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Meg shook her head. “No. I’m impressed that you made it through two hours with the woman and didn’t ask her to sign your arm.”
“Or ask her for a pass for tonight’s concert. Enrique would have fired me on the spot. Bothering the celebrities is the best way to lose your job.” Penny tapped her lip with a finger. “But it might have been worth it for front-row seats to see Joshua Ripley perform.”
“I’d prefer an Eagles concert any day.”
Penny grinned. “Well, sure, but he’s here, and they’re not.”
Meg reached for some popcorn. “So, do you like working with Enrique?”
“He can be a ballbuster, but he’s protecting the privacy of the residents. Once you get his motives, he’s pretty easy.”
“I guess he’s like Eric Longwood. In charge of everything, so has to run a tight ship.”
“Exactly. I like Enrique. He’s not bad on the eyes, either.” Pen’s attention fell on the cactus blooms. “I can’t believe that by morning, these beautiful flowers will be withered and gone.”
Meg got up from her chair to touch one silky flower petal. This moment wouldn’t come again for another year—or longer. Cupping the bloom with a hand, she bent to inhale the intoxicating fragrance, her hair falling about her shoulders.
Pen clicked another photo of her. “That’s a good one.”
Meg took the camera. “Go ahead, Pen. Strike a pose. Let’s prove to your spa friends that you really saw a Queen of the Night in bloom.”
Pen’s eyes lit up. “Great idea.” While she angled herself by the cactus blooms, careful not to get too close to the spines, she said, “I saw Mitchell Blake talking with Enrique by the pool this afternoon. Are you guys coming back to the spa to investigate?”
“Butler is insisting we retrace our steps, but I don’t think Mitchell was there because of the case. More likely a disgruntled resident with a complaint.” Meg snapped a profile shot of Pen sniffing the bloom. “Okay, Pen. Look at the camera. Big smile.”
Pen took the camera Meg returned to her and checked out the photo in the viewer. “I know Enrique works with the police department to keep security tight at the Quarry, but Mitchell looked annoyed.”
“Mitchell and I argued this morning, but that had nothing to do with the spa.”
Pen chuckled. “Well, we all know what he thinks of rock stars. The Ripleys have been having some pretty wild parties at their house. I think some of their neighbors were complaining.”
Meg could just imagine Mitchell’s irritation at needing to placate some snooty resident because their neighbor’s music was too loud. “Enrique usually goes straight to Mitchell. The spa likes to get the big guns in the department to deal with their own breed of riffraff.”
Meg inhaled a deep breath at the thought of Tico Butler. Funny how he popped into her mind with the mention of riffraff. Two more blossoms opened, filling the air with their essence. She closed her eyes, letting the scent of the flower embed itself in her mind. She wanted to discuss Butler with her best friend and not get agitated all over again because he, like the flower, would soon be gone.
Pen must have sensed her agitation. “So, talk. Let me hear what’s bothering you.”
Meg shook her head. “Butler was pretty clear in letting me know my father wants me off the case.”
“What about Butler? Does he want you off?”
Meg shrugged. “Oddly enough, I get the feeling he wants to work with me and the team, though I haven’t missed his veiled threats.”
“Threats?”
“That he’s not going anywhere since Dad hired him. And that either I work with him or he’ll follow Dad’s wishes and take me off the case.”
Pen shook her head. “It’s awful that Don Francisco lost confidence.”
Meg released a long breath. “I wouldn’t have minded Dad bringing in an expert, except for the way he did it. He and Mom are scheming and actually want me to stop doing undercover work.”
“Like they could make you stop?”
Meg sighed. “They’d simply force me to move to another city. They want me to find a guy and settle down. I’m not meant to stay home, marry and have a passel of babies.”
“Ever?”
Meg laughed at the concern in her friend’s face. “You know I’m not the marrying type.”
Pen shook her head in amazement. “You’ve said that for years, but I can’t believe it. Nothing would make me happier.”
“Then you get married and have babies.”
“That’s what I mean. Nothing would make me happier.”
Meg grinned. “I know. You’ve told me that for years, too.”
“Now all I need is to find someone worth marrying.”
Meg turned her attention back to the blossoms. “Happy hunting, my friend.”
“Is your detective Butler a handsome man?”
“He’s not my detective Butler.”
Pen waved a dismissing hand. “You know what I mean.”
