Tides of Duplicity by Robin Patchen

Author:Robin Patchen [Patchen, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JDO Publishing

Chapter Twenty

Fitz waited not-so-patiently at the door while Tabby and Chelsea chatted on the far side of the room, about what, he had no idea. He’d thought they were just saying good-bye, but it seemed their conversation was more than that.

Abe stepped inside the house. “Car’s warming up.”

“Knowing that thing, it’ll be warm by the time we get to Boston.”

Abe’s eyes darkened. “You keep your thoughts on Peggy Sue to yourself. She can hear you.”

Fitz chuckled. “Peggy Sue. She’s from the eighties, not the fifties.”

“She’s an old-fashioned girl.”

Dylan had disappeared down the hall but returned now, passing the ladies and joining Fitz and Abe at the door. “Listen, why don’t I come with you guys? I think I can help.”

Fitz said, “That’s not necessary.”

At the same time, Abe said, “That’d be great.”

The men looked at each other. Back when they were partners, they were almost always on the same page. Now, they couldn’t agree on anything.

Abe flashed his bright smile, but Fitz recognized the falsehood in it. “He was a cop, man. He can help.”

“We don’t need his help,” Fitz said. Because Dylan had left the job to work for himself. Maybe the guy was doing noble work. Maybe he wasn’t. Fitz didn’t know. He figured Dylan was on Tabby’s side since she was his wife’s best friend, so he had that going for him. Even still, Fitz wasn’t about to trust him to be anything but a burden.

Dylan let out a short burst of laughter. “You two are like an old married couple.”

“An old divorced couple, more like,” Fitz said.

Dylan’s smile faded, and he met Fitz eyes. “If you don’t want me to join you, fine. I’ll help from here. Surely you can trust me to do that.”

“It’s not about trust, exactly,” Fitz said.

“Yeah, it is.” This from Abe, who spoke to Dylan, effectively ignoring Fitz. “He’s never been what you’d call trusting, but ever since the scandal in our police department—”

“Which cost me my job,” Fitz added.

“—he hasn’t trusted a soul, even people he’s known for years.”

Fitz didn’t trust Abe, but he needed him. He needed all his focus to make sure Abe didn’t double-cross him. He wouldn’t have any to spare to keep an eye on Dylan.

Fitz couldn’t explain all that, so he held out his hand to Dylan. “It’s nothing personal, and frankly I think you’ll be better served here helping us with research.”

Dylan’s grip was firm. “If you change your mind, just say the word and I’ll be there. Tabby means a lot to us.” His grip tightened on Fitz’s hand. “You be sure to keep her safe, or you’ll have a lot to answer for.”

Fitz barely resisted the urge to get into a squeezing match with the guy. “I’m the one who wanted her to hide, remember?”

Dylan let go of his hand, though because of Fitz’s words or because the women were approaching, Fitz wouldn’t guess.

He turned his attention to Tabby. “You all set?”

She gave a quick nod. “We were talking about work. I’m so far behind already, but—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Chelsea said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.