Bring Me Flowers (Detectives Kane and Alton)

Felicity gave him her best tragic stare. “Please, I’m sixteen and Aimee is nearly seventeen. If I don’t go, the other girls will make fun of me. It is only one night, from seven until ten. What could happen in three hours? Please, Daddy, let me go.”

“She has been doing her chores.” Her mother leaned against the counter and sipped a cup of coffee. “Maybe if we drop her at the dance and pick her up it would be okay. I know quite a number of people going who could watch out for her.”

“We’ll discuss it when I get home.” Her father stood and gathered his papers then glared at her. “Don’t bother your mom about this again today—understand?”

“Okay. Can I go now, Mom?”

“Yes.” Her mother smiled.

Felicity dashed upstairs to her room and dressed quickly. The moment she turned on her cellphone it rang, and to her surprise the caller ID told her it was Derick. “Calling to apologize?”

“Nope. I don’t want you mixing with Lucky Briggs. Don’t you know that young girls like you are just another notch on his belt? He’ll forget you the moment you walk away.”

Felicity wound a strand of hair around one finger and giggled. “You jealous?”

“Maybe. Look, can we talk some more about this? I’m going to be close by in ten minutes or so. I have to drop off a car for a customer and pick up the loaner.”

She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I don’t have time. I’m meeting Aimee and we’re going into town.” She huffed out a sigh. “You’re acting too serious, like we’re married or something. I’m going to the dance without you, and if Lucky Briggs asks me to dance, I will so get over it.”

“I don’t want us to break up but it’s him or me. Make up your mind.”

She smiled. No matter what she did, Derick would come back to her. He was like a little puppy dog that needed a home. “Have it your own way. I’ve gotta go.” She disconnected and headed out the bedroom door.

In the hallway, she called out to her mother, “I’m going over to Aimee’s house then we’re going into town to hang out.”

“Okay, will you be back for lunch?”

Felicity opened the front door, inserted the earbuds into her ears and turned up the music. “No, but I’ll be home for dinner.”

Two

Sheriff Jenna Alton tipped back her chair and yawned. Stepping out of life as undercover DEA Special Agent Avril Parker and into the “safe” role of Sheriff Jenna Alton had not been easy. Since David “Dave” Kane arrived in Black Rock Falls six months previously, life had been interesting to say the least. They had solved four gruesome murders together and she had appreciated his expertise. She had picked him as ex-special forces from the get-go, but whatever his reason to be off the grid in Black Rock Falls she did not care. Having him around as backup was a bonus in spades.

Her new deputy had changed considerably since his arrival. He now sported collar-length hair to cover the scar left from the metal plate in his head courtesy of a gunshot wound received in the line of duty. She had not heard him complain once of the headaches that obviously plagued him, and she hoped the pain had eased with the warmer weather. She liked Dave Kane, and his considerable skills added another asset to the team she needed to do her job. She had learned from the best that in a crisis, a good leader delegated the work to keep sane.

After dealing with psychopaths last winter, and losing Pete Daniels, the rookie her team, her job and that of her deputies had deteriorated into negotiating neighborhood squabbles and finding lost cattle. Life had slowed to a relaxed hum. Cowboy hats and open-neck shirts had replaced the thick winter gear, and women in town wore splashes of color. Summer had arrived with warnings of a crime wave from the impending visit of the rodeo circuit cowboys.

Anything would be a relief from the current boredom.

Voices at the front desk drew her attention. The new deputy was due to arrive: Shane Wolfe, a family man with three daughters, and from his résumé, a qualified medical examiner waiting for his license to be issued for Black Rock Falls. She welcomed the idea of dealing with problems in-house rather than relying on a mortician to conduct autopsies and the state forensics team, who took on anything they could not handle. With her experience in the underworld of firearms, vice, and narcotics—and with Kane’s profiling abilities, which had already saved her life— the chance of adding another highly qualified deputy to the team was a dream come true. There will be nothing we can’t handle.

She pushed to her feet and strolled out of her office then waved at Deputies David Kane and Jake Rowley to join her at the front desk. Rowley had shaped up well over the last six months and was as solid as a rock, but having Shane Wolfe on the team would make life easier. Before Kane had arrived, her previous outlet for some serious crime investigation conversation came in the form of old Duke Walters, and she might as well talk to the mop bucket.

“Is that the new deputy?” Rowley pushed his thumbs through the loops on his regulation pants and grinned. “He looks like a Viking marauder.”

“Military police background, I believe.” Kane strolled toward the front desk. “Professional all the way.”

“Are you all settled in?” The office secretary, Magnolia Brewster, or Maggie as she preferred to be called, tossed her black curls and smiled broadly at the tall blond man standing at the counter. “Ah, there is Sheriff Alton.”

“Good morning.” Jenna held out her hand. “Jenna Alton, nice to meet you, and this is David Kane and Jake Rowley.”

Wolfe’s handshake was firm and outweighed his weary expression. “Thanks, this place is a little further off the beaten track than I envisaged.” He glanced around the room. “How many deputies do you have on staff, ma’am?”

“Not enough.” Jenna frowned. “Right now it’s just four. You, Kane, Rowley, and Duke Walters—he is over there taking a statement.” She waved toward the gray-haired Deputy Walters. “Come into my office.” Her attention moved to Rowley. “Handle the desk with Magnolia. I’m sure you can all get better acquainted later.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Rowley turned on his heel and went behind the front desk.

Jenna moved behind her desk and waved Kane and Wolfe into the seats in front. She sat down in her squeaky office chair. “Did you find the house okay?”