Was Butler handsome? Meg mused as she realized the first flower had opened completely. “He’s not stud-handsome like in the GQ magazine sort of way. But sexy? Yeah. He has an imposing presence.”
Grinning, Penny raised a brow. “How imposing?”
“Hmm. Oh, I don’t know. Like no woman has been able to tame him yet. He’s half Judumi and looks Native American. About fortyish. He’s had a tough life. His face is strong and angular, but the stress lines around his mouth go all soft when he smiles, and his eyes get a mischievous look.”
“Eye color?”
“Brown. Almost black. Expressive.” She thought about it. “I’d go so far as to say soulful.”
“Hair?”
“Long and black. Ponytail.”
She had Penny’s attention. “And his body?”
Despite her anger earlier tonight, Meg hadn’t missed how snugly Butler’s jeans fit his muscled thighs while seated on her parents’ veranda, or how his denim shirt, opened just enough at the neck, stretched across his chest, or how his lean, strong hands looked as if they knew the power of touch.
And tonight. With the rattlesnake tattoo circling across his tanned forearm. The way he’d watched her with those dark eyes while toying with his cigar. Then when he’d saved her from losing her balance, she found herself breathing deep to get enough of the fresh-soap scent of his skin beneath the cigar smoke.
Meg blew out a long breath. Not good to indulge such thoughts, and Pen’s grin irritated her. “I’ve been so busy arguing with him that I really haven’t noticed his body.”
“After the blow-by-blow description you just gave me on his looks, you expect me to believe that?” Pen narrowed her eyes. “Come on now. It’s me you’re talking to here, kiddo.”
“Okay. So he has a hot body and a wicked rattlesnake tattoo on his right forearm. But believe me. Tico Butler holds no appeal to me.”
Penny used her glass to shield her grin. “Sure. I can tell you mean every word.” She chuckled. “Wish I could be a fly on the wall for your team meeting tomorrow morning.”
It’s in your best interest to be nice to me.
Butler’s words invaded Meg’s mind. He’d said them playfully, but she’d been able to tell he was serious. “My last words to him were an invitation to rot in hell.”
Pen practically choked on her wine. “You’re kidding!”
“No. Clearly my anger is doing nothing but causing trouble between us. I’ve got to keep a level head when around that man.”
“Good idea.” Pen pulled Bruno into her lap to keep him from licking her ankles. “Maybe you can call a truce or something.”
“He said something about donuts. Maybe I’ll bring that New York bozo a box of his own tomorrow.” She let a dangerous grin spread across her face. Oh, she could play so nice that Butler would never see the precinct door hitting him in the butt on his way out of town. “Think donuts for a New York cop would work as a peace offering?”
CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_ef50e1be-9314-5ae0-b49a-1b82fecb407a)
MEG MOVED A bit more slowly than usual on the treadmill at the gym this morning. She and Penny had finished that bottle of wine last night. She didn’t drink often, but the combination of the blooms, the scented air and the wine had worked wonders on calming her after the insanity of the day.
Now she was paying for the indulgence. She usually ran on the treadmill. This morning, jogging made for an easier pace, but she set the timer for an extra twenty minutes to make up for lack of speed.
In two hours she’d be face-to-face with Butler at the team meeting. God only knew what direction the investigation would take. She’d spent part of yesterday rehashing the notes on the people interviewed who’d last seen the young mother and two teens. There had to be a lead somewhere, though she still couldn’t find it. She wondered what Butler would suggest they do when there were no clues, and nothing but miles of barren desert filled with caves, nooks and crannies in the hills surrounding the town.
On the other side of the gym, Penny traveled from one weight machine to the other on the cross-training circuit, her usual routine. Meg would do the same after she finished her cardio segment. The girls went to the gym together but worked out separately. Penny had a longer commute than Meg, so they’d decided they could forgo gossip for efficiency. They had plenty of time to talk at home.
It felt good to be in motion. Meg closed her eyes, concentrating on her movements. The perspiration rising on her skin felt good. Cleansing. She’d pulled her hair into a knot on her head; a sweatband circled her forehead. The new running shoes she’d purchased felt like clouds on her feet. She reached for her water bottle to take another swig and stopped with her hand in midair.
