“We need to visit Rowan. Can’t talk about this over the phone. Too many ears listening in on the conversations at Angola.”
“Can we go now?”
I checked my watch. “No, too late. They wouldn’t let us in with such short notice. Tomorrow morning at the soonest.”
Caroline fidgeted a bit and stared at the highway outside the window. “We should divide and conquer, then. I’ll take the autopsy, and you go to Angola.”
Fuck. She was right. We needed information as soon as possible, and I couldn’t be in two places at once. “Are you sure you can handle an autopsy?”
Dr. Snider finished his breakfast with gusto, downing the last of his orange juice and eyeing the half-eaten food on Caroline’s plate. He grabbed a piece of her toast. “It won’t be too bad. All the blood’s already gone.”
Caroline grimaced but straightened her back. “I’ll be fine. I’m sort of getting the hang of this whole dead body thing.”
“I don’t like it.” I tossed my napkin on the table. “You shouldn’t be going alone.”
Though we’d only been working the case together for a couple of weeks, I’d spent the entire time with her. I didn’t want to separate. Talking to Rowan about Tyler as soon as possible was imperative, but attending the autopsy to gather facts and keep an eye on Turnbull was just as important. Still, there had to be a way for me to attend the autopsy with her.
“I can handle myself, Wash. You don’t have to babysit me for the whole case.” She crossed her arms.
“It’s not that. It’s just—”
“What?” She glared at me.
I narrowed my eyes. “If you’d let me fini—”
“We need to talk to Rowan, right?” She arched an eyebrow.
“Yes, but—”
“We need to keep an eye on Turnbull, right?”
I sighed. She was crossing me. I was letting an associate cross me. I shook my head but couldn’t stifle my smile. “Yes.”
“You can’t do both at the same time, can you?”
“No.”
“You didn’t get magical powers of omnipresence last night, did you?”
“No.”
“Then it’s settled. We’re going to divide and conquer tomorrow morning.”
I gave up. She was right, so there was no point arguing. “Fine. Doc, stick to the plan. Keep it under wraps that we’ve retained you. We’ll play that card in pretrial briefing, not a second before. Got it?”
“Sure.” He speared a piece of Caroline’s bacon. “Got it.”
After Dr. Snider finished off my waffle, we paid our tab. On the way out, I pulled Caroline aside as our hungry friend excused himself to the restroom.
“Look. I know you can handle yourself.”
She opened her mouth to protest but seemed to finally hear me and changed her mind. I studied her eyes, the line of her nose, the perfect bow of her lips. The early afternoon sun played along her blond locks, giving them a golden glow.
I tipped her chin up. “But there is one thing.”
“What’s that?” Her tone was surly, but I could tell she was trying to fight off a smile.
“Most juries are educated at an eighth-grade level, on average. You would have lost them at ‘omnipresence,’”
She made a “grr” noise like a bear and dug her fingers into my ribs. I laughed and backed into the parking lot. She followed, giggling. I rushed her and wrapped her in my arms. Before I could kiss her the way I’d been dying to, Dr. Snider opened the creaking door.
I released Caroline, who gave me a sly smile. I wanted to kiss it off her face and make her breathless. But duty called.
If Dr. Snider had seen our little display, he didn’t let on. “Ready to head back to town?” He held up a to-go box. “I got a slice of pie for the road.”
I opened the door for Caroline and watched as her luscious ass slid down into the seat. I bent over and whispered in her ear, “This isn’t over, Ms. Montreat.”
She smirked up at me, challenge written in her every move. “You’re right about that, Mr. Granade.”
Chapter Eighteen
Caroline
I clasped and unclasped my hands as we rode up to the lofty heights of Luke’s office.
“It’s okay to be nervous. I can’t imagine having to give bad news like this every day.” Wash leaned against the wall next to me. His closeness and warmth assuaged some of my nerves.
“Yeah. It just sucks. Like, doing nothing wrong and then having to get hit with ‘Hey, your brother’s been sadistically murdered, and can you ID him?’ out of nowhere. Not cool.”
He shrugged. “Sometimes other people make bad decisions, and then we have to live with the aftermath.”