Page 60 of The P Arrangement

Normally, I wouldn’t point this out, mostly because Delaney didn’t care, but I wanted these two police detectives to know whose house they were in. I didn’t want them to push her case to the back burner.

Detective Newbie visibly swallowed. “My apologies, Judge St. James. I had no—”

Delaney cut him off, “It’s fine. You didn’t know.”

I stifled a snort. She had informed them of her job when they first arrived. Detective Newbie hadn’t been paying attention when his partner was asking her questions, and it seemed like the veteran officer took note.

Looking away, I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t any wonder why people didn’t trust the police. It was their fucking job to pay attention. Among other things. On the flip side, I’d helped defend cases where cops had paid too much attention to people who were minding their own business and not breaking the law instead of what the city paid them to do.

Veteran Detective cleared her throat. “Judge, do you have anywhere to stay tonight? We’ll process the scene, and you should be okay to move back in maybe in a few days, but if you could find other accommodations until then…”

“Oh.” It seemed like Delaney hadn’t thought of that. “Right. Of course I can’t stay here.” She ran her hands through her hair. “I mean, yes, I can stay with my—”

“She’ll be staying with me.”

She swung around, mouth open as she stared at me.

“And you are again?” Detective Newbie asked.

Jesus Christ. Had this kid paid attention to anything?

I pushed away from the wall and stood at my full height. “I’m her ex-husband and friend. And the father of her only child. She can come stay with me while her house is being sorted out. Not only do I have plenty of room, but it will also give our son some stability since he won’t be able to stay at one of his homes.”

Detective Newbie nodded, reminding me of a bobblehead that people kept on their dashboard. “That’s a good plan.”

Veteran Detective looked at her partner with disdain before turning back to Delaney. “We have your cell phone and your work line if we need to get ahold of you. We’ll let you know when we’re finished so you can move back in. We’ll get the scene processed as soon as we can.”

“Thank you.”

“Is Delaney allowed to take any clothes?” I asked.

The two cops looked at each other.

“It’s okay,” Delaney said before either of them could answer. “I have clothes in my suitcase, and I can wash stuff at Preston’s. I should be fine for a few days.”

Thankfully, Paxton had clothes at my place, so we didn’t have to worry about him.

“Also, we’re going to need you to leave your car. Just because it wasn’t taken doesn’t mean they didn’t think about it. There could be fingerprints in or on it.”

“Sure,” Delaney said without protest. She looked exhausted, and I immediately decided she’d had enough.

“If it’s all right with you two, I’m going to take Delaney home now,” I said.

Veteran Detective nodded. “It’s fine. If we need anything, we’ll call.”

I took Delaney’s luggage back out to my truck and climbed into the driver’s seat as she got in on the passenger side. Immediately, she closed her eyes and rested her head back.

Threading my fingers through hers, I said, “Why don’t you call your sister and ask her to keep Pax one more night? It’s already almost his bedtime anyway.”

We’d spent all evening at her house, and it was now dark outside.

“He’s safe with your sister, and I can pick him up first thing in the morning.”

She lifted her head, nodded, and started to rummage through her purse, which reminded me that I still had her ring box.

I fished it from the pocket of my jeans, and since she was still looking for her phone, I opened it. I was curious as to what she had managed to save from the people who had broken into her home.

Inside, tucked into the slot, was a silver ring with a small diamond. It wasn’t big, but that wasn’t important. It had sentimental value. There was another ring behind it, which was turned upside down in the little slit as well. At first, I thought it was a plain band, but then I noticed it was two rings soldered together. I pulled it out just as Delaney found her cell.

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