DeeJay shook her head. “I’m sure it will all be solved. No, we’re here to get to know the town a bit and pump up how this could be a great resort.”
“Good,” said Hank, pushing back from the table. “This place has suffered enough since the semiconductor plant closed. We need more jobs and a better economy.” Then he flashed a smile. “We’re friendly folk here. Usually.”
DeeJay smiled. “I’ll try to keep that in mind. That Mavis at the diner is something else.”
“Wait till you meet her mother, Maude. Mavis is still batting in the farm team.”
* * *
They left the house a short while later with tablet computers in cases that also allowed them to carry small paper notebooks, pens and business cards. Handy little designs, suggesting they were serious writers. Also serious cops, but image was everything.
“The diner,” said Cade. “I’ll call Gage from there and find out when he can see us.”
DeeJay climbed into her side of the car. She closed the door and waited until he had the engine running. “I hate being unarmed,” she remarked.
He glanced at her. “Are you going to tell me you couldn’t turn almost anything into a weapon?”
“Can you?”
“I’ve had to get inventive a few times.”
“Me, too,” she admitted. “But it still feels odd to be on the job without my service piece.”
“Yeah.” He pulled away from the curb and started down a street that was finally beginning to show some pavement. “Must be warming up. So if you don’t mind me asking...?”
“Depends,” she answered shortly.
Here came the bristles again. He decided to ignore them. “Why Wyoming? I hear you were with some big MP unit in investigations. Most of the kinds of cases we get out here will probably bore you to tears.”
“I’m not bored right now,” she pointed out. “And I’m not an adrenaline junky. What about you? Are you bored? Why didn’t you stay in Denver? At least I heard it was Denver.”
She had turned it right back on him. She was as quick as she was evasive. Part of him was amused, and part of him argued that they had to find some trust to stand on if they were going to get through this. Trust in one’s partner was essential.
Time to take the bull by the horns. “Look, we’ve got to work together. That means we have to be able to trust each other. You don’t have to like me. I don’t have to like you, but damn it, DeeJay, we’ve got to find some ground to meet on apart from the case. You have to believe I have your back and vice versa.”
“Do you?”
Her answer made Cade angry. So that’s how it was going to be. Wouldn’t help anything, but they’d have to work around it. Then, just as they parked in front of the diner, she spoke again.
“My last commanding officer screwed me out of my career.”
He froze. “Why?”
“Because I insisted on pushing a sensitive rape investigation. My performance report reflected my inability to follow orders. By the time he got done, I was lucky to resign honorably.” Then she climbed out of the car and marched into the diner.