“I did.” Ducking out from under his arm, she entered the training room first. “It nearly drove me bonkers, but I did it. Well, unless manic cleaning counts as exercising.”
He frowned, considering that. “It probably does, but we’ll give it a pass this time.” His mock-serious expression melted into a smile. “Grab a jump rope.”
“Yes, coach!” she barked, attracting everyone else’s attention. For once, she didn’t mind having all eyes on her. She was too happy for anything to kill her mood. When she headed across the room toward the hook holding the jump ropes, she was practically skipping.
“Great,” Lou groaned from the treadmill. “With Daisy all cracked out with excitement, she’s going to be running circles around us today.”
“She always runs circles around us,” Rory corrected.
“True.” Despite her resigned sigh, Lou grinned at Daisy.
Adding an extra hop as she crossed the rope in front of her, Daisy laughed.
*
Her sleepless night had an upside—she’d cooked enough food for an army. The training group demolished everything she’d made, plus the burritos and cookies that had been Lou and Callum’s contribution, in under ten minutes. It was impressive and a little scary.
“Why burritos and cookies?” Ian asked. He’d won a battle with Chris over the final peanut butter one, and he held it close to his chest to protect it. “They don’t really go together.”
Lou shrugged. “I like burritos, and I like cookies. Therefore, burritos and cookies.”
“But there’s no theme.”
“Are you going to eat that or just cuddle it?” Rory asked. Widening her eyes, she glanced between the treat and his face. His shoulders lowered in defeat as he held out the cookie toward her. Rory pounced on it with glee.
Chris gave an amused snort. “She just played you, buddy. You’re helpless when she puts on her big-eyed, starving-kitten-in-the-rain face.”
Instead of getting offended, Ian just stretched an arm over the back of Rory’s chair. “Pretty much. I like making her happy.”
The responding “oohs” varied in tone from sweet to mocking, but Daisy was pretty sure all the guys in the room would give up their last cookie to make their women happy, even Chris—not that she was his woman. Despite his recent behavior, she tried to keep her hope under control. The last thing she wanted to do was drive him away by pushing for more than he had to give.
“Any new Willard updates?” she asked, changing the subject to derail her dangerous line of thinking.
“Thanks for reminding me, Dais,” Chris said. “Walsh, would it be possible for me to get copies of those arson reports—and the wildland fire ones—from Chief Early? I went through Rory’s notes, but I have some questions.”
“Sure, I can get you copies, but not from the chief. He said his reports on the arson calls are kept in Records at the sheriff’s department.”
Chris’s eyebrows snapped together. “What? No, they’re not. Stacy even double-checked the files, and she couldn’t find anything.”
“That’s strange.” Frowning, Ian absently massaged the back of Rory’s neck. Chewing the last bite of her cookie, Rory looked too blissed out to focus on the conversation. “I always keep a copy of all my reports, so that’s where Rory got her notes. I can get you copies of those. They’re just the ones for the calls I was on, though. It’s not all of the arsons.”
“It’s not?” Lou sat forward in her chair. “If they’re not at either place, where do you think those reports ended up?”
“No idea.” Chris’s expression contradicted his words. He looked like he did have an idea, but it wasn’t one that was easy to swallow. “Who has access to Fire’s records?”
“Just the Chief has direct access, but anyone can request a copy. What about yours?”
“Anyone with a key card can get into the Records room.”
“Which means all the deputies,” Daisy clarified. It was looking more and more like Ellie’s father had put them on the right track regarding Willard’s death being linked to the arsons.
Chris nodded. “Plus Stacy, the records manager, and Paul, who does maintenance.”
“What’s your gut telling you?” Callum asked, looking at Chris, who twisted his mouth in a grimace.
“It’s not being too specific.”
“My vote would be Deputy Lawrence,” Lou said, and then looked around the table at the surprised faces. “I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking.”
“He doesn’t fit Daisy’s description.” It was a testament to how bothered Chris was that he was so easily discussing the case with them. “She said that guy was bigger. Dais, can you show everyone that video you took?”
“Sure.” She took her phone from her pocket.
“Video?” Lou repeated. “Of what?”
“Macavoy that night,” Daisy answered absently as she pulled up her videos.