Officers, he said, and came toward the door. Anything you need?
I was just asking if we can come in and talk, Detective Hess said. Hed stopped smiling, but he still looked kind. Informally.
A chill moved softly over Claires skin. A single wave of chill. Yes. Michael was okay with it.
Sure, Claire said, and stepped back to swing the door wider. The cops stepped over the threshold, Hess first, then Lowe, and Shane shot Claire a look she couldnt quite figure out and led the men back to the living room.
Lowe studied the place more than the two of them; he seemed to really appreciate it. Nice, he murmured, which was the first thing hed said. Great use of wood in here. Real organic.
She couldnt really say thank you, because, hey, she didnt build it. She didnt even own it. But on Michaels behalf she said, We think so, too, sir. Claire settled nervously back on the sofa, perched on the edge. Shane remained standing, and Hess and Lowe moved around, not exactly searching, but cataloging everything. Hess stayed focused on the two of them, and after a moment, he bent his knees and sat down in the chair that Michael had occupied last night. Déjà vu, Claire thought. Hess seemed to shiver a little, and he looked up, maybe trying to locate the source of the draft that had just brushed past him.
Michael liked that chair.
You had some trouble here last night, Hess said. I know you had a talk with our colleagues Gretchen and Hans. I read the report this morning.
No harm in admitting to that. Both Shane and Claire nodded.
A little scary, huh?
Claire nodded. Shane didnt. He gave the detective a narrow little smile. Im a Morganville lifer. Define scary, he said. Anyway, if youre playing good cop, bad cop
Im not, Hess said. Trust me, youd know if I was, because Id be the bad cop. And there was something in his eyes thatoddlymade Claire believe it. Look, I wont lie to you. Gretchen and Hans, theyve got their own agendas. But so do we. We want to make sure youre protected, understand me? Thats our job. We serve and protect, and Travis and I believe in that.
Lowe paused in his slow amble to nod.
Were neutral. Theres a few of us in town who did enough good for each side to earn a little freedom, as long as were careful.
What Joe means, Detective Lowe said, is that they ignore us as long as we keep it on our side of the tracks. Humans are the slave race hereforget about skin color. So we have to take care of our own when we can.