Free 5 Conditioner and a Corpse by Cindy Bell Page B

haunting her. When she heard Nick's car pull up she sighed with relief and ran to the front door. She threw it open, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Only then did she realize that she had been shaking.
    “ Shh,” Nick murmured beside her ear. “It's all right, I'm here, you're safe,” he kissed her cheek gently and trailed his fingers over the back of her head, smoothing her hair. “We know where Barnes is. He's at a club outside of town. We're still holding the two men in custody, so it's okay,” he promised her.
    “ I just want this to be over,” she sighed against his shoulder.
    “ I know,” he whispered. “It will be soon,” he hugged her tighter. “Why don't I take a look around, just to be safe?”
    “ Please,” Bekki nodded. She followed along behind him watching the way he skillfully ducked around corners and knew exactly where to look. It was still a little hard to think of him as the young man she used to sneak beers with. Back then, when anything was possible, Bekki never would have dreamed of this moment.
    “ All clear,” Nick said with a small smile as he turned to face her.
    “ I'm sorry,” she flushed, feeling embarrassed. “I guess I was just on edge.”
    “ Of course you were,” he replied soothingly. “Would you mind if I camped out on your couch again tonight?” he suggested with ample warmth in his tone.
    “ I don't think that's a good idea,” Bekki replied coolly.
    Nick was a little surprised, his eyes widening at her words. “Are you sure?”
    “ Yes, that's going to be way too far away,” Bekki squeaked out and tugged him into her bedroom.
    “ Oh, I see,” he laughed shortly and nodded. “This will be a bit more comfortable.”
    Once Nick had alerted his fellow officers that Bekki was safe, he joined her in her bed. She was snuggled up with one of her big pillows and staring aimlessly into space.
    “What's wrong?” he murmured, and then realized how silly he might sound. “I mean, other than the obvious,” he added with a shake of his head.
    “ It's just this crime,” she frowned. “You know, sometimes I forget how hard your job is,” she said with admiration. “I mean how do you do this every single day? I can't figure out one murder, and yet you handle so many more cases.”
    “ Well, it is Harroway,” he reminded her as he swept his hand gently back through her hair, pulling it away from her eyes. “It's not like we handle much more than a few purse snatchings and some domestic disturbances.”
    “ Don't lie to me,” Bekki grinned. “I know you're always trying to solve something.”
    He smiled a little as she knew his secret about him reviewing cold cases as often as possible. “The thing is sometimes a case can get inside your brain,” Nick explained calmly. “You get one idea of what happened, and you get stuck on it. The answer can be right in front of you, but your mind, it's still playing that idea that you got stuck on. Nothing else can get through. And then,” he sighed as he rubbed his hand gently over the curve of her shoulder and down along her arm to her fingertips. “There's the frustration of having your hands tied. Like Barnes, you are certain that he's the murderer, and I'm certain that you're right,” he arched a brow slightly and met her eyes. “You usually are aren't you?”
    Bekki smil ed playfully. “Well, I try,” she said with a light laugh.
    “ But as a detective, I have to follow certain rules, I can't just coax the owner of the motel into letting me into the suspect's room so I can have a look…”
    “ You knew!” Bekki gasped and glared at him.
    “ Well,” he smiled lopsidedly. “I am a detective, after all.”
    “ A great detective,” she replied and lightly kissed his lips.
    “ Not great enough to solve this, unfortunately,” Nick frowned and shook his head. “I'm sorry Bekki, I wish I had already closed the case.”
    “ Well, then there would be no excuse for cuddling,” she