Page 27 of Bachelor Cop Finally Caught? (Hot off the Press! 2)

The evening had been a deliberate attempt on her part to put Dan Meadows out of her mind. Unfortunately, he had lurked at the back of her thoughts all evening, casting a definite pall over her fun. As much as she enjoyed Bo’s company, she’d been all too aware all evening that he wasn’t Dan. Which only proved that she still had a long way to go to get over him.

Dan met the mayor for breakfast at the Rainbow Café Tuesday morning. Marjorie Schaffer’s downtown diner was a popular breakfast and lunch destination, and Dan wasn’t the only one there for an early business meeting. The food was delicious, as usual, but his enjoyment of it was diminished by the mayor’s very vocal displeasure that no further progress had been made on the arson investigation, despite the most recent clue.

Dan had to remind the mayor that they didn’t even know for certain if the notebook was a clue. For all they knew it was an eccentrically artistic teenager’s interpretation of the recent, much-discussed fires. The mayor didn’t want to hear that, of course. He wanted this case closed. Immediately, if not sooner.

Called abruptly away by a cell phone summons, the mayor left with one last directive for Dan to keep working to identify the owner of that notebook. Dan managed not to retort that he didn’t need to be told how to do his job. Tempers and patience tended to run short at times like this, and everyone needed to be careful about speaking rashly. He lingered over his coffee after the mayor left, taking the time to organize his thoughts and make plans for the day.

“The mayor looked a little testy this morning.”

Dan glanced up from his coffee to give Marjorie a faint smile. “You could say that.”

She slid into the seat vacated by his breakfast companion. “So how are you holding up? I know this is a stressful time for you.”

“I’m fine. The real stress comes from wondering when—or if—this jerk is going to strike again.”

“I know you’re doing everything you can to prevent that.”

As much as he appreciated her confidence, Dan wished he shared it. He knew all too well that there was little he could do to prevent the firebug from striking again unless he first figured out who it was.

“Was it ever determined for certain whether the fire that killed poor Truman Kellogg was deliberately set?”

“No, although we’re still going on the assumption that it was. There are similarities to the other fires, even though there are also significant differences.”

He could only hope again that the notebook Polly had found would eventually provide some real clues, rather than being merely a red herring. And thinking of the notebook…

“I’d better get to work,” he said, picking up his coffee cup for one last savored sip. “Got a long list of things to do today.”

“Of course. Oh, by the way, I’m having a little get-together this weekend here in the diner after we close Saturday. Kara and Pierce are going to be visiting for the weekend, and I want to show them off a little. Sort of a celebration for Pierce’s new recording contract. Do you think you’ll be able to come?”

“I’ll try to drop in. It sounds like fun.”

She chuckled. “To be honest, I have an ulterior motive in having a social gathering this weekend—besides Kara and Pierce being here, I mean. I’m going to try my hand at matchmaking.”

“Matchmaking?” Dan said the word with the dread of a man who’d been subjected to more than his share of that particular form of torment.

Smiling serenely, she nodded. “My friend Virginia’s grandson will be in town this weekend. Remember him? Scott? The one who graduated with all those honors and went off to St. Louis to study medicine? He’s a resident at Johns-Hopkins now, very close to being a full-fledged internist.”

“I remember him. He worked for you here a couple of summers, didn’t he? He spilled a whole pitcher of orange juice down my back once.” Dan still shivered at the memory.

Marjorie laughed. “That was his first day on the job. He was such a brilliant, serious young man, but I’m afraid he didn’t have much natural talent for waiting tables.”

“And you say he’s a doctor now? Scary thought.”

“I’m told he’s a much better doctor than he was a waiter.”

“I would hope so. So, who are you hoping to fix him up with—especially since he’s only going to be in town for a weekend visit?”

Looking rather smug, Marjorie leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Lindsey.”

Dan nearly dropped his coffee cup. Recovering rapidly, he set the cup down very carefully. “Lindsey Gray?”

“Of course.” She looked quite proud of herself for the idea.

Why the hell was everyone trying to match Lindsey up with someone? “Any particular reason you want to hook Lindsey up with a medical student from Baltimore?”

“Well, she’s been wanting to make some changes in her life,” she replied as if it made perfect sense. “She’s putting the house up for sale, dating new people. Scott’s

a nice young man with a good future ahead of him. And if it did work out, I’m sure Lindsey could find a newspaper job in Baltimore. Think of the opportunities there for her.”

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