Her Last Word(38)

“Sure,” she said. “I could use a coffee.”

Adler walked behind Logan and pushed his wheelchair up behind him. When Logan kept standing, Adler nudged the back of his legs. “Sit.”

Logan shoved out a breath and lowered himself. When he was seated, Adler pulled the wheelchair away from the bars and grabbed Logan’s jacket hanging nearby.

“Where are we going?”

“I need fresh air.” He pushed the wheelchair into the main lobby through the double automatic doors, and kept moving along the sidewalk still damp from the morning rain. They arrived at a secluded bench under a small tree. He sat while Logan locked the brake and tugged on his jacket.

“So is this a pep talk?” Logan asked as he shrugged on his jacket.

“God, no.”

“A welfare call?”

Adler shoved out a breath. “What happened in that house was shitty.” His throat tightened with anger. Up until now, he’d not been able to talk about the explosion. Now they had no choice. “I’ll never pretend otherwise.”

Logan drew in a slow, ragged breath. “Easy for you to say. You came out with hardly a scratch.”

Adler took the jab. He wanted Logan to vent. “You’re one hell of a cop, and you’ll return to the job.”

Logan stared toward the redbrick facade of the old section of the hospital. “Someone tell you this bullshit to motivate me?”

“No.” His former partner wasn’t making this easy, but then again Logan hadn’t deserved what happened to him. “I always said you were destined for great things.”

He glanced at his prosthetic as if it were an unwelcome visitor. “Right.”

Adler caught Logan’s eye and leaned forward. Several cars came and went. “Your wife left you?”

“Yep. Couldn’t handle all this. I’m not the pretty face I was before the explosion.”

“You never had a pretty face,” Adler said, grinning.

Logan shot him a look of annoyance, not sure how to take the remark.

“Come up to Ashland. Move in with me. I’m renovating the place, and you’re welcome.”

“I don’t want your pity.”

“Good, because I’m fresh out. I do have a first-floor room, and after you install the handicap bars in the bathroom shower, you should be good to go.”

Logan arched a brow. “Me install the bars?”

“You’re good with carpentry work.”

“Do I have to buy them as well?”

“I’ll order them today.”

A crooked smile rushed past the anger. “You make it sound so tempting.”

“Telling it like it is. The first-floor bedroom, bathroom, and shower are set up so you can roll right in. The kitchen is a work in progress. New cabinets come next week and then countertops, but there’s a temporary sink, stove, and refrigerator. Also, I have a nice yard looking onto the train tracks.”

“I’m kind of fond of trains.” Logan grinned slightly.

“You’ll see a lot of them in Ashland.”

“And then what?” Logan asked, turning serious again.

“You keep coming here. You keep working.”

“And then?”

“And then you get back to being a cop,” Adler said.

“I don’t have two legs, remember?”

Adler tapped his index finger against his own temple. “Does this still work, or are you unable to think any more?”

“I think too much.”

“Join the club.” Adler focused on the metal leg feeding into the Nike tennis shoe. “You’ll make it work.” He scratched under his chin. “Besides, you know the old saying. Chicks dig scars.”

Logan laughed. “Bullshit.”

Adler was silent for a moment, then when he trusted his voice, said, “This kind of shit weeds out the pussies.”

Logan sighed. “Fuck me. I’ll do it.”

“Good.”

Logan rubbed the calluses on his palm. “So what’re you working on these days?”

“Homicide. Stabbing. Hell of a case.” Seeing Logan’s interest pique, he steered the conversation toward the Ralston murder, which he recapped in detail.

Logan shifted in his chair. “A shitload of planning.”

A thought occurred to him. “You’re taking classes at the university while on disability?”

“Yeah.”

“Ever heard of a teacher named Kaitlin Roe?”

“No.” Logan dug his phone from his pocket and pulled up a site dedicated to rating professors. He typed in Kaitlin’s name and pulled up her profile.

Adler studied the image. Her blond hair was swept in front of her face, effectively hiding half her features. White teeth flashed as if the camera had caught her laughing. A collection of bracelets hung from a slim wrist as she appeared to brush a wisp of hair from her face.

“She’s hot,” Logan said.

Adler rubbed his neck. He’d noticed. “What’s it say about her?”

Logan scrolled through the comments. “Hates it when people are late to her class. Grades hard. Fair. Will organize extra Saturday study sessions if the class needs it. You have a hard-on for her?” A slight grin teased the edges of his mouth.