Page 37 of Deputy Brand Gets Her Man
“I thought so, too,” he said. “Maybe we can look into her a little more deeply.”
Was he pushing again for her to do a background check? “That would be illegal,” she said softly. She stood there facing him, about two feet between them in the parking lot. A dust devil rose like a miniature twister between them. Her heart hurt.
“No,” he said quickly. “But maybe you know of some way I could. You know, legally.”
Seriously? Was she buying this? Had he really not meant what he’d obviously meant for the second time?
She started talking just to outshout the whirlwind in her mind. It felt like that dust devil had slid right inside her head and grown into a full-blown twister. “You could go to the county seat, run through all public records bearing her name,” she said. “Maybe narrow it down by checking the year your father was here, maybe a year before and after. See if you find anything that links them.”
“I can do that. Yeah, I can do that.”
Her watch signaled her and she glanced down at it to see her alarm. “I gotta go, I’m on duty,” she said. “Before I do, do you know if there’s another Jeep like yours in town? That same rusty orange color?”
He frowned at her, and she could’ve sworn an invisible shield slammed down over his eyes, and a gulf opened between them. “Not that I know of. Why?”
“Ah, it’s the only other clue to the vandalism. Homeowner said he saw a copper-colored Jeep near the scene.”
His posture changed. He drew himself inward, his chin pulled back, and he even leaned away from her.
“So, I’m being accused again?”
“No! I know it wasn’t you. I was with you at the time.”
“Well, then what the hell is this?” He asked it in a voice that had gone louder.
Drew turned from the Jeep, where she’d returned to puppy-loving, her face an unspoken threat.
Willow held her palm downward to tell her to cool her jets. “What do you mean?” she asked softly. “I wasn’t accusing you of anyth?—”
“But somebody was. Somebody says they saw my Jeep at the scene of a crime. A few days ago somebody said they saw me smashing the drug store window. So what’s going on?”
“You think it’s connected?” Willow asked.
“I think somebody’s messing with me.”
“It could be a coincidence,” she said.
“Or it could be I’m the only ex-con in town.” He lowered his head, shaking it slow. “I guess that priceless Brand connection only goes so far.”
This had really struck a nerve with him. She felt like she’d discovered his weak spot and regretted being the one to have jabbed it. “I’m real sorry about it, either way, Jeremiah,” she said. “I’m fixin’ to look into this. If somebody’s messin’ with you, they’re about to regret it.”
She couldn’t name the emotions that crossed his face. His anger and defensiveness morphed into something else entirely. Surprise or awe. He was lookin’ at her like he couldn’t quite believe she was for real.
Well, he hadn’t been raised to trust the law, she figured.
Her radio crackled again. “I gotta go.” She headed toward her car.
He snapped out of his state, and came after her. “Wait! What do I do about the dog?”
“Just love on him and everything’ll work out,” she called over her shoulder. “Least that’s what my dad always told me.”
He came closer. She didn’t want him to try to kiss her, well, she did. Dang, she really did, but not there in front of enough locals to make it common knowledge by sundown. And he had that look in his electric blue eyes.
“You’d best get that dog home,” she said. It came out a little raspy. “He can’t be cooped up for so long. He’s a pup. There’ll be accidents.”
“Ahh…” He looked worriedly back at his Jeep where Drew and the pup were smooching. Willow got into her SUV.
“Okay, yeah, you’re right,” he said, facing her again as she closed the door. Which felt rude, so she put the window down and changed the subject.
