“I didn’t attack you,” I muttered, knowing my words weren’t going to change Josh’s opinion of me any more than saying something to Toby’s girls would have helped.
Toby hurried through the doorway and bent down to Josh’s level. “Do you need an ambulance? Should I call the paramedics?”
Josh glared at Toby. “No, you should mind your own business.” He waved Toby away, then sighed. “You could help me to my feet, though.”
Toby put his hand under Josh’s arm and with me on the other side, we lifted Josh to his feet. Once he was stable, he shrugged off our assistance and peered into the storefront. “Jackie’s not in there, is she?”
“She wasn’t when I left,” I muttered. I kind of hoped Aunt Jackie had seen Josh on his butt, especially now that he was being a jerk about our help. “Do you want me to call her?”
“I know how to use a phone, Miss Gardner. Your aunt asked me to meet her here for coffee at noon.” He glanced at the digital display on his watch, which I could see read eleven thirty-four. Josh was early.
“I’m sure she’ll be down soon.” I adjusted the strap on my tote. “Well, if you don’t need me, I’ve got some reading to do.”
I could feel the glare from Josh on my back as I power-walked away toward the house. I thought I knew why Aunt Jackie had asked to meet with Josh. I wanted to be locked safely in my house before he realized he was being dumped.
The rest of the day was uneventful. I didn’t hear from Aunt Jackie or Greg. I saw Toby come back to the shed to change as I was reading out on the porch. A few minutes later, he was dressed in his South Cove Police Department uniform and waved as he backed his truck out of the driveway.
I ate dinner alone in front of the television watching one of the crime dramas I had recorded. I was too far behind on most of them to ever catch up, but I enjoyed checking in with my imaginary friends every once in a while.
I let Emma out and watched her through the back screen door. Toby had left a light burning in his new apartment. Some things were going to be hard to get used to, including having people around me at all times of the day. Of course, Toby worked longer hours than I did, so I probably wouldn’t see him much, except on days when the shop was closed or on weekends.
Emma had done her business and was whining at the door. We climbed the stairs and I fell into a fitful rest, with too many unknowns flying around in my head to sleep well.
Even without the alarm, I was up by six the next morning. My eyes felt gritty and my body ached. My body’s internal clock had me trained to get up early. I tried to fall back to sleep, but sensing my movement, Emma licked my hand, indicating her need to go outside. I pulled myself to a sitting position. “Fine, but we’re coming right back to bed.”
I opened the back door to let her out and was about to close the screen, when I heard a step on the porch. I whirled toward the noise, my hands up in a defensive position. Ten years of martial arts classes had taught me one thing: the stance.
“Hold on, slugger. It’s just me.” Toby put his hands up to protect his face. “Seriously, you’ve got to lay off the caffeine. You’re getting a little jumpy.”
I leaned against the doorway, taking in a few deep breaths to calm myself before I did kill him for scaring me. “What on earth are you doing out here?”
Toby shrugged. “I thought if you were up, we could have coffee together.” He held out a box. “I stopped at Lille’s and got some donuts.”
I could smell the grease and fat, and I made a decision. “Come on in. The coffee’s made but I’m running upstairs to change.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t think this is going to be an every-morning occurrence.”
He held the door open so I could walk through. “Of course not.” His words were promising, but for some reason I didn’t believe my new neighbor.
I climbed upstairs and went into my bathroom. My hair looked like I’d teased it using a blender. I brushed it into submission, then washed my face, brushed my teeth, and changed into cutoff shorts and a long tunic. I put my hand over my mouth to stifle a yawn. I wasn’t ready to start the day, but I guess I didn’t have much of a choice. Tomorrow morning, I’d definitely sleep in, I promised myself as I made my way downstairs.
I poured myself a cup of coffee, then grabbed one of the donuts and sat at the table across from Toby. I pointed the donut at him. “So, why are you here?”
“I got to thinking last night that you typically have an idea on who the murder suspects in a case are, sometimes before we can narrow it down. This Kacey Austin investigation is totally stalled and unless Greg can come up with a viable suspect, I think Austin is going to go down for a murder he might not have committed.” Toby opened his cop notebook. “So spill. What do you have on the murders so far?”
“Nothing.” I kept my eyes on the coffee I was sipping like it was ambrosia from the gods.