Page 130 of The Woman By the Lake

“What’s taking so long?” she demanded. “You’ve been out there at least three weeks.”

“The fact that there’s no such thing as ghosts?” Riggs suggested.

“Argh!” she cried, then she dashed off, knocking the backs of two chairs with her oboe as she went.

The people in those chairs didn’t even blink.

“I see you’ve met Kimmy,” Delphine noted to me.

“Indeed,” I replied.

Her eyes sparkled.

“Do I wanna know about the oboe?” Riggs asked.

I looked to him. “We haven’t gotten that far in the show, but this year, she’s a Jan.”

I knew he lost interest when he muttered, “Whatever.”

We waded through the volatile quagmire of four Men! sitting at the same table and paying the bill. We were then out on the sidewalk, and I was gabbing with Delphine, watching how adept she was at ignoring the people who stared blatantly at her or took pictures of her on their phone. Jace and Jess were hanging with Ledger. And Cade and Riggs were in a huddle.

They broke, Riggs came and claimed me, but I didn’t say my farewells since Riggs called, “We’ll be right behind you. See you at your place,” to Cade.

After he said that, he turned me down the sidewalk with Ledger jogging off the other way between Jace and Jess.

“Is something up?” I asked.

“We’re not gonna have the chill day I wanted us to have,” he answered.

“What’s going on?”

“Cade has something to share with me. We’re going to theirs.”

“Something?”

“He’s an FBI profiler, or he was. He’s retired. Word is, he’s one of the best ones they ever had.”

“Whoa,” I said. Then asked, with a little shock, because if he was the best, this was not much to merit his attention. “Is this about the wine burglars?”

“Nope. It’s about the Whitakers.”

Interesting!

I suddenly had a pep in my step as we kept walking.

“That’s not all,” Riggs said.

“What?”

“Storm asked if he can come over, or if I can hit his. He’s made a decision, and considering it will affect Ledger, he wants me to know what it is.”

“Oh boy.”

“Yeah.”

“Is that what all the activity was about on your phone?”

“Some of it. Others were buds wanting to know if we can have a get-together at my place tonight. I’ll text them later that’s not going to be a thing.” We kept walking, me under his arm, mine along his waist, thumb hooked in the loop of his belt at his other side, as he looked down at me. “You up for that next Saturday? Mom can take Ledge, and we can blow it out.”

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