Free A Cook in Time by Joanne Pence

might have been seeking answers to the loneliness of his life. If so, he hadn’t found them.
    The two inspectors saw that the police had the situation under control and the reveling stargazers were being dispersed, so they continued on to the Hall of Justice. In the parking lot, they got out of the city-owned vehicle.
    â€œI’m calling it a night, pal,” Yosh said, turningtoward his Mercury Sable. “Nancy’s been making noises about never seeing me anymore. She’s right. She’s been busy, and I haven’t even had the time to find out what she wants for Christmas. That isn’t good for either one of us. If I get the wrong gift, I’m dead meat. I think leads on this case are pretty dead, anyway. A good night’s sleep isn’t going to kill them any more than they already are.”
    â€œYou may be right,” Paavo said. He looked at the Hall, then thought of the bonfire he’d just left. Some people were out there having fun even in their anxiety, feeling alive, while he was supposed to go up to the fourth floor to deal with death. Maybe Yosh was right. The next day would be soon enough. That night, he had something else to do.
    Visions of Angie came to mind, along with how he’d felt when her loathsome neighbor said she’d gone out with another man. He needed to see her.
    â€œGoing to get some shut-eye yourself, Paav?” Yosh asked.
    â€œNot hardly.”
    Yosh’s eyebrows rose, then he laughed out loud as Paavo waved good-bye and headed for his car.
    Â 
    Angie pulled open the door at the first of Paavo’s light taps. He had a key to her apartment—as she did to his house—and he would have used it to let himself in if she were sleeping.
    He fixed his attention wholly on her, waiting for the shift of an eye, a flinch, the slightest nuance that might tell him he should be in any way concerned about her neighbor’s words. Even if Angie had gone out with an old boyfriend, though, it wouldn’t mean anything. He knew her, trusted her. Hell, he’d even told her he loved her, something he’d never told any other woman.
    â€œThank God you’re here.” She threw herself into his arms. “It was so exciting, Paavo! I couldn’t believe it. It was so incredible! How did you find out already? Is it already on the news? Oh, of course! The police-band radio.”
    He held her close, shutting his eyes a quick moment in relief at her greeting and in disgust at himself for having allowed the slightest flicker of doubt to enter his mind. “Angie, hold on.” He lifted his head to look into big, brown, smiling eyes. “Find out what?”
    His hands held her waist. She wore a soft, fluffy yellow bathrobe that brushed the floor, and had washed off her makeup, making her look and feel so desirable it was all he could do not to stop her words with kisses. But she clearly was a lot more excited about something other than him just then.
    â€œYou really haven’t heard?” A small furrow formed between her eyebrows.
    â€œI came here to see you,” he said softly. He couldn’t help but lift one hand to her face to feel the soft, smooth warmth of her skin. Astheir eyes met, his hand rested a moment on her shoulder, then slid down her back, past her waist to her hips, pulling her closer, pressing her tight against him.
    â€œOh well … I …” Her gaze drifted from his blue eyes to the deeply shadowed lower lids, high cheekbones, and angular nose, and rested on his mouth. Her mood shifted, and suddenly the reality of the handsome man in her arms was a lot more interesting than the peculiar events at Tardis Hall. She lifted her arms to his neck. Who cares about some old aliens , she thought. His head lowered to hers, and their lips met. In minutes her robe lay on the floor of the living room while his clothes left a bread-crumb-like trail straight to Angie’s bed.
    In the bedroom, his touch, his