Danger, Deceit and Dark Chocolate Cake by A.R. Winters

Author:A.R. Winters [Winters, A.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-08-22T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

I glanced at my watch, not having expected the files on Sally Smith to be near-nonexistent. “Well, at least I didn’t waste too much of your time,” I said nervously.

“Are you really going to take off before Beth gets back?” Ethan said.

I nodded. “Yeah. I feel bad making her drive me everywhere.”

“I’m sure she’s happy to,” Ethan said. “But I was just leaving. How ’bout I drive you home—or better, we go have dinner somewhere?”

I smiled. If the case wasn’t going anywhere, maybe Ethan and I could. “Okay. That works well.”

Ethan and I headed out, and I sent Beth a text saying that I’d gotten a lift from Ethan.

“Where are we going?” I asked Ethan.

“I know a nice place a few blocks north of the pier,” he said. “Just off Main Street.”

I nodded. Far away enough from the main tourist drag to be a tad less busy, but still close enough to the action to be popular.

Deco’s turned out to be a small diner with dark wood tables and exposed brick walls. It was early enough to get a table without a reservation, but quite a few of the tables had “Reserved” signs on them. The place was small and intimate without being stuffy, and after ordering our food (steak and red wine for me, and beer and mushroom risotto for Ethan) we started chatting about our lives.

“So Neve’s still bothering you?” said Ethan. “You know she’s gotten fired from her gig at the DA’s office.”

“I know,” I said. I wondered if I should say anything about Liam, my ex-boyfriend whom Neve was currently dating. However, I didn’t want to be one of those girls who babbled on about their exes, even if it was just to complain. I wondered briefly who Ethan had dated since I’d moved away from Santa Verona. But if I didn’t want to talk about my exes, surely Ethan didn’t want to talk about his. So instead, I said, “She’s trying to ‘help’ with my current investigation. She got herself hired—for free—as a singer at the Black Cat.”

“She’s got initiative,” said Ethan.

“I wish she had a little less of it.” My wine arrived and I took a sip of it. “I think she just enjoys needling me and showing off about how great a singer she is. But I don’t want to spend all night talking about Neve—what’re you working on these days?”

Ethan smiled. “The usual. Spate of home invasions. Should be cleared up within a few days. There’s a new gang in town, but we can shut them down.”

“And how about your family?” I asked tentatively. It had been a while since I’d seen them. In fact, the last time I’d seen them, I’d still been Ethan’s girlfriend.

“They’re okay,” said Ethan, grinning. “You know, they were heartbroken when you left Santa Verona. They liked you.”

I felt my face flushing red, and I stared at the dark wooden table. Finally, I said, “I liked them too. But I had to leave. I couldn’t just not go to college.

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