"I know," he says. "For cops it should be doughnuts, but we don't get those here."

"I prefer cookies anyway." I select one.

"Good, considering I probably need to score a few points after last n

ight." He takes a cookie and the chair Isabel vacated.

"I'm sorry about Diana," I say. "I should have walked away sooner. You guys didn't deserve that."

He gives a half shrug. "I kinda did. Before you arrived, Diana and I were at the Lion, with others, lots of drinking, she seemed fun and she's new in town and ... And that really doesn't make me sound any better, does it?" He shifts in his seat. "Diana's having some ... I'd say issues, but that sounds condescending. Cutting loose is fine, but with her it seems a little..."

"Frenetic?"

"Yeah. Which I didn't realize at the time. So inadvertently I took advantage of the situation, and I feel bad."

"Deputy," Dalton says as he walks through the door, "did you come in today to talk or to work?"

Before Anders can answer, Dalton heads out the back.

"Good morning to you, too, boss!" Anders calls. Then he says, to me, "Sometimes I wonder why he doesn't just walk around the building."

"Not really an inside cat, is he."

He smiles. "No, he's definitely not. If he isn't prowling through town, he's sunning himself on the back porch."

"Sunning himself? Or watching for prey?"

"Much better analogy. An outside cat scouring the woods for predators and prey alike."

I finish my cookie and then say, "About Di, I know she was a bitch last night, and I'm not apologizing for her. That was unforgivable. She obviously likes you and wants to see more of you. I'm guessing you're not interested."

He exhales. "Shit. That sounds bad, doesn't it?"

Actually, no. Given how she's acting, I don't want to see him mixed up in that.

He continues. "In my defence, I didn't say anything to suggest I wanted more than one night. But I still feel shitty."

"Don't. It was her mistake."

"Thanks for not thinking I'm a complete asshole."

"You aren't."

I smile, and he opens his mouth like he's going to say something. Then the door opens. It's Beth.

Anders gets up. "I'd better go do my rounds before Eric finds me still chatting. Hey, Doc." He lifts his hand to high-five her as they pass. The doctor makes a valiant, if awkward, effort to return it. Anders chuckles and keeps going.

"Hey, Beth," I say. "Thanks for coming by."

I wave to the chair. She stays standing.

"I'm just popping in to see if you're free for lunch," she says.

"Oh." I push my folder aside. "I thought ... Sorry, Eric knew I wanted to speak to you, so I thought he asked you to stop in."

"That's a no for lunch, then?" She smiles, but there's a wariness there, like she's screwed up the courage to make a friendly overture and it's being rejected.

"No, no. Lunch is good. Great, in fact." I check my watch. "I'm off in an hour. I'll come by then."

Tags: Kelley Armstrong Rockton Mystery
Source: readsnovelonline.net