Tales Of The Sazi 05 - Moon's Fury (15 page)

The woman shrugged and then nodded in a way that said Cara was stating the obvious. Her bright white teeth flashed for a moment when she reached out her tongue to lick across her bright pink lipstick. "Oh, I know
that.
That part was easy to figure out. No, I'm more interested in the friend than what you and Will talked about. I wondered whether you were interviewing him. Is that what the meeting was about? You don't have to tell me, of course, but I'm really curious.”

The question caught her cold and she reared back in surprise. "Interviewing him? For
what?
I don't have any positions open and certainly don't need any help at my ranch. Besides, he lives in another state—he's just visiting.”

Stephanie waggled her head and curiosity grew in her scent. Cara fought not to sneeze. Roses and sickly sweet antifreeze should be banned as a combination. "Maybe yes, maybe no. Someone down at the beauty parlor saw Minnesota plates and caught wind that the guy's a cop in Minneapolis.”

Cara shrugged. "Sure. That's how he knows Will. So what?”

The other woman smiled knowingly. "Well, you remember I've got a cousin who's with the St. Paul PD? I asked him about the guy, and it turns out he's top notch— decorated from here to Sunday
and
he just put in his notice." She tapped a polished burgundy nail on the chair arm. "We could really use someone of his caliber if he's thinking about moving down here.”

Damn, Steph was getting to be a little too good of an investigator. Cara was going to have to start watching her step around the woman. Simultaneously projecting calm and confusion was a little difficult, and she hoped she managed it. It was probably better to stick to half-truths. "Once again, I don't have any positions—even if he
was
interested in moving. I'm only sitting in this chair until Carl comes back, so that empty desk next to yours is where you'll find me in a few months.”

The next words out of Stephanie's mouth were sarcastic, but in a friendly teasing sort of way and she moved her head from side to side while making little quotation marks in the air. "Oh, puleeze!
I'm
only sitting in this chair until Carl comes back.
You can do better than that, Cara! The office is running smoother than it ever has and you know it! The guys might not like the changes you've made, but in my opinion it's about damned time people started treating law enforcement in this county like a
job.
The guys are showing up on time …in
uniform
and making chatter on the radio. Two months before you slapped that demerit in Billy's file for failure to report, would he have called in that van?”

Cara shrugged one shoulder, not committing the truth to the air. The department had been going to shit under Carl's rule, and although she was loath to speak badly of a man in a hospital bed, the whole place was turning into a real police department since she'd taken control. She was going to hate to see all the improvements go away when he returned.
If
he returned.

Stephanie nodded and raised one finger into the air triumphantly. "Exactly! He would have considered it to be too much trouble and have just stayed away from that route for a day or so, until someone else spotted the vultures circling." She shook her head in annoyance. "He's quite the piece of work. I hope you fire his ass one of these days." A pause, long enough that Cara nearly felt the need to make some noise, but then Stephanie continued, and she was up to something—the roses had bitter overtones. Apparently she'd been working on this next little speech all afternoon and felt a little guilty.

"And, actually, you
do
have a position open. It's just been on the books so long that you've probably forgotten about it—or maybe you never knew Carl was trying to fill it.”

That one really did floor her and she could feel her jaw drop. "I
do?
What position?”

Stephanie's smile was sweet enough to rot teeth. "Truant officer." She let it sink in for a long pause and then continued. "Remember when the school district increased in size two years ago when they built that new subdivision between here and Junction? Well, they applied for permission from the state and were approved. But Carl couldn't find anyone and finally gave up. it doesn't pay as much as a deputy position, and not every cop likes kids. But this Officer Mueller is apparently great with kids. He was the coach for a bunch of Boys' Club-Police Department teams-basketball, hockey, and a couple of others. He's donated free time to shelters and even helps out with the D.A.R.E. project.”

Truant officer.
She started to tick off the benefits in her head. Local surname, good record, likes kids. Wow. Would that be a perfect fit, or what?

