Walk the Wire (Amos Decker #6)(23)

“I’m sure you had suitors.”

“How very old-fashioned of you. I had men who were pursuing me, yes. What they were pursuing me for, well, I don’t think it was marriage.”

Decker held up a hand. “Okay, sorry I asked.”

“I speak my mind. I’m independent. And some guys find that a turn-off.” She paused. “Although I seem to have no problem playing second fiddle to you.”

Decker looked surprised at her statement. “I wouldn’t describe it that way. I rub people the wrong way. Sometimes that works, other times not. You’re good at rebalancing things.”

“So we make a good team, you think?”

He seemed startled by the query. “Yes. Don’t you?”

She patted his hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not looking to get a new partner. I’m just now breaking you in.”

“Can anybody join the party or is it totally private?”

They looked up to see Caroline Dawson standing next to their table. She was dressed far more conservatively than the last time they had seen her. A modest white blouse buttoned to her neck, black slacks, low pumps, and her hair pulled back. Her makeup was minimal but her personality was as effervescent as the first time they had met.

Jamison indicated a seat. “Help yourself. We’re just grabbing a quick bite.”

Dawson sat down. “Stan told me about you, Decker. Said you’re a crackerjack detective, the FBI’s finest.”

“Did he?” said Decker, not looking pleased.

“And here I was asking you to go clubbing. I’m really sorry about that.”

“You had no way of knowing why we were here,” interjected Jamison.

She glanced at Jamison. “He didn’t really know you, but if you’re an FBI agent, you must be great, too. And I love it that they have women in the ranks doing the job and not just guys.”

“I agree with you there,” replied Jamison.

“Well, it’s nice that tiny London, North Dakota, gets so much firepower. You should finish solving it in no time. Stan said it was a murder?”

“That’s right.”

“Irene Cramer?”

“How’d you know that?”

“Hal Parker. He works for my father sometimes as a hunter. He was tracking down a wolf that was doing damage to some of my dad’s livestock when he found the body.”

“You keep livestock out in this heat?” said Jamison.

“The winter is actually harder on them than the summer. And when it’s fifty below out we provide dry bedding, which is important. Their coats will adapt to the cold, but when they’re penned inside, you have to keep an eye on the ventilation. Too much nitrogen, moisture, or odor in the air, and other factors like that can lead to respiratory infections. With the heat it’s important to make sure they have water and shade and enough to eat. My dad’s been doing this a long time, and he gets the balance just right.”

“And it sounds like he taught you well,” commented Jamison.

Dawson brightened. “He has taught me well. Sometimes too well, such that I’m sitting in a restaurant with two strangers talking about cow pens and nitrogen levels.”

Jamison said, “The closest I’ve ever gotten to livestock is at a petting zoo.”

“What else did Hal Parker tell you about finding the body?” asked Decker.

“That he threw up. That he’d never seen anything that awful in his life. And he fought in the Middle East.”

“But he couldn’t have known it was Irene Cramer. She was identified after she was brought in.”

Dawson sat back and looked at Decker in a new, perhaps sobering light.

“I’m good friends with Liz Southern. She told me. But I don’t want her to get into trouble. I was just curious after Hal told me he’d found a body of a woman.”

“That’s okay,” said Jamison. “It’s a small town and news was bound to get around.”

“Got any suspects?”

“None that we can talk about,” advised Decker quickly. “Did you know Ms. Cramer?”

“No. But I knew that she taught school over at the Brothers’ Colony.”

“Do you know the folks there?”

“I can’t say I really know them all that well.” She glanced at Decker. “So, Stan also told me that you’re his brother-in-law.”

“Soon to be ex-brother-in-law, as I’m sure he also told you.”

“I wouldn’t be seeing him if he were still happily married,” she said firmly.

“That’s good to know,” replied Decker. “I have to admit that I went to the OK Corral Saloon and watched you two dancing. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him more uncomfortable.”

Dawson smiled. “He is very awkward in his own skin when it comes to things like that. But it’s also very endearing.” She glanced up at Decker. “But I’ve found that I like showing him there’s more to life, you know.”

“I can see that,” said Jamison appreciatively. “Sometimes guys need a little helping hand in that regard.”

“He’s nice and there’s something about him, I don’t know, this na?ve quality, that really appeals to me. Plus, he’s quite the gentleman. And he fought for his country. I mean, I definitely feel safe when I’m around him.”