Stirring Up Trouble (Rosewood 4)

“You’re not going to be mean to her now, are you?” Grant asked.

“Of course not,” Maddie insisted. “She’s wonderful.”

“Okay,” Grant said, satisfied. “Now that we have that cleared up, I’m going to take you up on that free snack and say hi to Gertie.” He looked over his shoulder at the wall. “I think it’s ready for the power washing. Come on, Chopper!”

Grant started off along the sidewalk with his dog trailing behind him. Emmett watched them disappear down the street, and then he turned back to the very quiet Maddie beside him. “Are you okay?”

Her head snapped around to look at him, her cheeks touched with the redness of emotion. “I’m fine,” she said.

He doubted that, but he wasn’t going to push the subject. Most people

didn’t like to have their past sins pointed out. Brothers weren’t known for pulling punches with that kind of thing. Apparently, Maddie had a long history of making people miserable, not just him.

He almost felt bad for her. She’d brought that on herself with her own actions, but he sure knew he wouldn’t want someone to fling his old baggage back at him. Better to just change the subject.

“Okay, then,” he said, slapping his knees and standing up. “Let’s show this fireman weenie who’s boss.”

Chapter Nine

“We’re wasting our time,” Emmett complained.

Maddie frowned out the windshield. “You’re giving up too easily. It’s only been an hour.”

“Yes, but the only person we’ve seen since we parked here was your brother Simon driving by on patrol.”

“Do you not hunt?” Maddie asked, turning to him in irritation.

“No, I’m from Florida. The only thing I waste my time shooting is whiskey and pool. Wildlife and I have an arrangement—I leave them alone, they leave me alone. It’s worked pretty well so far.”

Maddie sighed and rolled her eyes. “Well, here’s lesson number one. You have to be patient. You can’t just expect the prey to pop up right away. You have to be still, don’t give it any reason for alarm, and wait for it to come to you.”

“We’re not going to shoot this guy, are we?”

Maddie snorted. “No. It’s just a metaphor. We’ve got to let the whole town fall asleep, then see if our sneaky little vandal thinks it’s safe enough to venture out.”

“So we’re just going to sit here until five in the morning?”

“You are the most impatient person I’ve ever met,” Maddie grumbled. “Yes.” She reached into the backseat and grabbed a box from the bakery. “See if this helps ease the discomfort of sitting in my presence for a few more hours.”

“What is it?” Emmett asked as he took the box from her.

“One leftover chocolate éclair, today’s special, a couple different cookies, one or two dirty brownies, and a slice of orange pound cake.”

“Good Lord,” Emmett said, prying open the box. “How long are we going to be out here?”

“They’re leftovers,” Maddie explained. She kept her eyes glued to the windshield, watching for any sign of movement around town. She expected whomever did this to travel on foot. A car would draw too much attention, but someone just walking around would hardly be noticeable. “Normally, I save all my leftovers for Jeanette Kincaid. Every morning, she comes by the shop to pick up anything I didn’t sell and takes it to the battered women and children’s shelter in Ashville.”

“Jeanette Kincaid? Isn’t she the one who got arrested in the spring for peeping in women’s windows?”

“Yes.” It had been quite the scandal, putting all the single women in town on edge thinking some pervert was on the loose. It turned out that Jeanette was just on the hunt for her wayward husband. “She was sentenced to community service, too, only she had to serve hers at the shelter. It really opened her eyes to how bad a relationship could be and how she’d completely overreacted to the situation with her husband. She’s continued to volunteer there, at least a couple of times a week. I give her my day-old product so it doesn’t go to waste. I know if I were in their situation, there’s nothing I’d like better than a decadent treat to lose myself in for a few minutes.”

“Why didn’t you give all this to her, then?”

“Because we’re closed on Sundays. If I have a bunch left, I either take them by the police station or the firehouse. If it’s just a little, I’ll toss it or take it home to nibble on. Tonight, I brought it with us.”

Emmett pulled out a dirty brownie and took a bite. “This has an Oreo cookie inside it.”

She smiled. He wasn’t the first one to be surprised. “I know, I put it there. It’s a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough, a layer of Oreos, then a layer of brownie batter poured over the top. It’s especially good fresh from the oven with vanilla ice cream on top.”