He stared at her and then started laughing. His hands slipped away from her wrists as he retreated to the coffeemaker, and Daisy swallowed hard with disappointment.
“You do realize I work for the Field County Sheriff’s Department, right? At two this morning, I was helping Ian Walsh and some other guys from Fire drag a bull elk off the road after a semi hit it. After that, I directed traffic for a while so some dumbass who was moving and didn’t secure his things in the back of his truck could pick up the remains of his possessions. He’d been losing chairs and boxes and even a mattress for several miles before he realized he was leaving a trail. Let’s see…then I had a quiet half hour to write reports, which ended when I was sent on a domestic call.”
His monolog had allowed her to push the memories of her nightmare and the triggering event to the back of her mind where it belonged. Since her hands were steady again, she retrieved her coffee and leaned against the counter to enjoy Chris’s story.
“Everyone okay on the domestic?”
He snorted. “They were uninjured, but I don’t know if you could call them ‘okay.’ For some reason, whenever those two start fighting, they take it to their front yard. The neighbors don’t appreciate the screaming, so they call us. The only actual violence was when the woman threw their daughter’s doll against the garage door. It knocked off the head completely.”
“Poor kid. Do you think she’d like a replacement…or two?” Her gaze flicked over to the box.
Chris gave her a chastising frown. “Why would you want to traumatize an innocent child like that? Besides, I managed a pretty good repair job after we got the parents to stop yelling at each other.”
“That was nice of you.” The mental image of Chris, the doll doctor, made her smile. She hid it behind her mug.
He shrugged, focusing on his coffee. “Didn’t want the kid to find her doll decapitated. That’d require a lot of future therapy.”
“True. Busy night.”
“I’d rather have that than a slow shift. Lots of action makes the time go by faster, and it keeps me awake. I did have a minute to read the transcripts of the interviews with Ellie’s dad. Looks like he wouldn’t say a word, either time. If he knows who Gray’s murderer is, he’s not telling.”
Her legs were still tired from her workout, so she placed her coffee mug down and attempted to boost herself up to sit on the counter. Unfortunately, her arms had suffered as much as her lower half, so they refused to support her weight. Daisy’s feet returned to the floor with an ungraceful thump.
Without even trying to hide his amusement, Chris put his coffee aside and moved toward her. Not sure what he was planning, Daisy eyed his approach warily. He grabbed either side of her waist and lifted her, making her squawk in surprise, and then deposited her onto the counter. The unexpected assistance made her wobble, and he waited in front of her, his hands still at her waist, until she steadied.
“Good?” he asked, retreating a step, although he kept his arms extended as if to catch her if she fell.
“Uh…yes?”
Chris returned to his corner and his coffee, leaving her feeling off balance in a couple of ways. That was twice in five minutes that he’d voluntarily touched her, and any Chris contact, no matter how fleeting, had the power to destroy her equilibrium.
“So…” It took her a second to pick up the conversation where they’d left off. “Did you get a chance to look into the arsons?”
That made him scowl at his mug. “No. For some reason, the arson reports aren’t filed with the rest. I couldn’t find the call notes in the computer system, either. I’m going to have to stop by during nonvampire hours and talk to Stacy in Records to see if she knows where they’re stored.”
“Why would the reports on those calls be treated differently?” Daisy wasn’t familiar with the department’s record-keeping system, but it seemed strange to her that one type of report would be kept elsewhere.
“Could be because Fire’s involved,” Chris offered. “Rob and Chief Early are both responsible for the suspected arson investigations. With interagency cases, the paperwork’s gotta be a beast.”
She nodded, took a sip of her coffee, and then asked, “Not that I’m complaining, since I’m always happy to see you, even in the predawn darkness—”
“The sun’s been up for hours.” When she looked skeptical, he amended his statement. “Well, maybe not hours, but it’s definitely not predawn.”
“Anyway…” She stretched out the word. Although Chris rolled his eyes, he stayed quiet. “Is there any reason for your daily visits to Daisyville?”
He choked a little on his coffee. When she looked at him questioningly, he just shook his head, declining to explain his reaction. Instead, he coughed and said in a slightly strangled voice, “A lot’s been happening lately. I get worried.”
That wasn’t a very satisfying answer. “You can’t just text? If you abbreviate obnoxiously, it’s only four letters—R, U, O, and K.”