Stephanie continued. "And I don't know if you've ever looked at the job description, but the truant officer is a reserve deputy. Anything bad-bad happens, and you can call him up. We'd have a spare hand …a
real
cop with experience. According to Darnell, his beat was one of the worst in the city. He's seen everything and might be good eyes and ears in the field for drug stuff. Billy and Tom aren't really up to snuff on anything other than finding meth labs. But Mueller has seen it
all
—crack, heroin, ecstasy, and every gang under the sun. No way would our local kids be able to put anything over on him. As a bonus, if Carl does decide to retire, he'd be a shoe-in for your old slot.”

Cara found herself nodding thoughtfully while staring at the wall over Stephanie's shoulder. "I think I have some reading to catch up on." She turned her eyes to the liquid brown ones opposite her.

"Where did you say I could find out more about this position?”

Stephanie stood up with a brilliant smile. Now, oranges and roses …that was a better combination. It reminded Cara of the time she went with her sister to the Tournament of Roses parade.

"I'd start with the files from when Carl started looking. Yo probably has those. Then, if you happen to wander by my desk, the statute book is in the outbox. The pages listing the duties are marked with a paperclip—just in case anyone happened to need a copy.”

She turned and walked to the door. Her head swung around when she reached for the knob and she winked. "I hear he's quite the piece of eye candy, too. He's the wrong flavor of the month for me, but there aren't any rules about sheriffs and truant officers that I could find.”

Cara could feel a blush creep up her face and the older African-American woman laughed. "I guess you've already noticed. You go, girl! Have yourself a little fun. You spend way too much time being the tough one.”

She was almost out the door before Cara remembered. "Oh, one more thing, Steph—”

The woman paused, turned, and leaned on the jamb with the knob still in hand. She raised her brows to confirm her attention.

Cara decided to keep the question casual, but she'd been in the row Elliot had avoided. "You and Ruiz having any problems? He was acting a little strange in there.”

There was a pause and while Stephanie's face remained studiously blank, her knuckles on the door knob tightened. "Nope. I haven't noticed anything odd." She paused. "That all?" No twitches, or sweating, but the scent of black pepper burst into the air and tickled Cara's nose.
She's lying. But why?

She shrugged, not letting on, or pushing it—for the moment. "Yep. Just wondering. Thanks for letting me know about Rick and finding the info on the position. I'll check into it.”

The sunny smile returned in a flash. "Good luck. Hope it works out.”

When the door closed, Cara grabbed a sticky pad and wrote herself a reminder to talk to both Billy and Rick privately. Maybe what was up with Elliot had to do with one of them. After sticking it firmly on the bottom of her center drawer, the first place she always looked when she sat down, she shut down her computer and turned off the desk lamp.

While it would be easy to get wrapped up in looking over the files Steph mentioned, that would have to wait for another day. But she couldn't help but admit she was sort of excited about discussing the idea with Adam on the way to Rosa's.

Try as she might, she couldn't keep another random thought from flicking through her mind.
Or
am I excited about seeing him for another reason entirely?

11

"Aw hell." Adam looked sideways at Cara as the scent of frustration and mild anger rose from her. Up until that second, she was fine …discussing the possibility of a job he might actually be interested in down here. He'd never heard of a place where there was an actual attendance officer, who drove around the county picking up kids and issuing summonses to take them to
court
for being out of school. Some even wound up in
jail,
alongside their parents, for repeat offenses! Wow. Apparently, Texas took their mandatory schooling laws pretty seriously. But he liked kids and constantly struggled to get more of them to stay in school. How many hours had he spent in outreach programs, trying to convince boys as young as ten of the importance of an education? Maybe this wasn't such a bad system—getting them to understand what they might later face if they didn't straighten up. It was at least worth looking into more. Cara stopped the pale gold sedan at the start of a driveway leading up to a low-slung adobe house. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and bit at her lower lip nervously. A few cars were tucked under white aluminum carports and a scattering of bikes lay on the grass. Adam looked at the seemingly innocuous scene and couldn't figure out what might be worrying her. "What's up? Is there a problem?”

