Page 25 of Bachelor Cop Finally Caught? (Hot off the Press! 2)

Dan nodded in satisfaction. There wasn’t much he could do if someone did talk, of course, but he would certainly make his displeasure known. He made sure folks around here were almost as wary of his bark as his bite. That made it a bit easier to keep order in his jurisdiction.

“I don’t suppose you’re going to throw me any news tidbits,” Riley suggested.

“Nope.”

The reporter nodded as if he’d expected that answer all along. “Okay. So you want to get something to eat? I’m starving.”

It wouldn’t be the first time the two bachelors had shared a meal, but Dan couldn’t help being suspicious about the timing of this seemingly impulsive invitation. Was Riley hoping he would let something slip during the meal about the investigation? True, Riley wasn’t as obsessive or as persistent about his career as Lindsey, but he was still a reporter, for the time being. Dan had good reason to be wary of the profession in general.

He could still picture in painful detail the headlines that had appeared in newspapers all over the state when his ex-wife had been arrested for embezzling money—along with a co-worker with whom she’d been having an affair—from a large insurance company in a neighboring town. The wire services had picked up the story of the police chief’s wife who’d broken the law—and had gleefully quoted her bitter comments about her “distant, workaholic husband” and his “small-town-cop salary and mentality.”

She hadn’t minded using his small-town-cop’s salary to make restitution to her employer and keep her faithless butt out of jail, of course.

He shook his head in self-disgust, wondering what had made those ugly memories suddenly resurface. He thought he’d been doing a better job, lately, of keeping them submerged. “Sure, Riley. Let’s get something to eat. But no talking business tonight, okay?”

“Suits me. How about Kelly’s?”

Kelly’s was the snack bar at the local bowling alley. Dan was a bit surprised by Riley’s choice, but not opposed. Kelly’s was known for serving the best chili cheese fries in the area. So, okay, he’d have to eat salads for a few days. It would be worth it. “Kelly’s is fine.”

Even on a Monday night the bowling alley was doing a brisk business, Dan noted when he turned into the parking lot. It wasn’t as if there was much choice of entertainment in these parts.

Not for the first time, he found himself wondering where Lindsey was going for her “date” that evening. And who she was seeing.

Not that it was any of his business, of course, he reminded himself sternly. He just couldn’t help being curious.

Fifteen minutes later he sat across a small booth from Riley, behind a heaping plate of chili cheese fries and a large cola. The bowling alley was noisy, of course, but it was a cheerful racket of laughter, conversation and crashing wooden pins. Dan could feel his mood lifting a little. After a long and thoroughly frustrating day, junk food and mindless relaxation was exactly what he needed.

“So how’s it been going—outside of work, of course?” Riley asked around a mouthful of food.

Dan shrugged. “You know me—there’s not much going on at all outside of work.”

Riley shook his head in disgust. “You need a life, Dan-o.”

“I tried that once—I wasn’t very good at it.” The remark was intended as a joke, but Dan could tell it had fallen sadly flat.

“You and Lindsey.” Riley shook his head. “She was just as defensive when I told her she needed a life outside of work.”

“You said that to Lindsey?” Dan pushed fries around on his plate with his plastic fork as he asked the question, hoping to look casual about it.

“Yeah. She’s been a bit down lately. Sort of at loose ends since her dad died a couple months ago. She told me she’s getting restless for changes, which is why she’s talking to Don Pettit about putting her house on the market.”

Dan hadn’t realized Lindsey had already gone from thinking about selling her house to actually talking to a real estate agent. “So the house is up for sale?”

“I assume it is. But in the meantime, she’s trying to cheer herself up by changing her routine here. You know, spending less time at the paper, taking more time for herself. Seeing new people.”

“New people?” Dan repeated, thinking about Lindsey’s date that evening. Never being the type to indulge in idle gossip, he felt vaguely uncomfortable with this conversation—but it was Riley who’d brought up the subject, he reminded himself.

“Well, maybe not new—that’s pretty hard to accomplish around here. But different, anyway.” He nodded to some point behind Dan. “Take tonight, for example.”

Dan felt an odd chill whisper down the open neck of his shirt. “Tonight?” he repeated, resisting a sudden impulse to look around.

“Yeah. Lindsey’s over there bowling with Bo Jeffries. You know him, don’t you? He’s part owner of that Western supply store in Gibsonville. I did an interview with him a year or so ago about his rodeo sideline. Interesting guy.”

Dan remembered Bo. The cocky young cowboy who’d all but fallen down the front of Lindsey’s dress at Gaylord’s. It took all his willpower to keep from turning to see if she was wearing something equally revealing this evening. “Did you know Lindsey was going to be here this evening?” he asked Riley instead.

Riley glanced up from his food, an ingenuous expression on his face. “She might have mentioned it this afternoon. That’s probably what reminded me of how much I like Kelly’s chili cheese fries. Why?”

Dan shrugged. “I wouldn’t want her to think I’m checking up on her or anything.”

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