Page 75 of Her Only Hero

“I guarantee you’ll like this one.”

Tingly inside, I smiled. “I’ll get my purse.” I picked up my bag. The weight of it was much lighter without the gun, which was still with the police unit. Ugg. Another reminder.

“I see you got your car back,” Patrick said as we sat in his truck.

“Yes, finally.”

“What was wrong with it?” While driving, he glanced over at me.

“It was a major repair. Someone had poured something into my gas tank.”

He thumped the steering wheel with a fist.

“At this point, I guess there’s nothing else you can do.”

He shook his head. “Not much. But I will document it.”

We drove on country roads, along fields of corn, tall and ready for the harvest. I tipped my head back into the headrest. The sway of the ride rocked and soothed. Maybe everything really would be resolved soon. Patrick took my hand, and I gave it a squeeze.

“So, Officer, are you going to keep me in suspense?”

“I thought we’d go for a bite on the outskirts of town. Have you heard of Lucy’s Country Kitchen?” he asked.

“No, I haven’t.”

“I hope you like it. They have the best pies.” He kissed the back of my hand.

I’d never tire of this.

He turned onto a main road. On the right, a large house had a wraparound porch and lights along the eaves. A fluorescent sign said Lucy’s Country Kitchen. Patrick parked in the gravel lot and shut off the engine.

“Ready to go in?” he said.

“Yes.”

But he placed a hand on my thigh to stop me from getting out. He put a finger to his lips and handed me a note.

Don’t say anything. Leave your phone in the car.

My contentment bubble burst, and nerves prickled inside.

He told me not to talk, but that’s all I wanted to do. Alarmed, I looked at him and mouthed the words, “what’s going on?”

He pointed to the building. I nodded and left my phone under the seat. We got out of the vehicle and entered the diner. Patrick chose the booth in the back corner.

A middle-aged server dressed in black pants and a white blouse brought us a couple of glasses of water. The wet glasses soaked the paper place mat menus.

“I’ll be back to take your order,” she said.

When she left, I leaned forward. “What is going on?”

“With everything that has happened, I’ve been hesitating to fill you in on details about one of my previous cases. But for your safety, it’s come to the point I have to. Also, there’s been a new, sudden development in our case.”

“Oh, wow.” I took a sip of water. “Okay. Shoot.”

“I’ll start with a quick backstory. A few years ago, I was patrolling the streets and saw a young guy speeding in a purple Maserati. I immediately put on the sirens, but he wouldn’t pull over. Thanks to construction, the chase led to a dead end. The arrogant young man called his rich dad, who offered a sizeable bribe to drop everything. But I said no to a guy who wasn’t used to anyone saying no. I booked him for bribery and a few other charges. As I put on his cuffs, he asked if I had a wife and children, and said it would be a shame if I wasn’t around to protect them. This guy doesn’t have a history of being forgiving.”

I shivered and rubbed my arms.

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