Undercover Hunter(113)
“He’ll probably want to come back in the summer, too,” DeeJay said. “For a different look. Is that okay?”
Calvin’s hesitation was so infinitesimal that Cade nearly missed it.
“Of course,” Calvin said finally. “So...tomorrow morning? Sunrise?”
“Just a little before,” DeeJay said.
“That’s great. Cade said you were about to go out, so I should be on my way. A few errands to run before work.”
He stood, politely shook their hands, thanked them for the coffee, then left. They watched from the window as he disappeared down the street.
“Why didn’t he just park out front?” DeeJay wondered.
“No obvious connection with us for the neighbors to remember if we disappear.”
Her head pivoted sharply toward him. “You think it’s him.”
“I made up my mind when I saw him. He looks like one of his own victims. And now we’d better go and let Gage know.”
“Calvin might see us.”
“Better that he sees us popping in there and a few other places than that he sees another deputy stop here.”
Her brows lifted. “You think he saw Micah?”
“I don’t see how he could have missed him.”
* * *
Gage asked them to wait a couple of hours as he was involved in another case. Cade didn’t tell him much on the phone, which left DeeJay wondering if things could have moved faster.
“You should have told him,” she said irritably.
“What exactly? At this point, we’ve got no case against Calvin Sweet. Gage is tied up with something and, anyway, I don’t want to give him extra time to come up with a million objections.”
Still she fumed. And finally she realized what bothered her. “You should have talked to me before you called Gage.” Her truculence was unmistakable and deserved exactly the response it got.
“Did I step on those toes of yours?”
Her temper flared. “Yes, you did. We’re partners, right? I should have some say on how things are handled.”
“You’ve had plenty of say.” Now he was looking irritated. “What is it with you, DeeJay? Do I have to walk on eggshells every single minute with you? Like you haven’t done some stuff on your own?”
“Eggshells?”
“Eggshells,” he repeated. “I’ve been walking on them since we met.”
“So this nice guy isn’t the real you?” She threw up a hand. “Fine. Have it all your way. I’m used to that.”
“You could fool me.”
They glared at each other, but DeeJay realized something else was working beneath her anger. Standing there almost toe to toe with Cade, she knew she was about to break something. The way she had with other guys she had dated. Smashing every potentially good thing because...because she couldn’t trust a guy. Just simply couldn’t. Sudden, unexpected self-understanding hit her in the gut. In a flash, she saw herself, and what she saw didn’t make her proud or happy.