That one came clean out of left field. So what are you going to do about Dexter? Did he see you at the motel?”
“I’m sure he did but he never poked his head out of his room, so he has no idea that I know he’s there.”
“I wonder if he’s figured out it was me.”
“You said he saw you running away, right?”
“Yeah, but I was wearing a Hello Kitty mask that I, uh…found?”
Carter gave me a pained look. “He might figure he just got caught up in the middle of some mess in the room next to him. Wrong place at the wrong time. He definitely didn’t go back to check on the naked guy, who managed to roll off the bed and was kicking the wall like a mule when I arrived.”
“So maybe he doesn’t suspect either of us of having discovered him,” I said. “Can you get a search warrant for that hotel room? There’s nothing left at his apartment except the box of things I bought.”
“You’re certain about that?”
“As certain as I can be without questioning the management talents of Winky Bear.”
“Winky Bear?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to make fun of the name. The dude is the size of the Rock and has a voice like a demon.”
He nodded. “The facts surrounding the girlfriend and the hole in the boat are probably enough to get me a search warrant of the motel room. But if they were smart, they would have ditched the bow.”
“They’re not smart. And those bows aren’t cheap. I’d bet money they have it. Make sure the warrant includes their vehicles.” I rose from my chair. “If you don’t have anything else, I’d like to get home and have a shower. Ally is already there and has been baking for an hour. I imagine I’m going to walk into heaven.”
“I’m a little jealous that I can’t join the party.”
“You’ve got things to do.”
He walked around the desk and kissed me. “Thank you for the information. I wish it could be a two-way street.”
“You just worry about taking down whoever hurt Molly. I don’t think my client cares how it’s done. I know I don’t.”
Ally was pulling a sheet of cookies out of the oven when I walked in the kitchen. Another sheet full of yummy goodness was already cooling on the stove.
“Peanut butter?” I asked.
She smiled and nodded.
I groaned. “You know I’m going to eat all of them by tomorrow morning. I’ll have to run half the day to work off the calories. I’m already fifteen pounds up from my fighting weight.”
“Please, your fighting weight was necessary for what you did then. You look better with a few extra pounds.”
“Are you saying I was too skinny?”
“Not at all. You were extremely fit and lean. I wish I had that body for a day just to see how it felt, but you don’t have to maintain that level of leanness now. I’m not saying let yourself go—not that you would—but you don’t have to be ready to take on the world.”
“I ran from a bear yesterday and an alligator the day before.”
Ally’s eyes widened. “Okay, then maybe keep up the running regimen.”
“It’s either that or shoot more.”
She laughed and shook her head. “What in the world do you ladies get up to that requires you to do all this running from predators?”
“We’re on a case.”
“Which means you can’t talk about it. Well, please be careful.”
“I always am.”
She raised one eyebrow. “You’re your version of careful. I think the rest of us mere mortals have other ideas.”
“Not Gertie.”
“Gertie is a force unto herself and a study in what not to do.” She nodded toward the table. “I brought dinner. I wasn’t sure how many of us would be here, so looks like you’re in stock with chicken fried steak for a couple days.”
My mouth started to water. Chicken fried steak was one of my favorite dishes from Francine’s Café. “With the dumplings?”
“Of course. And jalapeño cornbread.”
“Ally? Will you marry me?”
She laughed. “Things might get a little crowded around here with three of us. Are you hungry now? I can pop these in the oven for just a couple minutes and they’ll be good to go.”
“Ready when you are. I’ll use the time to throw in some laundry. I’ll be going commando if I don’t put a load on. I need to buy more clothes so I can do laundry less often.”
“A completely valid reason.”
I headed into the laundry room and started tossing lighter-colored items into the