Penny had just gotten off one of the machines and was chatting up none other than Tico Butler, looking particularly buff in a blue T-shirt and baggy gray gym shorts. His hair, caught in the usual ponytail, gleamed under the overhead lights. He’d fastened his attention on Penny with that intensity Meg was coming to recognize as Butler’s style. As a former object of his scrutiny, she knew it could be either disquieting or comforting, depending on his intent. Penny must have been feeling his welcoming side. By the look on her face she was flirting, big-time.
Shit!
Pen’s focus moved from Tico’s face to the tattoo on his right forearm. The momentary widening of Pen’s eyes and her quick glance at Meg betrayed that she’d realized who he was. Butler followed Pen’s gaze, saw Meg and gave her a curt two-finger salute.
Ignoring him, she continued to drink water, her insides heating up. From Pen’s gestures, it was easy to tell that Pen was explaining her relationship to Meg. Tico nodded, smiled at her roommate and moved on to one of the other machines.
Wiping her mouth, Meg acknowledged that the man took his physical well-being seriously—his honed physique was a dead giveaway. Any good investigator active in the field would. Darn it all if now her gaze didn’t wander in Butler’s direction over and over. The man was clearly familiar with the equipment; his bulging biceps responded to the repetitive motion as he exercised. Nice. Angry at her gut reaction, she punched the buttons on the treadmill, increasing the speed.
A major run ought to distract her.
Ten minutes later, sweating buckets, Meg slowed the treadmill for the cooldown. She glanced across the room. Butler, seated at an ab cruncher, blatantly watched her with admiration on his face. Penny had finished her circuit and, bless her heart, headed toward Meg, blissfully distracting her from the urge to flash Butler a rude hand gesture. So much for last night’s decision to be nice.
Penny jerked a thumb in Butler’s direction. “Look who I just met.”
Meg slanted her an impatient glance. “You mean, hit on?”
Unapologetic, Penny fanned herself. “A new face. A new possibility. Sorry, Meggie, but he is hot!”
When Meg glared at her, Penny laughed. “Twenty more minutes before we go?”
Meg peered over Penny’s shoulder. Butler concentrated on his crunches. She refused to start her routine on the circuit with him nearby. “I can leave now.”
“Oh, don’t be a spoilsport. I told him we’re roommates.”
“Not best friends?”
A devilish grin tugged on Pen’s lips. “He might not like me if he knows how close we are.”
Meg swatted Pen’s arm. “Traitor!”
“No way! Desperate.”
Meg laughed. Pen was stunning with her dancer’s body, glowing skin and bright green eyes set against hair mussed just enough to look like sex and fun rolled into one. “Prospecting is more like it. Guys usually don’t know what hit them when they meet you.”
“So bring ’em on!”
Meg stopped the treadmill, taking a moment to blot her face with a hand towel. “Butler isn’t going to be in Adobe Creek long. Don’t waste your time.”
Pen stole a glance in his direction. “I think you should heed Detective Butler’s suggestion and work very, very closely with him, Meg.” She tapped her friend’s hand with a perfectly manicured finger. “A bit of advice from someone who cares.”
* * *
BOX IN HAND of a dozen homemade donuts from the coolest little bakery he’d ever seen, Tico barged into the conference room to find everyone present except Eric Longwood. The guys grinned at the sight of the pure white box with the red bow.
Not Meg.
She looked as sexy as ever in a black V-neck shirt beneath her gray suit. That alone was enough to make him think one more time that he’d love to see her perched on the back of his Harley.
But her glare ruined any fantasy of the kind. He saw why when his attention fell on an identical box of donuts already opened and half empty on the table in front of her.
Tico laughed. “Hey, I said I’d bring the donuts.”
Meg shrugged. “I took you for a plain-donut type of guy. I didn’t want to be disappointed, so I brought the jelly-filled and the éclairs.”
Damn. She’d pegged him. “Nothing in here but glazes, plains and cinnamons. Good character read, Detective.”
Mitchell reached for a glazed donut when Tico opened the box. “I’ll take one. A real donut doesn’t need a dressing.”
Meg held out a hand. “Then I’ll take back the two jellies you just inhaled.”
Mitchell grinned. “Check with me after lunch, sweetheart.”
Jose grimaced. “Oh, that’s disgusting, Mitchell.”
Bill lifted a hand. “What is this, a donut face-off?”
Meg’s phone rang. She checked the caller ID, then clicked the phone off without answering.
