****
A candlelight dinner awaited me when I finally crawled into the house at 9:00 p.m. Max greeted me at the door, holding a flute of champagne. The house smelled of garlic and onions, and my mouth watered instantly.
“Go shower. Dinner is almost ready.” Max smiled, looking half-excited and half-nervous.
Why is he nervous?
“You cooked?” I was both grateful and wary.
He grimaced. “No. I ordered from Vinney’s. I’m just replating the food.”
“Oh.” I laughed. “Uh, okay. I’ll go shower.” I leaned in and kissed him. “Hello, by the way.”
“Hello.” He sighed and moved away. “Don’t take too long. I don’t think pumpkin ravioli will fare well in the microwave.”
“I’ll be quick.” I hurried down the hallway, careful not to spill my champagne or trip over Grumpy.
As I began to undress, my cell rang. I groaned, tempted to ignore it. I really, really had no energy left in my body. I answered, bracing myself. “Sheriff Callum.”
“Royce?” Penelope’s voice came over the line.
“Hey, Penelope.” I tried not to sound irritated. “How are you?”
“Oh, never mind about all the small-talk stuff. I have some amazing news, Royce. I mean absolutely, knock your socks off fantastical news.” She sounded slightly tipsy, and I had to wonder if maybe she too had been hitting the champagne.
“God knows I wouldn’t mind some good news.” I laughed gruffly.
“You’ll never believe what has happened.”
“I might, if I ever actually get to hear the news.” I smiled.
“Oh.” She giggled. “Right. Well, the verification failed.”
I frowned. “The verification of what?”
“Of the signatures, Royce. The sampling of signatures for the recall election was found to be only sixty percent valid. That means the petition has been found insufficient. No action shall be taken on the petition.”
I frowned. “Could you maybe say that in English?”
“What it means in English is there isn’t going to be a recall election, Royce. The signatures didn’t pass the test. The signatures on the petition were fake. They couldn’t be verified. There isn’t going to be a recall election at all, and you’re still going to be sheriff of Rainy Dale,” she crowed.
Shock rippled through me, and I clutched my cell. “Are you sure?”
She laughed. “Of course I’m sure. Do you think I’d have called you with this news if I wasn’t a million percent sure?”
I slumped and sat on the end of the bed. “Oh, holy cow, Penelope, that’s really great news.” My eyes stung as relief flooded me. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”
“The rumors about Michael Raiden bribing people to get signatures must have been true. Not only was he a murdering thug, he was also a big fat phony.”
“God, I… I need to tell Max. He’ll be so relieved.”
“Yes. Go do that. I just had to tell you the second I was sure. Oh, Royce, I’m so dang relieved.”
She sounded sincerely thrilled for me, but then she’d always looked mighty chummy with theRaidens too. I was beginning to suspect she was a fair-weather type of friend. I’d tread carefully with Penelope in the future. “Thank you for calling, Penelope.”
“You bet. Have a good night,Sheriff.” She giggled and hung up.
Feeling dazed, I wandered back into the kitchen.
