Page 24 of Special Agent Anastacia

Bothered and jumpy, Ana whipped around the kitchen making coffee and beating the omelette ingredients feverishly while her mind seethed in absolute turmoil. She couldn’t believe she’d allowed Nash to get so close to her in such a short period of time. If only the silly bastard hadn’t carried her up the stairs like she weighed nothing.

All her life, she’d hated being taller and stronger than her schoolmates. The fact that she didn’t have rounded shoulders, and a persistent hunch could only be attributed to her father. He’d made a deal with her the first time he saw her stooping with her back bunched awkwardly when she was a ten-year-old.

Letting her mind wander to that incident, she remembered the serious look on his face when he’d sat her down and then perched in front of her. “Anastacia, my pet, let’s make a deal. You know how you and your mother have been bugging me to stop smoking my cigars… well, I’ll stop, but only if youpromise me something. Something that means the world to me. Something I’d give up my favorite cigars for.”

Willing to play the game, she had agreed. “What’s my end of the bargain?”

“I need you to hold your shoulders back and your head up high.”

“Excuse me?” Confused, she had argued. “But I do, Dad.”

“No, you don’t.” He’d led her in front of the mirror and pointed at her slouched position. Then he gently pushed at her back to make her stand straight.

“See. Like this. I want you to act like you’re proud of your body. Right now, you might not believe me when I tell you how fortunate you are to take after my side of the family with your height. But one day you will be very glad that you’re tall and slender.”

“Don’t think so, Dad. I hate being called Giraffe and having the other kids make fun of me. It’s - it’s humiliating.” Tears threatened and were held back by pure willpower.

Her dad’s hand affectionately rubbed her shoulder. “So… you figure that by hunching your shoulders like you’re some kind of weakling is going to make that better?”

“No-o. That’s just dumb.”

“It is dumb because the more you do it, you’ll form a habit that’s almost impossible to stop. Here’s what I want you to do. Look those idiots in the eye, don’t turn away, don’t say a word, just stare them down. They’ll be intimidated.”

“How?”

“Because they’ll think you might follow up with violence.”

Ana remembered how the shock of his reply had made her voice squeak. “You mean you want me to beat them up?”

“Doubt if it’ll come to that. Even young people sense when you’re ready to back up your aggression with force. And in my dealings with folks, they usually yield before they get hurt.”

And it hadn’t been long before she’d found out her father knew what he was talking about. From that day onward, she walked tall… and he quit smoking.

The odors from the cooking food brought her back to the present and warned her if she didn’t remove the frying pan, the omelettes would be burnt. While Ana finished setting up their meal, she went back to thinking about the man who’d rocked her world with his warm mouth and strong body.

What shocked her even more had been the new easiness in their relationship. Considering she’d never reached such relaxed behavior with the occasional partners she been forced to work with in the past, being comfortable with this fool man – the one she couldn’t seem to stop touching – frightened her silly.

There’d always been a constraint with others, no doubt put there by herself. But early on in her career, she’d learned a lesson about not letting anyone get too close. Happened with her first partner who got shot on the job, and Ana could never get over the guilt that she hadn’t given him enough protection or stopped the attack in time. From that day onward, she’d enforced a distance between her and whoever she worked with… keeping everything purely professional.

Now, having Nash beside her as they walked into the jail rocked her steady world. Jesus only knew how much she liked that he was there, but she sure as shit wouldn’t let anyone else know. Especially the cowboy himself.

And the fact that he’d found a piece of evidence they might use to expose her housebreaking culprit made her feel, at least for this mystery, good about his actions hopefully leading to a break in the case.

Dave seemed to be snoozing, his slumped body appearing exhausted. Ana hated to disturb him but had no choice. She spoke softly so as not to startle him. “Hey, Sheriff. Everything quiet?”

Like a weary old dog, he eventually shook himself awake. “Hey, Nash. Hey, Ana. Yep, maybe too quiet. It’s eerie. Didn’t get any usable prints at Sadie’s place, but we’d figured that would happen, didn’t we?”

He looked at the plastic bag in Nash’s hands. “What’s that you got there?”

Nash explained about the break-in and the fire behind the cabin before holding out the evidence. “I found this in the grass near the shed, and I’m hoping it might give us an idea as to who was out there.”

“Hmm. Could be. I’ll send it to the lab. It’s gonna take a few days.” Suddenly, the older man perked up, leaned over, and stared at the specimen. “Marlboro’s. Now where’ve I seen some of these suckers lately?”

Ana and Nash didn’t move or speak. Waiting for Dave to answer his own question, they both sensed it might be important.

“Got it!” He snapped his fingers. “There were a bunch someone had crushed in the leftover food containers at Sadie’s house. Never thought too much of it because it’s the brand she smokes.”

“But would Sadie put her cigarette out in scrap food?”

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