see anyone drop her off. She walked in with her laundry basket, though, and I would have seen if she’d come lugging it down Main Street. I suspect someone dropped her off in the alley and she walked to the door, probably not wanting you to see how she got there.”
“So she has an accomplice.”
“Seems like it.”
Maybe I could ask Thelma about that too. Given that Louise had only just returned to town after being locked up for years, it was probably an old friend. “When did she show up?”
“About five minutes before you did. She shot a glance my direction. Didn’t seem to recognize me then. But when she came back in from talking to you, she addressed me by name and said I had three minutes to clear out or she was reporting me for harassment to the sheriff’s department.”
I gasped. “Can she do that?”
“Sure, she can report me. Does she have a case? Not even close. I was doing laundry before she even showed up, and I never spoke to her. Did I want to call her bluff? No, I’d prefer the department not have any idea what I’m up to.”
I agreed.
“Besides, I was eager to talk to you, so I pulled my laundry out early, stuffed the basket in back, and came here to meet you.”
“I would have likely come back to check on you if you hadn’t shown up so quickly.”
He turned serious. “Louise is cunning. She may want your help, but I suspect it’s only one part of her grand scheme.”
“I need to talk to Lula at some point, and preferably without Bingham. I think he’s directing Lula on how to deal with her mother.”
“Agreed. But if so, Bingham won’t appreciate you trying to circumvent him.”
“True.”
“One worry at a time,” he said. “Let’s head to Ewing. We can go to lunch after we meet with Thelma.”
“Always thinking about food,” I teased.
“Do you know how hard it was to watch you hand that ungrateful bitch that breakfast sandwich?”
Grinning, I shook my head at him, but then the seriousness of the situation sunk in. By helping me, Marco was putting his potential promotion to detective in jeopardy.
“Marco.” I searched his eyes. “Maybe it’s time for you to no longer be involved with what I’m doing.”
“No fucking way,” he growled, his eyes dark and dangerous.
“You could lose your job, Marco.”
“You could lose your life, Carly. That’s more important than employment. I can get another job. I can’t get another you.”
I slowly nodded. “Okay. I’ll keep you involved.”
I kept the for now to myself. A huge part of Marco’s self-worth centered on following and defending the rules. But I was making him break them like they were dry spaghetti.
He leaned over and gave me a lingering kiss. “Let’s head to Ewing. I’ll follow you.”
I glanced down at his scruffy shirt. “You were planning to change, right?”
I gave him a hopeful look.
He laughed. “And so it’s begun, huh? You’re planning to start pickin’ out my wardrobe?”
“Not hardly. I like the way you dress.” I grinned. “Usually.”
“Got it,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. He opened the car door, then turned back to face me, his expression turning pensive. “I could get used to this.”
“Me too,” I said softly. And that scared me half to death.
Chapter Eleven
Roberta and Gladys were in the front room of the nursing home when Marco and I walked in. I always brought them a new puzzle when I visited, so I kept several boxes in the trunk of my car, picking a new one or two up whenever I was at the Dollar General. Today’s 750-piece offering was tucked under my arm.
Roberta, who was nearly always cranky, usually demanded the new puzzle before saying hello, but she had a wide smile on her face today.
“Well, hello, hot stuff,” she said as we walked toward them, her gaze taking Marco in.
“Roberta!” I protested with a laugh.
“What? I still have my eyesight,” she said unapologetically.
“I’m not sure I appreciate you objectifying my girlfriend,” Marco teased.
Gladys burst out laughing. “You walked right into that one, Roberta.”
“Wait.” Roberta held her hand up like a stop sign. “Did you just call her your girlfriend?”
“Sure did,” he said, reaching for my hand and linking our fingers. “She’s officially off the market.”
“’Bout damn time,” Roberta grumbled, back to her usual disagreeable self.
“We brought you a new puzzle,” I said as I held it out.
Roberta waved me off, all eyes on Marco. “So when and how did this happen?”
“The puzzle has sailboats,”