David glances in, then gives a low groan. "Shit. It's Harris again. Remember what I said, Anna, tell him you're about ready to sue for harassment."
I leave everyone on the deck and go inside. "What is it now?" I ask.
He's looking through the slider to the group outside. "Good. I see Daniel Frey is here. I have some questions for him."
"How did you know he'd be here?"
But even as I ask the question, I can guess the answer and the idea of a harassment suit becomes more appealing.
"You're having me watched?"
He holds up his hands. "All legal and aboveboard. After all, we're investigating two open cases and you admit you and Frey were around for both."
John-John bounds in and runs up to me. "Anna, Anna-come back out, the birds are catching fish right out of the air."
Harris bends down. "And who is this?"
I have to fight the impulse to physically place my body between Harris and John-John. Instead, I do the next best thing. I pick him up. "John-John, this is Lieutenant Harris. He's a policeman. Lieutenant Harris, this is Daniel Frey's son."
Harris looks surprised. I guess the fact that Frey has a son slipped his mind. I set John-John down and turn him back toward the deck. "Go get your daddy, will you, John-John, and ask David to come here a minute?"
When he's scampered off, I direct my fury to Harris. "I'm going to ask David and Tracey to take John-John for ice cream. Don't you ask a single question until they're gone, do you understand?"
Harris returns my glare but does as I ask. I tell David what's going on and he and Tracey leave to take a giggling John-John to the ice cream shop at Seaport Village. Then Frey and I face Harris.
"Does he know why I'm here?" Harris asks, jerking a thumb at Frey.
"He does," Frey answers, and I'm suddenly glad I took the time last night to fill him in. "So if you have questions for me, ask them."
Harris plops himself down on David's desk chair. I take my own. Frey pulls the visitor's chair to my side of the desk.
"Judith Williams," Harris begins. "What do you know about her?"
"Nothing." Frey leans back in his chair. "Anna and I ran into her in Monument Valley. Anna introduced us. It was the first time I'd ever seen her."
"So you didn't know her personally?"
"No. Should I have?"
"What were you doing in Monument Valley?"
I wonder how Frey will answer but he doesn't even hesitate before telling his story. "Anna and I went to visit my son. He lived on the Navajo reservation with his mother. While we were there, John-John's mother was killed in an accident. I stayed on to care for him. Anna came home."
Harris' eyebrows jump. "Another accident?" He makes a show of taking a notebook from his pocket and scribbling a few words.
I shake my head. Our friend, Kayani, will be getting another call, I'm sure. Harris' next words confirm my suspicions.
"While you were both there something else happened, too. Judith Williams went missing. I understand you were questioned about her disappearance by an Officer Kayani of the Navajo police."
Frey nods. "I was. Briefly. But since I couldn't help with the investigation, Officer Kayani didn't question me again."
Harris shifts in his chair. "What about Warren Williams?"
"What about him?"
"You knew him."
"Not well. Met him once or twice through Anna."
"His body was found outside of Palm Springs. You and Anna had been at the Palm Springs home of Anna's boyfriend, Lance Turner, at the very same time. In fact, according to our reports, Williams was killed coming back to San Diego just hours after you two left to come home."
Frey's expression remains neutral, betraying neither interest nor surprise at the revelation.
His detachment seems to trip Harris' temper. "So you and Anna are in the vicinity of two murders at two different locations and times, know the victims and are alibi witnesses for each other. Is that about it?"
At that, Frey registers shock. "Do we need alibis, Detective?" he asks.
Harris lumbers to his feet. "You two have it all figured out, don't you?" He shakes his head at us, then his eyes widen as they settle on the diamond ring on my left hand. He looks from the ring to Frey and shakes his head again.
"Better be careful with this one," he says. "Her track record with men is lousy."
CHAPTER 6
WE WAIT FOR HARRIS TO CLOSE THE DOOR BEHIND him before I explode. "I don't think he's ever going to let go of this."
Frey's expression remains cool and undisturbed. "What can he do? He has no evidence to link us to either crime. He thinks by pushing he's going to get us to crack. He doesn't know who he's dealing with."
