Page 71 of The Woman By the Lake

But Harry got him, and he gave more.

“Whoever wanted in, really wanted in, Riggs. And from what I’m seeing, they didn’t know how much time they had, so they made a mess of it. But this doesn’t jibe, since it doesn’t look like they ransacked the place. The state of the doorframe and the house contradict each other. ’Fraid I’m gonna need you to ask Nadia to come back and look around so we know what we’re dealing with.”

“I’ll talk to Nadia. It’ll be me bringing her back.”

“See you soon.”

“Yeah.”

They disconnected and Riggs said to Nadia, “They’re there, and it’s all clear, but they need you to come and have a look because they can’t tell if anything’s missing. You okay to do that, or do you want me to call Harry and tell him you need some time?”

She shook her head. “I’m okay to do it.”

“While we’re there, want you to pack a bag.”

She was moving off her stool, but at what he said, she stopped.

“For what?” she asked.

“You’re staying with Ledge and me tonight. Tomorrow, I’m gonna fix your door, put security storm doors in and install the cameras. Depending on the damage to the frame, all that might take me more than a day. So pack for two nights, it shouldn’t take more than that.”

“I can check into a hotel.”

“Yeah. You can. And if that’s the way you wanna go, it’s your call. But I’d feel better, and if Ledge hears word of this, and just sayin’, in a small town, word travels fast, so he’d feel better if we had eyes on you.”

“That really isn’t?—”

“I got a guest room, so it isn’t like you’d be sleeping on the couch. It has its own bathroom. It’s like a hotel, but the room service is shitty.”

The corners of her lips did that wrinkle thing before she said, “I don’t know. In all honesty, the macaroni salad was uninspired, but still yummy, and the brats were fantastic.”

“What I meant to say was, I cooked last night, you’re on that detail tonight. I’ll deal with dessert.” He got a full smile at that, and only when he did, did he say, “Let’s go.”

He did the arm around the shoulders gig again and took her right to the passenger side door of his truck.

Then, he was stunned it happened considering the mood he was in, but he had to fight laughing since she had so much trouble climbing up, he had to put his hands to her waist and practically lift her into her seat.

By the time he got in beside her, closed his door and was engaging the ignition, she joked, “I feel like I just climbed Mount Everest.”

Vodka princesses clearly didn’t ride around in fully-loaded, jacked up Rams.

He put the truck in reverse, saying, “I was there, and it was more like I hefted you to the peak.”

“Whatever,” she mumbled.

He headed down his drive.

“Should I call Dave and Brenda?” she asked.

“Maybe not now. Talk to the police. We’ll call them later.”

“Well, if word gets around fast?—”

“Honey, I know them. They’re gonna be more worried about you than their doorframe. Trust me. Take this one step at a time.”

“Okay. I trust you.”

His head didn’t feel like it was going to explode anymore, but that weight hadn’t left his chest. Though, her saying that helped alleviate some of it.

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