A Deep and Dark December(34)
Graham looked up from his notes. “Of course. Thanks, Elmer.” Great. He looked forward to interviewing the who’s who of his high school dating years— the girl he’d had a serious hard-on for, but never dated; the girl who’d had a crush on him; and the girl he’d ended up dating for nearly two years, in that order. He couldn’t decide which he dreaded most. “What about Greg?” he asked Erin. “Know anything about his friends? Were he and Deidre friends with any other couples?”
Her brow creased, in confusion or censure? If he’d stayed in San Rey he’d likely know the answer to his own question, would likely be one of the guys Greg hung out with. The regret of that realization made him feel guilty and sad for cutting off all ties to anything or anyone San Rey, other than his immediate family. He hadn’t expected to feel this way. During his time in L.A. there was no nostalgia, no looking back. There was nothing he missed or looked forward to whenever he came back for a visit. Did Erin see the total obliteration of his past as a criticism of him as a person?
“As far as I know,” Erin started, “Greg hung out with the same guys since high school. Susie or Beatrice would probably know more.”
“Okay. Thanks. That’s it.” Graham turned the recorder off. He had more to ask, but none of it was relevant to the case.
“I can leave?”
“I might have a couple of follow up questions, but for now, yeah, you can leave.”
Erin gathered up her coat and bag. She paused at the door. “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Thanks for that. You’ll let me know about funeral arrangements?”
“I will.” He waited for her to leave, then settled back into his chair.
“She’s a looker like her Aunt Cerie was. Still is,” Elmer amended. “Do you suppose it’s true?”
“What?”
“Whatever gene it is that gives all them Decembers their woo-woo powers skipped her generation?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Graham hedged, annoyed. He’d heard this talk behind hands all his life. Hearing it now, about Erin, with everything she’d shared with him, pissed him off. She was right. He didn’t know the first thing about what her life had been like growing up here. The whispers and judgmental looks, being painted with the same brush no matter what you did or didn’t do. He didn’t know how she stood it, why she stayed and put up with it.
“Probably for the best. Not many young men’d want their minds read. Not many old men either.” Elmer gave the door Erin had left through a thoughtful look. “Then again, there aren’t many women with a caboose like hers, is there?”
Graham’s irritation ratcheted up a notch, but there was no denying the truth of Erin’s attractiveness. “No. There’s not.”
Elmer’s laugh creaked out as he left. “Good for you, sonny. Good for you.”
Graham shook his head, remembering just how fine the ass in question had felt in his hands last night. He hadn’t planned to kiss her. Hadn’t planned to back her up against that tree. Hadn’t planned the way his body had reacted to hers or hers to his. He didn’t regret it either. It was probably for the best that she’d sent him home instead of inviting him in. He didn’t want or need the complications that would have caused. She was dating someone else and he wasn’t looking for another reason to stay in San Rey. The sooner he got through this case, the sooner he could figure another way out of this town.
He pressed the play button. Erin’s voice filled the room, surrounding him. With her scent still lingering, he closed his eyes, allowing the sensation of her to press in at him, penetrating every pore until he could almost feel her. Almost recreate what it had been like to have her near.
Someone cleared his throat, jolting Graham back to reality. He switched off the recording. Mayor Ted Bhare more than filled the doorway with a good portion of him spilling into the room uninvited. What the hell does he want?
“Got a moment, Graham?”
Graham set aside the recorder and his notes and motioned the man in. “What can I do for you, Mayor?”
“Call me Teddy. We’re all friends here, right?” Teddy lumbered into the room and wedged himself into a chair. He wheezed and shifted, finally settling into his seat like a great nesting bullfrog. “The fine citizens of San Rey are concerned about recent—” Teddy moved the next word around in his mouth before finally spitting it out, “—incidents. I’ve come for your report. Give me something I can take back to my people.”
“Your people.” What fresh bullshit was this?
“The citizenry are understandably concerned. Murder and mayhem have come to San Rey. Their way of life has been suddenly and inexplicably—” He did some more word chewing. “—challenged. They’re looking for answers. We’re all looking for answers and you’re the man holding them.”
Graham folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. He’d had limited experience with politicians, but enough to know they only slithered out from under their rocks when they wanted something or were plotting reelection.
“We’re working leads and gathering evidence.”
Teddy waved a meaty hand. “Come now, Graham. We’re friends. You can give me more than that.”
“I really can’t. None of the lab work is back. There are no autopsy reports yet. I haven’t even gotten a chance to do all the interviews I need to. Any information I give you now wouldn’t do you or the citizenry any good. All we have are two victims and a lot of questions.”