Free Fried Pickles and the Fuzz by Calico Daniels Page A

lay a big wet one on him?”
    â€œYeah, but I didn’t mean right there in front of the whole town.” The redhead sipped her java and moaned. “That’s what I needed. So, how are things going between you two now?”
    â€œTo be honest, I haven’t seen him much since the farewell brunch on Sunday. He was on duty yesterday and had to skip dinner.” And she had missed him. Funny how used to his company she had gotten over the past few months. And now since the kiss, she wanted to spend even more time with him. She wanted to get to know everything about him.
    â€œAnd the whole Gus situation?” Beth Ann raised a crimson brow and took another sip of her coffee.
    Heather shrugged. “I haven’t been able to find a single place locally that I can afford. I need to get over to the station and talk to Bronson about that.” She glanced at the clock on the wall above her sink. Seven-thirty. Bronson should be at the department by now. “Maybe I can convince him to give me a bit more time.”
    â€œI just bet you can.” Beth Ann gave her a sly wink and sipped her coffee. “Use those womanly wiles I know you have locked away, gal.”
    â€œSpeaking of wiles, what’s going on with you and Billy?”
    A light flush crept up her friend’s neck and stained her cheeks. “Nothing nearly as interesting as the drama in your life right now.”
    â€œWho says I’ve got drama?”
    â€œWhen are you gonna learn that everything in Big Creek comes with drama. Either starts with it or it comes close on its heels.” Beth Ann set down her empty mug and snatched her purse from the floor by her chair. “And speaking of, I need to get over to the shop.”
    Without waiting for Heather’s reply, Beth Ann got up from the table, squeezed her friend ’ s shoulder , and let herself out of the small apartment , leaving Heather alone with a thousand thoughts running through her head.
    Aside from the fact that she was itching to know all the juicy details about her best friend’s relationship with her high school sweetie, Heather had her own fish to fry. First up… talking to Bronson.
    After checking her reflection in the bathroom mirror, Heather made the short walk up the alley behind T he Pickle to the Police Department. Martin sat at his desk near the rear of the office , typing furiously on his keyboard, a teetering stack of paperwork looming near his left hand. “Be right with you,” he called.
    â€œI’m just lookin’ for the s heriff.”
    Martin turned and smiled. “He’s got the day off today.”
    Heather ’ s heart sank. She rifled through her memory , trying to recall if he had told her about the day off or not. Surely she had simply forgotten. “Okay, I’ll just call him.” She walked toward the dispatcher’s desk. “Is it okay if I poke my head out back and see Gus while I’m here?”
    Martin looked as if his hand had just gotten slammed in a car door. His eyes grew wide and his pallor took on a greenish tint. “Um… well.”
    Certainly there shouldn’t be any issue in her paying a small visit to the department ’ s only resident. A sinking feeling started to roil in the pit of her stomach as she watched Martin begin to fidget. It seemed he was doing his level best to look anywhere but directly at her. “Martin? Is Gus okay?”
    The dispatcher cleared his throat. “He was right as rain when I last saw him.”
    â€œAnd when was that?” The ball of nerves continued to grow in her mid - section.
    â€œAbout an hour ago.”
    Something in the way the man made his last statement caused a shiver of dread to race down Heather’s spin e . “Martin?”
    â€œYes, ma’am?”
    â€œWhere’s Gus right now?”
    â€œI can’t say for sure.”
    His evasiveness was really starting to irk Heather. The man knew