"Or what he's dealing with," I growl. "But I want you to know that if it comes down to it, and somehow he finds out it was you who shot Judith Williams, I'm going to take the blame. I'll confess. I won't have you punished for something that was my fault."
Frey smiles one of those cat-and-canary smiles that really means, I'd never let you do that. But on this, I would insist. Frey shot Judith Williams because I told him to. It was a complicated situation and she was a rogue vampire, but he shot her at my insistence nonetheless.
Frey catches up my hand. "Let's go get John-John, shall we? Enjoy this beautiful day?"
I call David and tell him to wait at the ice cream shop, that we're on our way. I lock the office door and we stroll hand in hand down the boardwalk to Seaport Village. Soon, I feel my irritation dissolve like snow in sunshine.
Frey has my right hand, the one where Sani's ring now sits after being displaced by the brilliant diamond that I can't keep my eyes off.
Frey catches me glancing down for the tenth time and laughs, squeezing my hand. "So you like it? It's not too old-fashioned?"
"God, no, it's gorgeous." The words pop out before I can censor the reply. After all, I am Anna Strong. Vampire. Bad ass. Getting sentimental over an engagement ring is out of character. But it's so beautiful. My eyes seek Frey's. "You've made me happier than I thought possible. I almost feel human again."
He drops my hand and puts an arm around my shoulders. "You are human, Anna. More human than ninety percent of the mortals I know. You just happen to have another aspect to your nature. It's a big one. But it's only one part." He holds up my left hand and lets the sun play on the ring, sending sparks of rainbow light dancing. "You're like this diamond. It takes all the facets of this ring to make it brilliant. It takes all the facets of your nature to make you who you are."
I've never been a sappy romance-novel type of gal, but I swear, Frey may turn me into one. We've known each other from the very beginning of my existence as a vampire. Has he always felt this way about me?
Frey tugs on a strand of my hair. "Too much? What are you thinking?"
I pull him over to guardrail, out of the way of other boardwalk strollers. I pull his head down and wrap my arms around his neck. "I'm thinking I've wasted too much fucking time." And then I kiss him, putting all I am, all I hope to be for him and all I promise our life together will be into that kiss.
I must have done a good job because the way he kisses me back makes my face flush, my blood heat and my toes curl.
* * *
DAVID, TRACEY AND JOHN-JOHN ARE SITTING ON A bench watching a mime, big double-dip cones melting in the bright spring sunshine. John-John spies us and thrusts his cone out toward Frey.
"Want some, Azhé'é?" he asks.
Frey leans his head down and takes a lick. "Good stuff."
David looks over his head at Frey and me. "How'd it go?"
Tracey rises from the bench, digs a hand into her pocket and pulls out a dollar. "Why don't you put that in the mime's tip jar?" she tells John-John.
He happily complies. While he's gone, Tracey says, "I'll take him to see that clown over there. Give you three a chance to talk."
David gives her cheek a kiss. "Thanks, Trace."
John-John bounces back and he and Tracey leave to visit the clown making balloon animals farther down the boardwalk.
David moves over so Frey and I can take a seat. "What did Harris harangue you about this time?"
"The same," I reply. "Warren Williams' death. Judith Williams' disappearance. Things Frey and I know nothing about."
I wonder how Frey feels about the easy lies that spew from my mouth. At the same time, lying to mortals is what our lives as supernaturals are all about. I know he understands that.
Frey has his arm around my shoulders again and he squeezes. "Harris has two major open cases that he can't close. It's no wonder he's grasping at straws."
David is like me-not so generous in his appreciation of Harris' predicament. "I told you, Anna, you should file a harassment suit against him. He has no right to keep bothering you."
"Well," Frey says. "Maybe this is the end of it."
David takes my left hand and holds the ring so he can examine it. "This is one beautiful ring. You've set the bar high for the rest of us bachelors."
"Are you thinking of asking Tracey-?" I stop in mid-sentence, remembering what David said yesterday, remembering that Gloria may still be in the picture.