“Charlie?”
Deke snapped his finger, pointed at her. “That sounds right.”
Gabe picked up the picture.
“Pete did live alone, so...” Deke glanced down at Orlando. “Always nice to have a friend around. Speaking of, you babysitting?”
She laughed, looking at Orlando, who was at her side like always. “I think he’s babysitting me. Jericho is out with Hud at the Eagle’s Nest.”
“No, he’s not,” Gabe said from the family room.
She glanced past him, out the window as, yep, Jericho’s Silverado pulled up. Or rathercareenedup. Stopped in a puff of greasy smoke.
Hudson piled out of the driver’s seat.
Jericho burst from the passenger side.
Interesting.
“I think I’ll just leave you two alone,” Deke said and he opened up the forensic kit, pulled on gloves.
Orlando had gotten up, tail wagging, and headed toward the door.
It banged open.
Jericho filled the doorway like a man on fire. He wore coveralls, his hair a little mussed, his eyes dark as they landed on her.
She had the sense of being found in the dead of night, after a long search.
Then his expression transformed from what she guessed might be panic to fury as his gaze took in the scene of her standing there alive, beside a dead man.
“Have you lost your mind?”
She blinked at him, then stiffened, her jaw tightening. Glanced at Deke. Back to Jericho. Heat crawled up her neck.Stay calm.“No, I haven’t—”
See,socalm.
“What are you doing here?” He advanced, two big steps into the room, grabbed her arms, looked her over. Then glanced at Gabe.
Who raised an eyebrow. “Step back, bro. She wasn’t in danger—”
Clearly, Gabe’s words went in one ear and out the other.
“What if you’d been here when the killer was here?” Jericho let her go, his gaze falling on Pete’s body, back to her. “What if Mars—”
“We don’t even know it was—”
“Whoever it was could have killed you!”
Ho-kay.She took a breath. “I’m not inept, Jericho. I do know what I’m doing.” Her phone buzzed.Really?Her boss, right now, on a Sunday afternoon? But maybe Jericho needed a second to cool off. She answered it as his eyes widened. “Hey, Lydia.”
“Hey, just checking in. Wondering if I’m ever going to see my best investigator again.” She laughed on the other end.
Oh boy.Harley turned away from Jericho’s thunderous expression, from the body on the floor. “Um...”
“Okay, I sound like I’m kidding, but you need to come back.”
Harley imagined her in her office in Juneau, overlooking a breathtaking view of the Gastineau Channel, a silvery body of water between the mainland and Douglas Island. Probably it would be cluttered with water taxis and small fishing boats, maybe a seaplane skimming over the water before it ascended into the white-capped mountains.