Page 50 of A Touch of Murder
"I love it. And we do live in one of the best areas for it." Adam thought of the many places between here and Yellowstone theycould go. He took a step closer to Barret. "Can I have another kiss?"
Barret's smile was all the answer he needed.
Leaning in, Adam pressed his lips to Barret's and ignored the visions as he held there for several seconds. When he pulled back, he smiled. "Thank you for tonight."
"Anytime. Be safe going home."
Adam waved as he got in his car. Once he'd pulled away and was out of Barret's neighborhood, he reached up and touched his lip with his gloved finger, trying to remember the last time he'd been kissed was. It had been years. Not even the guys he'd hooked up with at the bar kissed him. It had been purely sexual. He had no idea what would happen between Barret and him, but he knew without a doubt that he was looking forward to finding out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Barret set the box of donuts on his desk. "Becky sent us treats," he called to the other officers in the station. He pulled a chocolate one from the box and took a seat behind his desk as other officers rushed to get their favorites.
"If I wasn't already married I'd marry your sister just for her baking skills." Vance pulled out a cherry filled donut from the box.
"Does your wife know you feel that way?" Captain Russel asked as he found a glazed one.
"She'd probably compete with me for Becky's attention if she had the chance." Vance laughed.
Barret sighed. "No wonder my sister's still single. You guys only want her for her baking skills."
"Oh, trust me, if I was twenty years younger…" Vance winked at Barret.
"Yeah, if we were all twenty years younger, we'd all be a lot happier, and not just because of Becky and her baking." Captain Russel leaned against Barret's desk. "Anything new today?"
"Jefferson's cows got out again last night," Officer Rodgers told the captain.
"I said anything new." Captain Russel laughed. "I'll head out and talk to Jefferson later today. He hasn't paid any of the tickets we've issued. We're at the point where we have no choice but to impound the cattle next time. We'll see how he feels with impound fees and another ticket. We've given him too many breaks. Those damn cows are probably trying to escape to a better place anyway." He turned his attention back to Barret. "What about our murder case?"
Barret just stared at him.
"That good, huh?" Captain Russel sighed. "Okay then. Let's verify the truck stop employees are all aware who these two are. Other than that, we can't do much until we have a sighting."
"Officers are checking the last known addresses of the two several times a week, but according to the families, they haven't heard from either one of them in a few months." Barret was more than frustrated. He did not want to let this case go cold. "I've alerted everyone I can alert to be on the lookout, and Vance has dug into every case across the country where a woman's body has been found off the highway going back two years to make sure there's not a D.N.A match to either of our suspects. We've got nothing so far."
"I'm headed home to get some sleep. Thanks for the donut." Officer Rodgers left them.
"Sleep? What's that?" Barret debated on a second donut but decided against it.
"I know this case is getting to everyone. Trust me, I've lost sleep over it as well. We've done everything we can to find these men. All we can do now is wait and hope they're picked up somewhere." Captain Russel straightened. "I've got calls to make. Yell if anyone needs me. Tell Becky thank you."
Barret nodded, wishing there was something more he could do, but he'd made every call and hunted down every source he could to find these two. With a full day of work ahead, he finished off his coffee. "I've got to go handle that vandalism report that came in at the trail head. You want to go with?" he asked Vance.
"Sure, I might as well. Got to work off the donuts somehow. What's the report?" Vance stood.
"Jules gave it to me when I came in. I guess someone sprayed graffiti over all the trailhead signs. We need to get pictures of it and then head over to the Fish and Game officesand see if those cameras they put up in the area last year caught anything." Barret led the way outside.
"Isn't that something Fish and Game can handle?" Vance asked.
"It is, but we don't have anything better to do. They've got two men out with injuries. I told Jules when she gave me the report that we could handle it." He liked their night dispatcher. She was good about knowing what was an emergency and what could wait. She'd gotten the call at five this morning and she'd held off calling anyone to deal with it until the day shift had arrived and the sun was up so they could see what they were dealing with. "The caller said there was no one in the area and the paint appeared dry already."
"Who's injured over there?" Vance asked as they got in Barret's car.
"Brock broke his leg during that motorcycle accident, and Garret had surgery to repair his knee." Barret pulled out of the lot.
Vance reached over and turned the radio up. An old country song played as they made their way to the trailhead. "Did Becky like that necklace you got her?"
"She said she loved it, but I think Adam outdid me. She put the necklace he gave her on as soon as she got it. My gift sat in the box." Barret really wasn't jealous. He was glad Adam had found something Becky loved.
