Page 38 of Counter Attack

“Thanks. Make sure we get fingerprints on the victim.”

“I know how to run an investigation, Alex.”

“Didn’t mean to step on your toes, but you could’ve thought I’d already asked the ME to take them.” She smiled, knowing it didn’t reach her eyes. “I see Mark, and I need to have a word with him before I leave.”

Nathan was still talking with his sergeant as she made her way to the K-9 handler. “Find anything that might help with the case?”

“Not really. It’s the last house on the street and looks like more than one person has turned around in the driveway.” He jerked his head toward the back of the property. “There’s a path back there that leads to the next street over. Appears to have been used a lot.”

“Probably the kids coming here to do whatever it is they were doing. Did you talk with the girl?”

“Mary Beth? This was a hangout to smoke dope and—”

“You got that out of her?”

He grinned. “Gem is a real good icebreaker. Mary Beth remembered her from when I went to the high school to talk about drugs and alcohol. And she might have gotten the idea I didn’t hold it against her if she was doing a little marijuana.”

“Don’t do that again.”

He looked puzzled. “What?”

“You’re not their buddy. And it’s lying to them—it’s not okay for them to do drugs.”

“I know that. But it helped to get her talking.”

“Find another way. There’s no gray area on kids doing drugs.” Mark took a breath, probably to protest, but she cut him off. “Use Gem to charm your way into their confidence.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She swallowed back the retort on the tip of her tongue to his use of ma’am in addressing her. To protest it would make her seem thin-skinned. And it wasn’t the word, per se, it was his tone. But this wasn’t the hill to die on.

21

When they reached his truck, Nathan bit back a smile when Alexis didn’t wait for him to open her door. Probably a good idea that he didn’t attempt what he considered a gentlemanly action—besides, he wouldn’t have opened the door for Sheriff Stone. Except his mama had raised him to say “yes ma’am” and “no ma’am” and to open doors for women. And Alexis wouldn’t appreciate either.

He slid across the seat and started the motor. “Do you mind stopping by the police department before we pick up your wheels? I’d like to check on Kayla before we head into Chattanooga since this is her first solo day.”

“We had lunch together Friday,” Alexis said. “How’s she working out?”

“Really good. She’s smart—I’m trying to talk her into taking some criminal justice classes.”

“She’s definitely cool under pressure and handles herself very well. If it weren’t for her, I could’ve been dead.”

He agreed with that assessment, although Nathan believed if Kayla hadn’t happened along, Alexis would’ve taken George Smith down before they reached her house. And maybe without being shot. But he kept his thoughts to himself.

He turned onto Washington Street and parked his pickup infront of the two-story brick building across from the Russell County Courthouse.

Alexis opened her door. “I think I’ll pop in and say hello.”

Nathan led the way through the double glass doors and down the hall to the police department. They shared the building with Pearl Springs City Hall on one side and his department on the other. Nathan held the door open for Alexis. Even though he’d been police chief for four years, he never tired of seeing his name when he entered.

Kayla looked up from her computer. “Hey, boss. Checking up on me?”

“Just making sure you haven’t had any problems,” he said.

“Everything is quiet here.” She grinned when Alexis stepped around him. “Seeing you twice in one day has to be some kind of record. How does being chief deputy feel?”

“With a murder on my first day, like a ton of bricks hit me,” Alexis said. “Did you find a place to live?”

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