no, that I was already seeing someone. It was a little awkward, if you know what I mean.”
“I see.” Isabel chuckled as she said Emily’s words back to her.
“Say, while Alex is outside,” Emily glanced around, “before Peter gets here, why don’t I let you in on an idea I had about Jethro, or should I call him Jerry?”
“Let’s just call him Jethro, in case anyone else overhears. What’s your idea?”
“What do you think of inviting him to meet you for lunch tomorrow? I’ll find his car in the parking lot after he’s gone into the restaurant and put a tracking device on it. We can track his movements and see what he’s up to.”
“You mean see if he’s the one following you?”
“Yup.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea, Em, but we can’t.”
“Why not?”
“He called me this afternoon, said he’s heading out of town for a few days to do some consulting work in DC. He asked about the gun again.” Isabel paused and dipped her chin toward Emily. “He suggested taking it to DC with him in his checked luggage to have it tested at a government lab there.”
“What did you say?” Emily asked.
“I told him I didn’t know if there really was a gun, which is kind of true—I’ve never seen the gun for myself. I told him that as far as I knew it was a hypothetical question you had asked him.”
“You think he bought that?” Emily filled the glasses with iced tea.
“Probably not, but what was he going to say? Accuse me of lying?”
“I guess I’ll have to wait ’til he gets back to bug his car.”
“Bug whose car?” Alex asked as he walked through the door carrying a beautifully grilled pizza with a vaguely rectangular artisan crust.
The doorbell rang and the girls were saved. “Our guest is here, honey, right on time. Why don’t you go and let him in,” Isabel suggested as she took the pizza from him.
He glowered at them, then proceeded to the front door.
~*~
After a delicious dinner and lively conversation, the men went to the family room to watch Sunday Night Football on Alex’s seventy-inch flat screen.
Isabel and Emily puttered around the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner, giving them a chance to talk in private.
“Working on any interesting cases, Em?” Isabel put plastic wrap over the leftover salad and stuck it in the crowded refrigerator.
“Just another wife having me dig up evidence on her cheating husband.”
“Any luck?”
“I followed the guy down to a massage parlor on Overland Road, over in Boise.”
Isabel cut the peach pie she had made into wedges and scooped them onto small plates. “Oh, yeah? What’s it called?”
“The Jade Thai Spa. Why?” Emily laid a dessert fork on each plate.
“I think the Feds have been watching a few of those places.” Isabel shook the aerosol can of whipped cream.
“Really? Can you find out if that particular one is on their watch list?”
“Sure, if it’ll help.” Isabel spritzed a mound of whipped cream on each piece of pie.
“It might.” Emily moved to the sink, looking over the breakfast bar to the family room, watching the guys hollering at the screen.
“Emily?” Isabel prompted. “Emily? I asked you a question.”
“Yes, Peter is really a nice guy, I agree.”
“That’s not what I asked you. I asked if you had any other ideas about Jeth—Emily?” Isabel snapped her fingers. “Em…does Colin have something to worry about?”
“No.” She broke her stare and turned back to Isabel. “I was thinking about Maggie.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little soon to be looking for another man for Maggie? She just got out of a serious relationship, almost married the creep.”
“I know, I know. It’s just that she’s had such poor luck with men. I’d love to see Maggie with a great guy like Peter, you know, when she’s ready.”
“But Peter will only be here a little while longer, then he’s off to Seattle.”
“I know.” Emily turned back to her task and began scraping the dinner plates into the garbage disposal. “It was just a thought.” She looked up from the sink and peeked over at him once more.
Peter must have sensed her looking at him because he turned his head and met her gaze, flashing her a quick smile before returning to the football game.
Her cheeks flushed red as her stare was discovered. She didn’t want him getting the wrong idea.
~*~
Before Emily went to bed that night, Colin phoned again.
“Did you do anything fun today?”
“Isabel invited me over for dinner so I wouldn’t have to spend another lonely