“You… what?”
“Suggested his love for her was more powerful than his need to control me. He insisted that Agosti’s body remain inside the George Stanley indefinitely: I disagreed. When he argued, I informed him of my intention to call Michelle. Tattling to a pregnant woman is not good for her stress levels, which is, obviously, not good for the baby. This was the point that Estefan grudgingly accepted my terms and promised to remove his men immediately. Fortunately for me, this means I never have to see Anthony Agosti’s ugly face or naked, dead body ever again.” I close my eyes and luxuriate in the icy chill of the car’s air conditioning. “It was a positive discussion, if you ask me.”
“Sure, except now you’ve made an enemy,” Archer growls. “Somehow, the man my entire family was trained to fear is nothing more than an ant for you to torment with a magnifying glass. Pleased with your efforts, Chief?”
“I know you’re being sarcastic, but yeah, I am pleased.” I drop my hand, letting it flop onto the bench seat beside my thigh. “He needed to back off, and Ellie is a sword I’m able to wield. I caused no harm, not really, and I assured Cordoza I would not lie down and allow myself to be walked over. Maintaining boundaries is important.”
“Minka—”
“I performed the autopsy and did as he asked. I riskedeverythingtoexamine a guy I wouldn’t share a dinner table with. I held up my end of the deal. Also, I was sad when you didn’t text me all day.”
He blows out a heavy breath, releasing his frustration and following me onto a new track. New conversation. “I’m sorry I didn’t make contact. I thought I was doing the right thing. Even now, calling you, I worried it would put you in a shitty situation.”
“Nah. The gallant Mr. Harrison picked me up from work and saved me from camera-wielding savages. This isn’t the first time they’ve ambushed me outside my office, Detective. Is there no law protecting me from this bullshit?”
“Pretty sure the First Amendment allows for freedom of the press. You don’t want to be photographed, but…”
“What does the law say about my freedom to wield a flamethrower? If I’m carrying it in a public place and they just so happen to walk into my flames…?”
He chuckles. “That would be a crime, Chief. Did they bother you a lot?”
“I stumbled right into the snake pit,” I sigh. “Didn’t even think to check before I walked outside. Is there something wrong with my eyebrows?”
“Ah…” He silences for a beat. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I asked for a pair of tweezers to—” I swallow my confession, choking it down before it gets me into trouble. “Um. For reasons. And when Doctor Raquel handed them to me, she said she was glad I was finally taking care of my brows. Now I’m on camera for that dumb Body-In-The-Bag documentary. I swear, if I end up on Netflix and have weird eyebrows, I’m going on a rampage.”
“Your eyebrows look perfect to me, Minnnka.” The breeze on his end of the line quietens, and the smooth roll of thick wheels on the road slows. Then he turns, which tells me he’s heading through the gates and is a mere five minutes ahead of me. “Why’d you need the tweezers, anyway?”
“Oh, shoot! We’re going through a tunnel.” I make weird sounds in the back of my throat that would pass as static… to a deaf person. “I think I’m gonna lose you, Detective.”
“Why did you need the tweezers, Chief?”
“Dammit, I can’t hear you. I’m just a few minutes from the house. I’ll see you soon.”
“Minka—”
“Byeeee!” I kill our call, comforted by the fact that he’s back onMalone property, safe and secure. Locking the screen and lowering my hand, I reach forward and scratch my freshly Band-Aided knee.
“Confronting Estefan Cordoza.” Harrison whistles under his breath, swaying his head from side to side. “Defying your husband. Lying to him about a tunnel. And don’t think I haven’t heard how you speak to Felix.”
“Do you have a point, Mr. Harrison, or are you hoping to become my next victim?”
He chuckles, steering us away from the business district of downtown Copeland City and aiming for the residential area instead. “Making an observation, perhaps. What came before all this, Chief? Before Copeland. Before marriage. Before the Malones. What happened in your life that allowed you to feel so emboldened now?”
I fold my legs crisscross style and tuck my feet beneath my thighs. Anything to relieve the pressure on my tired hips. “You say I’m emboldened. I say I’m intolerant of bullies.”
“Well—”
“We’re just humans. Every one of us. We all bleed red, we all came from a mom and a dad, and many of us, too many of us, don’t have them around anymore.” I firm my lips into flat lines and lift just one shoulder, shrugging. “Maybe it’s naivety. Maybe it’s recklessness. But there are very few people in this world whose opinions and safety matter to me. I’ve had pleasant dealings with Estefan Cordoza in the past, but if he died tomorrow…” I drop my shoulder again. “I wouldn’t cry about it. If he wishes to maintain a relationship with me, business or otherwise, then I need that relationship to sit upon respectful foundations. It doesn’t mean I’ll cuss him out at the dinner table, and I won’t embarrass him in a board meeting. But if he wants something from me, he’s hardly in a position to dictate the termsandtreat me like crap at the same time.”
“You aren’t afraid of dying?”
“I…”
Shit. That’s a good question. One I’m not sure I’ve ever truly considered.
Contemplatively, I nibble on my bottom lip, careful not to bite too hard or leave a mark.
