Линси Сэндс - Meant to Be Immortal [calibre]

“Not necessary,” she assured him as she pushed the front door of the station open and paused to glance around, looking for cars in the parking lot, or anyone who might be watching. She didn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone there.

“Keep your head down so no one can see your face,” she instructed as she started forward again, allowing him out of the building.

“You must really hate your names,” Mac commented as he followed her to the car.

CJ looked over her shoulder to be sure he had his head down, but didn’t acknowledge his words. She merely took his elbow to hurry him along to the car. She hit the button on her key fob to unlock it as they approached, and then opened the front passenger door, scanned the empty parking lot as she waited for him to get in, and then closed it for him once he was seated before hurrying around to the driver’s side.

“Well, this is strange,” Mac commented as she slid behind the wheel and pulled her own door closed.

“What is?” she asked absently, her eyes dancing around the parking lot as she buckled up and started the engine.

“You seeing me into the car,” he explained. “I am usually the one who does that when with a lady.”

“I’m not a lady. I’m your bodyguard,” CJ reminded him grimly as she shifted gears and backed out of the parking spot. “Do up your seat belt and keep your head down.”

He did as instructed, and then remained silent as she steered them out of the parking lot and onto the road. Much to her surprise, he stayed silent even after that as she divided her attention between driving and watching the rearview mirror for anyone who might be following them. This late at night, or early in the morning as the case may be, there weren’t a lot of people out driving around, and no one seemed to be following them. Still, CJ drove twice around the block where the bed-and-breakfast was to make sure they didn’t have a tail before pulling into the driveway and steering her car around to the small parking area behind the old Victorian house.

“I feel bad about having to wake up Millie at this hour to rent a room,” Mac murmured as they got out and headed for the back door of the house.

“Yeah,” CJ breathed, a frown taking over her face. Millie Vesper was a widow in her late sixties whose children had grown up and moved to the city, leaving her alone in the town where she’d grown up, married, and raised her own family. Apparently, her children had wanted to sell her house and move her to a seniors’ home in the city to be close to them, but Millie had refused and had turned her home into a bed-and-breakfast instead. CJ suspected the woman had done it for company rather than out of any need for money. The woman had chatted away nonstop to her every chance she’d got. CJ had only arrived a couple of hours before she’d headed to the station and had spent most of that time listening to the chatty, but dear, lady tell her about the town of Sandford and its inhabitants. CJ now had the lowdown on who was sleeping with whom, and who wasn’t getting along in their marriage. At least she knew the names of the troubled and misbehaving individuals, but since she didn’t know anyone in this town, she didn’t have faces to put with them.

CJ had listened with polite interest to what had amounted to a soap opera of the goings-on in town, but it wasn’t until she was driving to her appointment at the police station that she’d considered that she should maybe ask Mrs. Vesper about the people there, and Jefferson in particular. CJ suspected the woman would have an earful to tell her, but wasn’t sure if that would be a good thing or not. She was supposed to investigate objectively, and she worried Mrs. Vesper’s bias might influence her.

“A light just came on inside.”

CJ followed Mac’s gaze to a window at the back of the house, and noted the light now shining through the curtains. The sound of the car engine must have woken the old lady, CJ supposed, but it could only be a good thing. It meant they wouldn’t have to knock on her door in the middle of the night.

“Goodness! Aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes!”

CJ glanced around with surprise at that greeting as she ushered Mac into the house. They hadn’t had to knock. Mrs. Vesper had left the door unlocked. Spotting the lady now rushing down the hall toward them in a terry cloth robe, CJ offered a smile and pushed the door closed, then locked it as she murmured, “I’m sorry if we woke you up, Mrs. Vesper.”

“Nonsense, who could sleep with all the goings-on tonight?” she said promptly, her footsteps taking her straight to Mac, who she grasped by the hands and then dragged in for a hug. “You poor dear boy. I heard about the fire and have been worrying about you.”

“I am fine, Millie,” Mac said reassuringly as he awkwardly returned the woman’s embrace. “I am afraid your friend’s house and my things are a loss, but I am well.”

“And that’s all that matters,” Mrs. Vesper assured him, pulling back to meet his gaze straight on as she said it. She then clucked and added, “But I am sorry about your things. And you’d just moved in too.” She shook her head and clucked some more, then pulled Mac in for another hug before leaning back to take in the overly large uniform he was wearing. “The captain’s?”

“Yes,” Mac admitted with distaste as he removed the captain’s hat. “I had best take it off so it doesn’t get wrinkled or dirty.”

“Take it off?” Mrs. Vesper asked with amazement, and then breathed an understanding “Oh” when he next shrugged out of the jacket and dress pants, revealing his T-shirt and pajama bottoms underneath. As he folded the dress uniform and set it on the hall table next to the hat, Mrs. Vesper turned toward the kitchen. “Well now, you two could probably do with some nice soothing tea, and maybe some cookies.”

She bustled off before either of them could protest.

“Looks like we’re having tea and cookies,” Mac said softly when CJ didn’t immediately follow.

Giving up any hope of thinking up an excuse to avoid it, CJ nodded and headed after the older lady with a sigh.

“Now,” Mrs. Vesper said as she began to pour tea into their cups a few minutes later. “You’ll have to tell me what happened, dears, because the grapevine was all a-tangle tonight. First Jeannie called saying the house was on fire and you were dead,” she said with a glance to Mac. Her gaze then switched to CJ and she added, “And then Joan called saying she’d heard from Amelia that you were kind enough to help out at the fire since Charles was without a detective.” Her eyes slid back to Mac. “But that you weren’t actually dead yet. You were boiled alive in a tub of water in the basement, but still breathing when you left the house in the ambulance. They didn’t expect you to survive long enough to make it to the hospital though.”

She didn’t wait for a response, but went on. “And then Margaret called and said John—that’s her husband,” she explained. “He’s a volunteer fireman and went out to help at the fire.” When they both nodded their understanding, she continued, “Margaret said John said you were fine. You were in a tub of water, but the firemen got you out of the house in time and you didn’t even have to go to the hospital to be checked over. That you’d left with CJ and little Michael Simpson to go to the police station.”

CJ had to cough to cover the burst of laughter that tried to slip out of her mouth at the mention of little Michael Simpson . Mrs. Vesper made it sound like the man was four years old when he was about twenty-eight or so, tall, and rather well put together. Though not as well put together as Mac, she admitted to herself, mentally comparing the two.