To Sketch a Thief (26 page)

“You know damn well I’m not movin’ on till I know who shot me,” he snapped so sharply that he woke Hobo, who jumped up, banging his head on the underside of the table. He whimpered and nestled his head in Rory’s lap for soothing.

“I’ve done my best to find the answer for you,” she replied, stroking the dog’s head, “but I’ve run through all my options here. If there’s information to be found, it’ll have to wait until I can look for it in Arizona.”

Zeke’s expression softened; the darkness lifted from his eyes. “You’re plannin’ to do that for me?”

“Yes, I’m just not sure exactly when,” she said tersely. She’d been waiting for a good time to tell him about her plan. She’d wanted him to know it was a thank-you for helping to save Hobo. But the words had spilled out of her in the wrong way, at the wrong time, and she was annoyed with herself and with Zeke for causing that to happen.

If Zeke was put off by the testiness in her voice, he didn’t show it. “That puts things in somewhat of a different light,” he said after a moment’s consideration. “Perhaps we shouldn’t be talkin’ in such absolute terms. I suppose we could take things a day at a time; let circumstances help us decide what’s appropriate. I see no reason why two intelligent people can’t come to some kind of accommodation that suits them both.”

Rory was glad to hear him back down before she had to put her last chip into play. She didn’t want to sell Mac’s house, but the threat of it was her only leverage in their relationship. She knew one day she might have to follow through on it. But at least it wasn’t today.

“When did you become such a philosopher?” she asked.

“You don’t know the half of me, darlin’,” he said, with the saddest smile Rory had ever seen.

Hobo lifted his head from the comfort of her lap. He padded over to where Zeke was standing, looked up at the marshal and whimpered as if in sympathy. Zeke shook his head and gave a little laugh. Then, with Hobo close behind, he walked back to his place at the table.

The three of them sat quietly for a while; it was Zeke who finally broke the silence. “Truth be told, Aurora, I’d miss you mightily if you left this place. Hell,” he added with a wink, “I’d even miss the mutt.”

Feeling charitable, Rory gave him a pass on calling her Aurora. “Speaking for myself and ‘the mutt,’ we’d miss you too,” she said, knowing it was true. What she didn’t know, however, was whether she and the rest of the world would ever be ready for a fully autonomous, traveling Zeke show.

Berkley Prime Crime titles by Sharon Pape

SKETCH ME IF YOU CAN
TO SKETCH A THIEF