Page 89 of All You Want
“Meow, meow.” The black kitten scampers from the top of the dumpster and streaks around the corner to the gap between the walls.
“There’s a secret passageway back there.” I point to where the cat disappeared. “I’m too fat to squeeze in there and Todd’s too large, but maybe you two can find something.”
“We’re on it.” Rosalie pulls her battle axe from her back holster.
“I wish my light saber really works,” Suzette says, flicking on the pulsing blue light.
Before I can tell them to be safe, they squeeze themselves between the two parallel wall segments and are gone, each shushing the other, but both too loud.
Shaking my head at how cute they are, I turn around and run into Todd.
Thirty-One
~ Todd ~
“What are you up to?” I spot Tami pushing her two ditzy friends toward the secret passageway. I also notice Tami’s wearing the toy sheriff’s star I lost from my costume, but I’ll ask her about it later.
“Oh, Todd!” Two spots of color highlight her cheekbones. “How’s your uncle? Is he okay? Did you catch Diana? How’s Chad’s head injury? Not too serious, I hope.”
Her excitement bursts from her big heart, and it’s a lot of what I like about her. I hold her shoulders until she stops chattering. “Everything’s okay, but aren’t you going to give me a kiss first?”
A nervous smile brightens her face, and she folds herself into my arms. “I always like kissing the sheriff. Is this official police business or a personal visit?”
“The kiss is personal.” I love the touch of her lips and the way she gives me an extra nip at the end. “Okay, then to answer your questions. My uncle is recovering. They’re putting in a stent, and he will be resting in the hospital a few days. Chad is fine, just a bump on the head, and he’s planning on coming back tonight.”
“That’s great.” She gives me another kiss, sweeter than the last raunchier one. “And Diana?”
“Caught her.” I can’t help puffing out my chest. “She’s in the holding cell right now, but we don’t have the pickaxe. She denies taking it, and it turns out she has no alibi, since my uncle doesn’t remember when he returned to his room.”
“Did she confess to the murder?”
“No, but we impounded Viola’s car, and the crime scene unit has gone through it. They found notes from Diana to Viola disputing some of her findings. There’s also a reminder in Viola’s paper planner about collecting a fee for service.”
“Wow, so she totally has a motive. Did she ever pay?”
“The note didn’t say who she was collecting from, but assuming it’s Diana, we have enough to start investigating her as a suspect. We can get a warrant for bank and phone records. The judge will do the warrants but agreed not to show up this weekend for bail hearings, so she’s going to be spending the night in jail.”
“This takes a load off my mind.” Tami jiggles my arm. “Does that mean you get time off to have dinner with me?”
“I’ll be on call, but yes, Shane will be on duty in town, and I’ll keep an eye here. I’ll be in uniform, though.”
“I love you better in uniform than in that furry costume.” She wrinkles her nose as if there was an odor and points to the badge on her chest. “How did Larissa get ahold of this?”
“Must have been while we were dancing.” I rub my jaw, wondering.
“This means she came back to the room before leaving with the guy she’s hooking up with.” Now, Tami’s sounding like a police investigator. “Her friends assume she’s with Bigfoot, but me and you know that’s not the case. It’s not Chad, so who would she have gone off with?”
“She could have gone with one of the campers.” I take off my hat and smooth down my sweaty hair. “Do we have time to worry about her?”
“I like to get every last detail.” Tami leads me through the service entrance, and we cut through the kitchen and go toward the lobby. I notice Neil is not at the concierge counter.
“I’d like to talk to the female concierge who was here this morning.”
“You mean Shelly? She wasn’t here last night.” Tami introduces us.
“Nice to meet you again.” I take out my notebook. “Did anyone check out while you were here?”
Her eyes dart to Tami, and she says, “Mr. and Mrs. King left this morning, and an out of town couple arrived a few minutes ago to take their place.”
