Perfect Night (Mason Creek #4) - Terri E. Laine Page 0,43

I tried to place her. “You know me?”

She laughed. “I taught you in second grade.”

My mind flew back in time. “You were a teacher?” Her name didn’t ring any bells.

“I was Miss Wilson back then before I married my good-for-nothing husband, who died and left me with a crumbling house and a pile of bills.”

Once she said her maiden name, I remembered the teacher my younger self had a mad crush on. She’d been pretty and nice. The woman before me bore no resemblance to that. Haggard lines etched on her face that had turned the inviting smile I remembered into the bitter scowl she wore today.

“Do you still teach?” I asked.

She shook her head. “My husband didn’t want me to.”

“He’s gone. Maybe you could go back to teaching.” It was as if she’d never considered the thought and it wasn’t really my place. With no more comments about her life choices, I got back to business. “You called about a smell.”

We didn’t often go to peoples’ homes for smells. But she’d smelled death, which had to be investigated when she’d been unable to pinpoint the culprit.

“It’s in here.” She waved me in, and I followed her.

The house looked worse on the inside than the outside. It wasn’t cluttered, just neglected. Time had taken its toll on the place. But the smell was unmistakable.

I followed her into her kitchen.

“It’s in here.”

Though I wasn’t a bloodhound, I used my nose as I opened cabinets and even drawers looking for the origin of the awful stench. Nothing. “I’m going to check outside,” I said.

“I didn’t think of that.” She opened the back door.

The smell was there too. As I walked alongside the wall, I found it. A rodent had tried to get through a small hole in the wall to the house and had somehow gotten stuck.

“There’s your problem,” I said, pointing at it.

Her mouth widened before she covered it with one hand and locked her eyes with me. “What can I offer you to help me get rid of that?” she asked, while loosening her robe.

I froze, even though I’d expected as much. Bess had warned me this might happen. Once she revealed she’d taught me as a child, I’d let my guard down.

Years ago, she’d been something to look at. Now she was in her forties but looked a decade or two older. However, that wasn’t why I glanced away. Though I would have never used my position to gain such favors, it was an image of Emma in my mind that made it impossible for me to enjoy the view of any other woman.

“If you could get me some gloves, a trash bag and a shovel, I’ll take care of it.”

Her relief was enough to know I was doing a good deed. Though I would have preferred being at the station going through video footage relating to Emma’s dad, my former teacher needed help.

By the time I was done, I’d removed the creature that was causing the stench and plugged the hole it had got stuck in, then fixed her toilet. I managed to leave before she found another thing for me to do off her honey do list.

I was tired, sweaty, and dirty. What did I do? I called Emma.

“Aiden,” she said and, man, did I love hearing her say my name.

“Meet me at the creek. You know the spot. That is if you aren’t busy.”

“I—” She hesitated for a second and said, “Okay. I’ll be there shortly.”

We hung up.

I could have gone home, showered, and returned to the station. But after her call earlier, I needed to see her badly.

I drove to the hidden cove with a smile the size of Montana on my face. Emma was closer and beat me there. I parked my car on the side of the road near some trees. This stretch of road wasn’t widely traveled. In fact, it didn’t have a name, just ruts in the ground to mark it.

“Why are we here?” she asked, all grins and giggles.

“Let’s see, I just finished playing handyman for my old teacher, Miss Wilson, and need to wash the smell of dead rodent off my skin.”

“And you thought of me? I’m flattered.”

I eyed her bare finger. “I thought of you for plenty of reasons. For one, school is still in session, so we’ll have this place to ourselves.”

“It’s cold,” she mentioned, faking a shiver when she wore short sleeves.

“I’m hoping you’ll warm me up.”

She tapped a finger on her lips. “I’m to warm