Page 59 of By the Book

“Right,” I whisper, warmth blooming in my chest. Tearing my eyes away from the rare book, I stare up at him in wonder. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure. I’ll let you have that moment to yourself, don’t want to steal your chance to get a break from everyone.” He starts to rise when I reach out and place a hand on his arm.

“Stay.” The word leaves my mouth in an instant. “I don’t need a break from you.”

Chapter 24

Tripp

“Mmm, the coffee tastes good today.”

Millie squints at me. “Are you okay?”

“Why?”

“Because there’s a likely chance this lukewarm, burnt, substitute for good coffee is from last night.”

A laugh escapes me as she lets out a huff. “Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning?”

“You’re the one acting unusual, Boss.” Millie follows me into my office, face pinched in concentration. “What did you do when you took off early yesterday?”

“Update me on things.” I change the subject, confirming her suspicions.

With exaggerated wide eyes Millie says, “You were with Ivy.”

“I might have been.” I try to sound nonchalant, but I’m far from unaffected by yesterday.

“What did you do?”

Dragging my hand along my chin, I try to decide how much to tell her. This is Millie, though. We were partners, she can read me. “We went on a date,” I admit. And damn, does it feel good to say it aloud.

“Finally! So, are you and Ivy officially together?”

“I think so,” I scowl. I assumed we were, but I guess nothing was specifically said on the subject.

“You should probably be sure about something like that.” She snatches the stress ball off my desk and gives it a squeeze.

“Alright, well like I said, update me. Any movement by Reid? And where are we at with Jackson?”

“Whatever you say,” she singsongs. “Reid was tailed to the firm then seen leaving again not long after… with boxes and looking pissed.”

“Looking pissed—was that the official term in the briefing?”

“Pretty much. Anyway, looks like he was let go. He went home for a short amount of time and came back out with a bag and took off. They followed him to the county line; he was headed south. Never did find his harbor key.”

I rub my hand along the back of my head in thought. “Maybe he just leaves town for good. He has no roots here, his pride is damaged, this could be ideal. Let’s still have patrol swing by his place to keep an eye out for his return. Watch for his vehicle around the county too.”

“Yeah, will do. Personally, I say good riddance to Reid. But this morning Jackson jumped to the top of my suspect list.”

“Why’s that?”

With a sly smile, Millie leans forward to cross her forearms on my desk. “Because a call came in this morning from Barney. A certain embittered man came in to fill out a form to replace a lost harbor key.”

“Seems like I get to have a chat with Jackson today.”

“I want to be a fly on that wall.”

I lean back and fold my hands behind my head. My eyes drop to the open file across my desk with records of his denied applications for startup funds. As much as I’d love a reason to charge Reid, Jackson is the more likely suspect.

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