Page 49 of Shadow Sabotage
Claire shrugged. “Could be different attitudes for different people. Or that the weed lowered his inhibitions.”
“What else did Rob say?”
“Not much—about that, anyway.” She laughed. “Rob loves to talk, but he has a hard time staying on track. Likes to rabbit-trail a lot. I let him because he doesn’t have many people to talk to.”
“That’s smart. You never know what kind of information you’ll get that way. Plus, you build rapport with someone who could be a helpful informant.”
“Not everything’s about law enforcement. There’s something to be said for just being a good neighbor.” It was a gentle reproach. One that reminded me of how different our upbringings had been.
I gave her a smile. “Point taken.”
“But he did say Tony wasn’t as interested in hanging out as he used to be. Rob got the impression that Tony’s parentswere watching him more closely than they had before. Tony complained that, even though he was an adult in college, they were being more strict with him than they had been in high school. Wanted to know where he was going, kept trying to force him to have conversations with them. Tony got sick of it and went back to Laramie early.”
“Nowthatis very interesting,” I said, grinning. “A change in behavior, especially in that direction, means they were concerned. I want to know why.”
“Sounds like they’re who we need to talk to next,” Claire commented.
But I glanced at the time and decided that talking to the mayor and his wife would need to wait until Monday. It was already after five, making it too likely that they would both be home.
Better to talk to them alone, when they couldn’t influence each other’s answers.
“Later,” I said. “We’ll talk to them separately. Where does his mom work?”
Claire snorted. “She doesn’t, unless you count the ‘committees’ she serves on.”
“Perfect. We’ll pay her a visit Monday morning, then swing by the mayor’s office.”
“We can go tomorrow, if you want,” Claire offered. “Mayor Evans hosts a men’s breakfast every Saturday morning. Leslie will be home alone.”
“We can try it,” I said, pleased that there would be an opportunity sooner. “We’ll just have to hope she doesn’t have plans tomorrow morning.”
Claire laughed. “That woman never has plans before ten. She’ll be there. But we should wait until nine. She won’t answer the door if she doesn’t have her makeup on yet.”
I grinned. “Alright, nine it is.”
We settled into a comfortable silence as we drove back to where Claire was parked so she could drive her truck home. When she got out, she paused before closing the door, then turned and faced me.
“Do you want to come to the house for dinner?” She fidgeted, rubbing her ear.
“Well… That depends,” I said slowly.
“On what?”
“On whether you’re inviting me because your mom told you to or because you actually want me there.” I felt a strange anxiety as I waited for her to tell me which it was, hoping that this time it was the latter.
Her lips twisted. “Which answer would make you actually show up?Ineed to know if you would be coming to torture me or because you want to.”
“I’d like to come. But only if that’s what you want. I don’t want to cause any more tension for you.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “Then… I’d like for you to come, too.”
“Then… It’s a date.” Words I shouldn’t have said and couldn’t take back.
Not that I really wanted to.
She blushed, then gave me a quick nod and jumped out, heading to her truck.
I watched her, wondering how someone I’d just met could make me feel so relaxed and nervous at the same time.
