Page 33 of Deadly Avarice
“Next time, call before you roll up my drive. I’m not promising a warm greeting, but you won’t get a gun pointed at you either.”
My grin probably appeared more manic than happy. “Thank you, Leander.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t agreed to do shit.”
Reaching around me, Franklin held out his hand and after Leander took a moment to incredulously stare at it, he grasped Franklin’s hand and shook. “It was nice to meet you, Leander. You know, once we got past the shotgun and attack dogs.”
Leander’s belly laugh startled his dogs and made me flinch. It was deep and wholly unexpected. “You know, I think I might grow to like you two. Maybe.”
Maybewas far better than never.
Grin still pulling my lips and making my cheeks ache, we said our goodbyes and Franklin and I headed for his SUV. This time, our furry entourage wagged their tails, tongues lolling out the sides of their mouths as they escorted us on our way out of Leander’s territory.
Franklin’s vehicle dipped as it hit a lower section of the drive. “Rough beginning,” Franklin said.
“But a promising ending.”
Franklin’s hand on my thigh, along with his gentle squeeze, was answer enough.
Chapter
Eleven
Franklin
“Who’s Emmanuel Cardoza?” Becks asked as she walked past my desk. I didn’t fault her for looking over my shoulder and reading my computer screen. She was a good police officer and part of what made her good was her curiosity.
“He’s a Detective in St. Tammany Parish.”
“Louisiana? May I ask why you’re looking him up? And more to the point, why you didn’t ask me to investigate him?” Becks pulled up a nearby chair and sat. The scent of her coffee wafted toward me. Becks liked her coffee black and pungent. It was more sludge than drink as far as I was concerned.
“It’s not official business,” I answered, and Becks scoffed.
“When has that ever stopped you?”
Shifting my chair, I gave Becks the side eye but also grinned. “Don’t let Captain Cicely hear you say that.”
“Shit, the captain already knows, O’Hare. She’s good that way.” Becks winked as she shifted closer. “Seriously, what’s so interesting about this guy?”
“Gladly, nothing so far. He’s a detective handling a case Boone’s gotten involved with. Boone’s supposed to meet withhim soon. I just wanted to make sure they guy’s on the up-and-up.”
“No red flags?”
“Not that I can find.”
“You want me to double-check?” Becks asked.
“If you don’t mind and only if you’ve got the time.”
“For you and Boone? Always.” Becks leaned back, taking a sip of her coffee. Eyes slipping closed, you’d think Becks had just been given a glimpse of heaven. “Can you talk about it?”
“About the case?”
“Mm-hmm,” she answered while taking another sip.
“I don’t see why not. It’s not one of ours and is in another state to boot. It started out as a possible life insurance scam and quickly escalated to possible murder.”
“Well, shit. Boone really has a knack of stepping in it, doesn’t he?”