"It looks like she's invited the whole damned pack over. I'd really hoped to introduce you to Paco and Rosa a little more privately." She tapped and fidgeted for a few minutes more, and her emotions were all over the place. Finally, she sighed. "Okay. How about you just follow my lead for now and we'll sort everything out later.”

She didn't elaborate any more than that, so he just shrugged. He'd hoped to wrap this up quickly and get back to the motel in time for the hockey playoff game. He'd been looking forward to it all day because the motel room had a good television with cable. But pack business came first. "You're the Alpha. Whatever you say.”

Nodding once, she pressed the accelerator again and slowly pulled up to the house. Adam was glad he'd chosen a mixed outfit for tonight—new black jeans over polished cowboy boots and a cream colored polo shirt. It tended to blend at any occasion, from ball games to high-end mixers by the pool. Cara had changed out of her uniform before she met him at the fast-food restaurant, and he was glad she did. The simple, sleeveless white top was tied at the waist and flashed enticing hints of smooth golden skin, while the faded jeans were tight enough to hug every curve. She'd even threaded a white ribbon into a complex french braid and applied a hint of makeup, both of which softened her features, transforming her enough that he'd never guess her occupation if he didn't know.

While a part of him was amused by the small-town game—meeting "unexpectedly" in a parking lot and leaving one car after casually chatting through the windows— he understood it was necessary to keep people from talking.

His every movement was under scrutiny and Lucas had been firm about creating the right impression. Cara knew the people, so she made the rules.

He watched her close her eyes and take another deep breath as she turned off the car, obviously steeling herself for what lay ahead. The tangled mix of emotions was too much to sort, so he didn't try, and he could hardly blame her. He'd been just as much of a wreck before the pack meeting back home. Adam reached for the door handle, deciding to give her whatever time she needed before facing her pack. But before he opened it, he turned his head. He'd never actually said the words and knew he had to. It had been chewing at him all afternoon. He reached out and touched her arm, the first time since he'd gotten in the car. It wasn't a surprise that she twitched a bit and stared at him with eyes too wide.

"By the way …before I forget—
thank you.
I wouldn't be alive right now if not for you." He squeezed her arm lightly before pulling back and unlatching his seat belt. "I just wanted you to know.”

Before her dropped jaw closed and she could think enough to respond, he opened the door and got out, closing it firmly behind him. A deep breath he didn't realize he'd been holding leaked out of him. He'd never been good at acknowledging things, but risking her …well, at a minimum, her
life
to save his

—no, that couldn't just sit.

A shout of
"¡Que chulito!"
followed by laughter and a baby's delighted squeal inside the house made him glance up and smile. It was always nice to hear happy sounds inside a home. He'd heard enough screams and cries to last a lifetime. A crunch underfoot and he lifted his boot, wondering what he'd just ruined. It looked like a
nut.
He reached down to pick it up. Sure enough, it was a small crushed pecan, still in the shell. That was when he noticed that there were dozens, maybe
hundreds
more of them hiding among the blades, some old and blackened but many as fresh as the ones on his counter at home. He looked up at the towering trees overhead, wondering how many nuts they produced every year that people would allow this many to remain to rot on the ground.

He felt Cara's presence next to his elbow. Her scent was warm, but still filled with a variety of emotions. "Do you like pecans? We get a ton of them from these trees every year. There are plenty more down by the river, too, if you're the enterprising sort.”

He twisted his head and his shoulder brushed against her bare arm, sending tingles of magic through him like an electric shock. She must have felt it, too, because her eyes widened and her breath hissed inward. "Oh yeah. Pecans are my favorite snack." He realized after they were out that the words sounded far too intimate, the tone low and smooth, hinting of much different things—but those big brown eyes of hers kept sucking him inside and making him forget where he was.

Her tongue flicked out and ran around her lips and he could smell her nervous anticipation. He watched the fading sunlight flash off the dark pink, cherry-scented gloss and wondered if it would taste fruity, too.