I couldn’t find an answer. The judge was really losing it. “She was in possession of drugs, Judge.”
The judge rubbed his whiskers again, reading the papers. “At her place of work. Where’s your proof that she has drugs at her personal abode?”
Okay. The guy did know the law, even though he was crackers. “It just seems likely,” I said, not sounding sure.
The judge slapped the papers back at Nick. “Get me probable cause, Basanelli, and I’ll give you a warrant. If you come here at night again, this late, bring me a fuckin’ ice cream cone.” Then he slammed the door.
I gulped.
Nick let loose with an impressive litany of swear words strung together in Italian, reminding me of my dad trying to fix his carburetor. There was nothing like a string of fierce Italian expletives. He ended with a nice ‘fucking tassels.’
I glanced his way. “You know, he wasn’t wrong.”
“I know,” Nick said grimly, turning to go back to my car. “We’ll get that affidavit from your witness tomorrow, or rather, later today, so the police can at least search Whitaker’s house. For now, you’ll have to drop me off at home on your way.”
I paused at the base of the steps as the night grabbed hold of me. I’d seen a dead body. What if Aiden was at my cottage again? While I didn’t fear him, whether I should or not, I didn’t want to see him right now. “How about you drop me off at my sister’s and just bring my car to work tomorrow?”
He paused and looked over his shoulder at me. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” This time of year, I rarely stayed alone, anyway. I glanced at my watch, seeing it was now the next day. Tuesday. One day before I’d receive the anniversary note. My stomach lurched, and my head began to hurt. The note would arrive, I’d deal with it, and then the gate would open for six months more of breathing easily. Until the next note. “She lives over Smiley’s Diner on Main Street.” I tossed him the keys; my hands suddenly too shaky to drive.
He caught them in one hand, cool guy style. “All right. Let’s go.”
I’d called Tessa on my way up her stairs so she wouldn’t shoot me when I used my key. The smell of the diner, eggs and bacon, wafted through the ceiling, and I took a deep breath. When was the last time I’d eaten? Was it only the night before? So much had happened. My stomach rumbled.
Worse yet, it was now Tuesday. Only one day left before the anniversary of my kidnapping. I shivered and unwelcomed fingers clacked down my spine. Life was not fair sometimes.
Tess’s apartment was quiet, and I knew my way in the dark, reaching her bedroom and shucking my jeans for a T-shirt I found on our Nana’s fainting couch at the base of Tess’s bed. Dawn was finally breaking outside, barely lighting the room from her open window. She rolled over to face me, her voice muffled as she threw the covers open to reveal flowered sheets that had probably been our mom’s. “Why so late? Or rather, early?”
I slid inside and faced her, much like we had as little girls. Then I told her about the entire night, not leaving anything out.
Finally, I wound down, snuggling beneath the hand-quilted comforter.
“Wow.” Tessa yawned; her wild hair spread out on the pillow. “The dead body sucks, and let’s not talk about that again. But you kissed Aiden.”
I nodded, catching my hair on the pillowcase. “Yeah.” I’d already gone into too much detail about how great of a kiss it was. Finally. “I just can’t believe he’s a killer. I mean, I know he’s with the Lordes, and they don’t seem to be great guys, but it’s Aiden.”
She snorted. “Believe me, it’s easy to be fooled by a guy.”
I already knew that. In fact, I’d dated a jackass in law school for quite a while, but nobody compared to a couple of Tess’s exes. She had horrible taste in men. Truly terrible. Or perhaps she just had bad luck. I wasn’t sure. “What do you think?”
She shrugged beneath the covers. “Heck if I know. It’s really easy to mix up who you want somebody to be and who they really are. You’ve been dreaming about this guy for years, and you’ve created an image in your head. What if you can’t see past that to the Lordes Defender?” Her