Bitter Sweets

“Anything else that might help me locate him?”

    “Well, let me see. Oh, yes, he drove a truck that said, ‘Warner Electric’ on the side. It was a white truck with red writing and a big, red lightning bolt. The license plate was one of those you choose yourself. It was HI VOLT. Cute, huh? And when Lisa yelled at him, she called him, ‘Ian.’ That’s kind of a weird name, don’t you think? Not everybody’s got it.”

    Savannah was in shock. Puzzle pieces were raining on her from heaven, via Mrs. Abernathy.

    “There,” the older woman paused for a breath, “is that enough to help you?”

    Savannah laughed. “Mrs. Abernathy, dear lady, consider yourself kissed.”

    “How come Abernathy didn’t tell me all that?”

    On the other end of the telephone line, Dirk sounded miffed. It was a sound that delighted Savannah. She still wasn’t above trying to get his goat from time to time.

    “Probably because you didn’t ask her the right questions.” Turning the Camaro down her own street, she felt the warm tingle that often accompanied the idea of “going home” in the evening after a productive day’s work. But it was much more pronounced, knowing that Granny Reid would be there, waiting for her.

    “Are you intending to look this guy up, question him, and make some sort of citizen’s arrest all by yourself, too?” he asked petulantly.

    Not for the first time, Savannah asked herself how she could be so fond of such an old grump.

    “No, sugar, I’ll leave that up to you. The arrest part, that is. As far as who gets to question him first... I guess it’s whoever gets down to Warner Electric tomorrow morning.”

    She chuckled, knowing that Dirk hated rolling out of bed early. It was right up there at the top of his list of Least Favorite Things, along with housecleaning, personal grooming, and being shot in the rear end during a bust gone wrong.

    It had happened twice.

    “What if we go together at about ten?” Dirk would do anything to grab a little sleep.

    “Are you asking me out, darlin’?”

    “Yeah, you can buy me an Egg McMuffin.” Gee, how could a girl turn that down? By the way,” she said, “if we’re going to continue to be seen in public together, YOU should probably shed the trench coat and the sneakers. I’ve heard disparaging remarks about your apparel from the last two individuals I’ve questioned.”

    “So, what’s your point?”

    “If you want me to burn them and spread the ashes at sea, I’ll do that for you. It would be my pleasure, and I would consider it a public service.”

    “Yeah, well, screw you, Reid. And just what are you wearing right now?”

    “What am I wearing? Is this some sort of obscene phone call?”

    “You wish.”

    “See you tomorrow.”

    “Yeah, thanks for the tip. I owe you one, kid.”

    As Savannah pulled up to her house, she felt good. Not magnificent, because she still hadn’t found Christy Mallock. Not great, because she still didn’t know who had killed Lisa and Earl, and no arrests had been made.

    But it had been a good day. Several interesting interviews, some new leads, a spot of light at the end of the tunnel.

    Then she saw the colonel’s Lincoln parked directly across the street from her house.

    What now? It could mean almost anything.

    “Shit,” she whispered to no one who cared. “That spot of light is probably an oncoming locomotive.”

    When Savannah walked into her living room, she was surprised at the sight that awaited her. Granny Reid sat on the sofa, the skirt of her best satin caftan spread demurely around her, a dainty cup of tea in her hand. Her gold hoop earrings sparkled in the light of the lamp, which was actually dimmed a few notches.

    Beside her was the colonel, holding a hefty mug, looking every bit as masculine as Gran did feminine. There was plenty of room on the sofa, but he was sitting next to her. Right next to her grandmother!

    And even if the closest thing to sex in Savannah’s recent past- had been the reference to an obscene phone call with Dirk, she recognized sexual tension when it was floating this thick in a room.

    Savannah opened her mouth, intending to say something obnoxious like, “Well! It’s a good thing I got home in time. God knows what might have happened in the next five minutes!”

    But, just before she made a total fool of herself, she recalled when the situation had been reversed and Gran had walked in to find her sitting next to a gentleman caller on