Free There's Something About Marty (A Working Stiffs Mystery Book 3) by Wendy Delaney Page A

the way he was looking at you.”
    “Don’t make too much out of what you just saw, and please don’t say anything to anybody.” Especially Steve.
    “I won’t, but…” Placing her hand on my shoulder, Rox softened her gaze. “Honey, is everything okay?”
    “Sure. It’s just been a long day.”
    “Then why don’t you call it a night. Come over in the morning for coffee if you want to talk.”
    My phone vibrated again. Donna! Let it go! “I do want to talk.” I needed to. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    After making it safely back to the Jag, I took a look at Donna’s latest text. Only it wasn’t from Donna. It was Steve, wanting to know if I wanted him to order a pizza before he left the station. Since that meant coming here to Eddie’s to pick it up and undoubtedly have a few words with Rox in the process….
    I sent him a quick reply. Nope, already ate. I tossed my phone onto the passenger seat, started my car, and hit the gas. I had a cop to beat home.
     
    ∗ ∗ ∗
     
    Ten minutes after I’d changed into an old pair of blue jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, I opened the front door to a weary-looking police detective with a bottle of beer in each hand.
    “How much trouble am I in?” he asked.
    I’d been asking myself that question ever since I left Eddie’s. “You’re not. I know stuff just happens sometimes.” Boy, did I know.
    He shook his head, his expression sullen as he stepped past me. “Yeah. The crazies like to come out on the weekend. They just started early today.”
    I followed him to the living room, where he made a beeline to the sofa.
    “Where’s your grandmother?” he asked, holding out a beer as an invitation to sit on the cushion next to him.
    That would be cozy, but we needed to talk and I wanted to be able to see his face.
    “At Mrs. Doolittle’s. It’s mahjong night,” I said, taking the bottle he offered and planting my butt in the overstuffed easy chair to his left.
    Steve and I locked gazes. After several seconds, a flicker of a smile danced on his lips. “I take it this means you want to talk about tonight.”
    Want might be too strong a word, but I was prepared to tell him everything that had happened this evening. Well, almost everything.
    I nodded, my mouth suddenly dry.
    He took a pull from his bottle of beer. “So, how’d it go?”
    With what? Dinner? I really didn’t want to just dive into the main course of my evening with Kyle. I needed to start with an appetizer, something for him to nibble on. “I went to Eddie’s shortly after I hung up with you. You know, to tell Rox about us.”
    Steve’s mouth flat-lined. “I still don’t understand why this is such a big deal.”
    “Of course not. That’s because you’re a guy.”
    “Just tell me that you finally told her.”
    “I tried.” I wiped away a drip of condensation trickling down the beer bottle in my hand. “It got busy with a lot of people at the bar.” Kyle included. “But I told her I wanted to talk to her and we’re meeting for coffee in the morning.”
    “Good.” Steve took another sip of beer. “Are we done talking?”
    I was, at least on that subject. “Unless you want to tell me about your evening.”
    “Drunk kid versus tree. Tree won. End of discussion.”
    Bad for the kid, but good for me if that’s all Steve had to say.
    I pushed out of my chair. “Then I guess we’re done talking unless you’d like to tell me you’re hungry.”
    “I’m okay. I had a bag of chips out of the vending machine a couple of hours ago.”
    “Well, you should just be stuffed then. Gram has some leftover pot roast in the fridge. Want a roast beef sandwich?”
    He stifled a yawn. “I never refuse your grandmother’s pot roast.”
    No, he didn’t and Gram knew it. Probably why she often featured it for his standing Wednesday dinner invitation.
    Steve looked too tired to move, so I handed him the television remote control. “Find us a movie to watch, and I’ll come back with room