just like the guys in the locker room in high school?” Alex grinned. “Are you asking me if I got lucky?”
“Trust me, the girls at cheerleading practice were even worse.” She grinned back. “So did you?”
Alex’s grin transformed into a wide smile. “Oh yeah.”
“Thank goodness! I was going to whack you upside the head if you were blind enough to pass that up.” She set down her empty cup. “Not that I wouldn’t love to hear all the prurient details, but I have some serving and protecting to do. Just tell me it was good and that he’s staying in town long enough for you to do it again.”
As much as I can for as long as I can, Alex repeated to himself. “I’m not sure how much longer he’s planning to stay in town, but we’re having dinner again tonight.”
ALEXleft the Coffee Pot at the same time Sam did and headed back to open the store. He hadn’t expected to see her again that day, so he glanced up in surprise when she walked into Morrison Hardware a few hours later.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, concerned at the troubled look in her eyes.
“Can you get away for a few minutes?”
Alanna had already come downstairs and waved them away, though Alex knew she was as curious as he was. “Go take a walk or something. I’ve got this.”
As soon as they were outside the door, Sam nodded toward the patrol car parked at the curb. When they were both seated inside, Alex demanded, “What’s going on, Sam? You’re worrying me.”
“I told you I was going to do a little more digging into Ricky Lee’s background,” she began.
“You told me his record was clean.”
“It is—it’s nothing like that. But I checked into the company you said he works for.”
Alex didn’t understand where Sam was going with this. “Polynomial Software?”
