SEAL Wolf In Too Deep(13)

Rowdy glanced at the receptionist, then turned his attention to Debbie again. “You never know. Just…keep your eyes open, consider what I’ve said, and if anything seems…unusual, let me know. I’ve got to run. Take care.”

Werewolves.

Debbie couldn’t believe how Rowdy teased her, though she suspected that making light of something dark sometimes helped him keep from becoming totally numb to the killings he investigated.

Now she had a choice: call Allan and ask if she could do anything for him or his family after learning the horrific news, or let it go and give him time to deal with this on his own.

She still couldn’t believe it. To think poor Rose and Lori had found the dead body when Lori was pregnant with twins and Rose with triplets. And Rose was near term, Debbie thought. They had to have been terrified that the maniac might still be in the woods. She frowned as she got into her Escort. She hoped Allan wouldn’t try to locate the guy and take him down on his own.

Before she hit the road, she punched in Allan’s number.

“Yeah?” Allan answered right away, sounding concerned.

Which she appreciated, considering the frame of mind he had to be in. “I heard about the murder near Paul’s cabin. Are your sister and Lori all right?” She wanted to ask if he was all right. He had to be distressed over the whole situation, but she suspected he wouldn’t appreciate her asking him that.

“Yeah, thanks, Debbie. I really didn’t want to talk about it.”

“I understand. Were you digging around at the crime scene?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t find anything else.”

“The guy has to be some sick bastard.”

“I agree.”

“Can I do anything for Rose and Lori? I’d like to help, if you think they’d appreciate it.”

“No, thanks. We’re good.”

Well, maybe Allan was “good” with it, but Debbie had met both ladies and really liked them. She would have to see what she could do to make them feel better. She’d had all kinds of police psychology training on dealing with issues like this. Paul and Allan probably had some training, but they were too close to the situation. She could imagine how upset they both were.

“Do you have any plans for supper?” Allan asked out of the blue.

Debbie didn’t say anything for a moment because she was so surprised. “Um, no. Do you want to grab some of that pizza?”

He chuckled. “You really had your heart set on having some, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did. Would six be too early?”

“That’ll be fine. Can we meet at the pizzeria?”

She hesitated to respond. If he was trying to tell her this wasn’t a date, she wanted him to know she hadn’t viewed it as such, as much as she wouldn’t mind if the dynamics changed between them. Maybe he was worried that his family might need him, and he wanted to be free to run off and take care of them without worrying about taking her along.

She shouldn’t be overanalyzing this so much. If she were a guy, just a partner, she wouldn’t be. Which made her realize how much she wanted to be more than just his partner.

“Okay, sure. Works for me.” In the meantime, she would check on Lori and Rose. They had to be more than distraught over the whole business. If they didn’t want to talk about it, that was fine, but she wasn’t letting Allan speak for them.

As soon as they ended the call, she headed over to the ranching community of Cottage Grove where Rose’s house, a new two-story log home, had been recently built on an acre of her mother’s property behind her home. Rose’s husband, Everett Johnston, had actually built it and Debbie loved how beautiful and remarkable it was.

She really liked how much the family stayed together. She imagined how helpful it would be for Rose’s mom to live right there. When Rose needed help with the triplets, she would have it.

On the drive to Rose’s place, Debbie mulled over all that Rowdy had told her, wondering what really had happened.

*

Allan was glad to learn from the receptionist at the clinic that Debbie had left twenty minutes earlier. He needed to speak with Franny in private and didn’t want to have to make excuses about that to Debbie.

At the reception desk, Yvonne Messner frowned at him when he arrived, and he wondered what was wrong now.

“That homicide detective, Rowdy Sanderson, was here, talking to your dive partner in private. She seemed surprised and then upset. I tried to listen in, but I was fielding calls about Franny and the baby and missed out on it. I did overhear him telling her about Lori and Rose discovering the body.”

“Thanks, Yvonne. She just told me.” Allan liked Rowdy. He was a friendly sort, but Rowdy really liked Debbie. Allan couldn’t help feeling a little possessive about her in a wolf way, which he had no right feeling.

“Franny is with her baby in room three. She’s expecting you.”

“Thanks.”

When he reached the room, he found Franny lying in bed with Stacy, both sound asleep. He hated to disturb them, but being a wolf, Franny instantly smelled his scent and opened her eyes.

“You’ll keep what I have to say private?” she asked before he could inquire about how she was feeling.

“If the person who forced you into the culvert did so on purpose and I’m investigating it, I can’t guarantee the word won’t get out. I’ll be discreet, and Lori and Paul will have to be kept informed, but otherwise, we’ll try to keep it between ourselves.”