Tinsel (Lark Cove #4)(69)

Aubrey raised her eyebrow at the officer, and to my surprise he didn’t cower. Most people did. Instead, the corner of his mouth twitched.

Not good.

“Do you think this is funny?” The room temperature rose ten degrees as anger blasted from her body. “My sister was violated. He touched her. He stole from her. And you’re smiling?”

“It’s not funny.” Officer McClellan kept his easy smile as he leaned his forearms on the table. “But your expectations are. Like I’ve told you, we’ll do everything we can to track this guy down. But Ms. Kendrick’s personal belongings will probably not be recovered. I’m just being real. Unless you’d rather I lied?”

“Yes,” I spoke up before Aubrey could snap again. “Lie to me. Please.”

“I’ll find the guy today.”

“Okay, great. What else?”

He grinned. “I’m sure your handbag is being treated with the utmost care. He probably took it to get cleaned.”

“That’s nice of him.”

“I think so too. And it was nice of him to donate the cash in your purse to charity.”

“It sure was.” I smiled. “Thank you.”

“I’m not trying to make light of this situation,” he said. “It happens too often and unfortunately we don’t have the man power to track down every petty thief. But I am really sorry this happened to you.”

“It’s New York.”

“Still doesn’t make it right,” he said.

“No, it doesn’t. Do you need anything else from us, Officer McClellan?”

“Landon,” he corrected me this time. “And no. You’re free to go. I have your number.”

“Except she doesn’t have a phone,” Aubrey muttered, standing from her chair.

I stood too and held out my hand. Landon shook it then smiled as he waved us to the door.

“Are you going to be all right tonight?” He escorted us out of the office where we’d been sitting.

Aubrey marched ahead, down the hallway and past desks occupied by other officers.

“I think so. I just feel . . .” My shoulders shook with the shivers.

“Creeped out.”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “And dirty.”

“Well, you don’t look dirty. You look beautiful.”

“Oh, um, thanks.”

Did he just hit on me? His compliment came out more like a statement than a pickup line, but I was too out of practice with flirting to know for certain.

Landon was a good-looking man with dirty blond hair. He had a good-cop vibe going for him with a clean-shaven face, straight nose and crystal blue eyes. Add to that a muscular physique his uniform only accentuated, and he was prime precinct calendar material.

He was completely my type, and a year ago, I would have shamelessly flirted for his phone number.

But I wasn’t that woman anymore. Now I wasn’t sure who I was.

An entrepreneur? A philanthropist? A socialite?

There were hints of them all, and the mixture was unsettling. Nothing had been steady since Dakota had left three months ago.

“I’m sorry. That was stupid.” Landon frowned at himself. “I shouldn’t have said that. Now I made it weird. I just . . . you don’t look dirty. I wanted you to know that. Still, it was out of line. I’m sorry.”

“Please, don’t be.”

Landon had been a saint, patient and kind to me from the moment he’d been assigned my case. And now that I knew his compliment hadn’t been a come-on, it made me even more grateful that he’d been the officer to call my name in the waiting room.

We caught up with Aubrey, who was standing by the doorway to the staircase leading us out of the building.

“I’ll be in touch.” Landon pulled a business card and a pen from his shirt pocket. Then he put the card on the wall and jotted down a phone number. “Here’s my cell. If you need anything at all, someone to talk to, a coffee buddy, a cop who seems to piss off your sister, just give me a call.”

“Thank you.” I smiled. “Have a good night.”

“You too, Sofia.” With a wink, he turned and retreated down the hallway. He had that natural swagger that was hard not to watch. Even Aubrey couldn’t take her eyes off his firm behind as he sauntered away.

“I don’t like him,” she huffed. “I think we should hire a private investigator.”

I rolled my eyes and shuffled her out the door. Outside, Glen was standing stoically by the car. I’d told him he could leave when we’d arrived earlier, but I wasn’t surprised to see him still here.

When he spotted us, he rushed forward. “How did it go?”

“It’s done, and I’m ready to forget this ever happened.”

“Can I take you home?”

“Actually,” I looked to Aubrey, “would you mind some company tonight? I don’t want to go home.”

On the way to the precinct, Glen had called my doorman and told him my things had been stolen, including my keys. They’d probably already recoded the access points to my penthouse, so there was no way that the thief would be able to get inside. Still, I was uneasy. Night had fallen since I’d gotten to the station, and I wouldn’t feel good going home until broad daylight.