Her Shallow Grave (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Yeah, I believe so.?

? Foxx sighed. “If you need any more information, you’ll have to ask Brock.”

Jenna twirled her pen in her fingers, she had to ask but somehow knew the reply. “Would you be willing to give me the routes Grady took in the past twelve months or so?”

“I’m afraid not, Sheriff. You’d need a search warrant for that information.” The line went dead.

Jenna snorted. “Well, thank you so much for your cooperation.” She dropped her phone on the desk, leaned back in her seat, and looked up just as Kane entered the room bringing with him the smell of winter and loaded up with takeout. He was wearing a grim expression. Jenna patted her knee and Duke laid his head on her lap, clearly upset as well. “Anything wrong? Duke looks sad.”

“Uh-huh.” Kane arranged the food on her desk. “Duke’s just fine but I had another run-in with Kim at Aunt Betty’s.” He pulled off his coat and hung it on the peg behind the door.

“Oh man, you should have been there.” Rowley followed him close behind carrying to-go cups of coffee. “That woman is a siren. She had every guy in the store drooling over her and Kane pushed her away as cold as ice—you should’ve seen his face, he looked like a hired killer.” He placed the cups on the desk, moved one over toward Jenna, and then straightened to remove his jacket.

If you only knew. Jenna’s stomach growled with hunger as she peered into the bags. “What did she do this time?”

“Same, she hung all over me. Made like we were going together.” Kane dropped into a chair and pulled off his woolen cap. He ran a hand through his tousled hair and looked at her. “She invited me to spend the weekend with her at her secluded hunting cabin out at Blackwater.”

“Ha.” Rowley flashed a wide grin. “She said she would make him real cozy and—”

“Enough!” Kane’s look was dangerous. “You have a report to discuss. Sit down and tell us what you’ve found.”

“That can wait.” Jenna slipped her gaze over Kane. His tight jaw, ticking cheek, and murderous expression told her Kim was getting way out of hand. She turned her attention to Rowley. “Do you mind giving me a few moments alone with Kane?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Rowley grabbed his lunch and left the room.

Jenna stood and pushed the door shut behind him and then went to lean against her desk in front of Kane. “Okay, it’s just you and me. What happened?”

“Like I said.” Kane looked up at her and narrowed his eyes. “Kim’s not listening to anything I say and I’ve been blunt. I can’t charge her for stalking me. She doesn’t pose a physical threat to me and being annoying doesn’t make her a stalker but we may have a case for harassment. Carter believes the DA wouldn’t touch the case after I had a drink with her and then went back to her room. He’d say I encouraged her attention.”

Shocked Jenna gaped at him. “You did what?” She swallowed hard and avoided his stubborn gaze. “You never mentioned that before.”

“No because I knew you’d react like you are now.” Kane looked at her with an annoyed expression. “Her room was on the way back to mine is all but I would have been captured by the CCTV cameras in the elevator.” Clearly agitated, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you honestly believe, after all we have been through together, I’d start chasing after women?”

“I have no claim on you, Dave.” Jenna looked at her hands, not sure what to say to him.

“I don’t want to lose your friendship, Jenna.” Kane stared at the ceiling for some moments before looking at her again. “You know I care for you. I’m just not going to make a commitment until I’m sure I’m able. I don’t want us living with Annie’s ghost and I can’t let her go yet.”

He rarely mentioned his dead wife and his confession stunned her. “Okay. I understand about Annie but as Miss Strickland is harassing you, I would’ve thought you’d discuss her with me before calling Carter.”

“I called Jo.” Kane folded and unfolded the woolen cap in his hands. “I wanted her expertise on how to deal with Kim.” He sighed. “Nothing she mentioned has worked so far.”

“The first mistake is calling her Kim.” Jenna tapped her pen on the desk. “It’s way too personal. You should call her Miss Strickland.” She cleared her throat. “You can tell her to leave you alone, she won’t break.”

“I know that and today I told her to step away or I’d arrest her for assaulting an officer of the law.” Kane snorted. “She laughed at me.”

Jenna dropped her pen into a chipped mug on the desk with a picture of Hawaii on one side. “So your ‘back off or I’ll kill you’ face didn’t work?”

“Obviously.” Kane held up his phone and rolled his eyes. “Twenty messages today and I can’t step outside without her appearing out of thin air. She must be following me.” His ringtone filled the room and he glanced at the screen. “This will be her fourth call since I walked out of Aunt Betty’s.”

Jenna plucked the phone from his hand as he went to decline the call. “Let me speak to her.”

“It will only make things worse.” Kane’s lips thinned and turned down at the corners.

Jenna had never seen anyone outwit Kane. She had to step in and deal with Kim Strickland. “We’ll see about that.” She accepted the call and listened to the suggestive promises the caller was making. “This is Sheriff Alton. I’m monitoring and recording all calls to this number. I do not tolerate private conversations of this nature to my deputies. Please disconnect now as no further warnings will be issued.” Not waiting for a reply, she disconnected and handed him back the phone. “Block her calls.”

“Okay.” Kane scanned his screen and then looked up at her. His expression was wary. “You need to be aware that she might turn aggressive toward you. Right now, she sees you as an obstacle preventing me from dating her.”

“The moment she threatens either of us, we’ll arrest her for stalking.” Jenna rounded her desk. If Miss Strickland kept hassling Kane, she’d try a face-to face and if that didn’t work, she’d get an arrest warrant for harassment and let the DA sort it out.