Page 32 of Twin Threats In Austin
“We think too much alike,” she said with a small smile.
Camden shouldn’t like that as much as he did. “Shall we head back to my truck?”
“We should probably stop by and close Kage’s front door before an animal or more tweens get inside,” she said.
“Okay.”
On the way back, Camden’s thoughts kept churning. He glanced at the time. “Victim number two should be with Sandman soon. Are you hungry? We didn’t eat much breakfast.”
“I could eat but, honestly, I’d rather swing by the Laundromat first,” she said. “Give Sandman a little time to do his work before we interrupt.”
“Good points,” he said.
“Plus, there’s no way I could eat and then go directly to the coroner’s office.”
Camden had an iron stomach. It was easy to forget not everyone did. Plus, he’d become a little too good at compartmentalizing his emotions. Stuffing them into drawers, locking them and tossing the key had been his go-to. Rochelle made him want to slow down and figure life out.
Back at the truck, they took their seats and buckled in after closing Kage’s door.
“We were inside his apartment and I didn’t see one single sign that he could be the person we’re searching for,” Rochelle said as he started the engine and then navigated out of the neighborhood.
“We cleared the whole place in the course of trying to locate him too.” He made a right-hand turn. “What sounds good to eat?”
“I should probably say something healthy like a salad or a bowl from one of the many vegetarian places in town, but Torchy’s sounds like heaven right now,” she said.
“Torchy’s it is.” Camden pulled over to check for a close location. Once he found it, he was back in the action, dodging vehicles and trying not to hit pedestrians that came out of seemingly nowhere. Austin streets were like an ant farm.
Shouldn’t students be home for Thanksgiving yet?
On second thought, they might be in the middle of exams. No wonder many appeared like they were sleepwalking. Some most likely hadn’t slept last night. University of Texas at Austin had a reputation for having a rigorous curriculum and being a party school, an odd mix to be sure.
He pulled across the street from Torchy’s, giving up on finding parking in the lot.
A quiet meal while sitting outside on the patio gave him the second wind he needed. Outdoors had a way of replenishing his soul. It was one of many reasons he worked in law enforcement and not at a desk somewhere. He understood and respected his friend Ace’s decision not to become a desk jockey.
When he glanced up, he realized Rochelle was studying him.
“What you said before was right,” she began. “Everyone in law enforcement has a story. What’s yours?”
A distraction could keep him from overthinking the case.
“The person I looked up to the most was a US Marshal long before I was a gleam in my father’s eye,” he said. “On Sunday nights after a barbecue, we’d sit around a fire, and he’d tell us stories about his time in law enforcement.”
“Why did he leave the job?”
“He missed his wife,” he said.
“That might be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” Rochelle said, dropping her gaze. Those thick, long lashes of hers hooded her hazel eyes.
“They’re something when they’re together,” he said with a smile, unsure he would ever find a love like that in his life. He hadn’t in thirty-five years. Was he getting too old for young love?“Grandpa Lor didn’t romanticize the job, but I could tell he had a healthy respect for his profession.”
“Your grandmother didn’t like him working in a dangerous job?” she asked. It could be difficult to find someone who was willing to be in a relationship with a person who didn’t make it home for dinner every night. Or, if a case really went south, ever.
“It was more like he wanted to be with her, so they saved enough money to buy land and then started the business together,” he explained. “Grandma Lacey did most of the heavy lifting around the place for years before Grandpa Lor was able to leave the job. He had a foreman he trusted, so that helped with the more physical aspects of horse ranching.”
“Sounds like they figured it all out,” she said.
“All except for their sons,” he said. “My father was a good person who died young. My uncle was a jerk who walked out on his kids after his wife died following childbirth.”
