Today was the first day of the phase of the new moon and of her weeklong freedom from shifting. She was up at the crack of dawn, having prepared breakfast, and had already packed her diving gear in the car. He worried about her frame of mind when the full moon returned and she couldn’t do this for the other three weeks of the month. At least not for a while. As the days went on, she’d get better at it, except for the week of the full moon.
He smiled at her and wanted to say that she looked like she was ready for Christmas, but thought better of it. She’d be reminded that this wouldn’t last forever. He was glad she was so excited. It made him feel just as glad to see her so happy.
He sat down to eat his waffles and maple syrup. She had already scarfed hers down, taken her dish to the kitchen, and begun going over her list and checking it twice. He couldn’t stop thinking of the day as though it was Christmas.
This morning, they were going diving before it was even light out. Just a fun dive in the same spot where Lloyd’s body had been discovered in the stolen blue Impala. Allan didn’t think they’d find any other evidence, but since Debbie wanted to dive and do some out-of-doors investigative work, they decided to go to that location, just in case.
Sometime later today, they would pick up her car at his mother’s place so Debbie could use it anytime she wanted to. That was part of the deal. She could run off and do her own thing for the week too. With the caveat to be careful in case the shooter was looking to target her. They hadn’t had any breaks in the case and no further shootings or killings related to it, so they assumed the shooter had left the area.
Allan wanted Debbie to feel as normal as possible, like she had her old life back, except that she was living with him now and could only do police-contracted dive work this week.
“I don’t want you to feel bad about the way I feel, but I’m so excited,” she said, hurrying him out to the hatchback.
“I’m thrilled for you, Debbie. You always brighten my day.”
“Ha, not when I’m all snarly and growly because I have to shift when I don’t want to.”
“Always. It’s understandable. If I were you, I’d feel the same way, but it’ll get better. And I want you to know I love you even when you’re being a growly wolf. Hell, you should see me when I’m all growly.”
“Oh?”
“Well, not around you. But if I’d seen that damned shooter, believe me I would have been growling with extreme killing precision in mind.”
“I wish you could have. I wonder what Otis is driving now that the police impounded his Camaro.”
“If it had been me, I would have put a tracking device on it and let him come back for the car.”
“Which he might have expected anyway.”
“True.”
When they arrived at the scene, it was just as cold as the last time. Getting used to the chilly temperature of the lake always took a few minutes.
They dived as long as they could, and when they were through, they did their safety stops and left the water. They hadn’t found anything new in the water or anywhere around the area. But Debbie looked so pleased to be back to work, he was glad they’d come here first.
The pizza place was on their list, and though Allan wasn’t real fond of the idea, she had invited Rowdy to join them for her coming-out. They’d played it cool, telling the sheriff’s department her recovery would take months, but when she felt well enough, she’d step in wherever needed. They figured if she did a lot this week with the department, they would say next week that she’d had a relapse. Maybe by the time another month had rolled around, she would be doing well enough to work a little at a time.
After they got out of the water, they removed their tanks and masks and headed for the road where they had parked their car.
“Didn’t think you’d take that long on the dive,” a man said.
Parked behind Allan’s hatchback was the black sedan.
With his brows raised, Vaughn Greystoke was leaning against Allan’s vehicle, arms folded across his chest and looking like a military man with a mission.
Chapter 21
Debbie’s heart was beating triple time when she saw Vaughn Greystoke leaning against Allan’s car.
The lethal-looking man was wearing a white parka and black cargo pants, shit-kicker boots, and mirrored sunglasses, his dark-brown hair cut military short. He wasn’t wearing gloves, his arms were folded across his chest, and no gun was visible, but she suspected he was wearing one. He’d talked to Paul about coming to help them out, but then he hadn’t come all these weeks, so they figured he’d gotten busy with some other pressing issue.
“Is there somewhere that we can talk…privately?” Vaughn asked. Despite his dark look, the man was ruggedly handsome, his attention focused on Allan.
“You were at the crime scene. Witnesses saw your vehicle,” Debbie said accusingly. “Your cousin said you had no hand in the murder, but he’s your cousin.”
Vaughn shifted his gaze to her, his hard look chiseled in place. “Yeah, I was there. That doesn’t mean I had anything to do with the man’s death. His hunting partner did that.”