Cook the Books

ribbon.
    “Chloe, stop moving,” Josh instructed as he tried to free me from the caution tape.
    Considering how pissed I suddenly was, he should have left me tangled up and heeded the neon yellow warning.
    “Don’t touch me!” I hollered as I barreled down the front steps. “How dare you try to untangle me after the horrific way you left!” I glared at him, finally getting a good look at the chef who had broken my heart only months before. Streetlights lit his face. It killed me to see that he looked even more gorgeous than ever. Lightened by the sun, his hair was blonder than before, and his skin was tan from those months in Hawaii. Damn, he looked hot! I was angrier than ever. “Do you have any idea what it’s been like for me since you left? Do you? I’m so sick of crying that I can’t cry anymore. You left me, Josh. With barely any explanation except to say that you got a great job offer in Hawaii. The next thing I knew, you were gone!”
    Josh stood silently by the door as he absorbed my tirade. I found it satisfying that he looked crushed. Good! He deserved to feel hurt.
    “I thought you loved me!” I screamed. Hot tears fell down my cheeks, and I didn’t bother to wipe them away. “I thought you loved me,” I repeated, my voice cracking.
    Josh took a step forward, “Chloe, of course—”
    “Stay away from me!” I ordered.
    I heard a loud creak a few yards away and saw first a fist and then a head sticking out a first-floor window in the building next to us. A man’s voice demanded, “What the hell is going on out here now?”
    I squinted in the dark. “Norris?” I could just make out the crabby neighbor I’d spoken with on the morning of the fire, the one who’d complained so much about Digger’s cooking. “Hi, Norris. It’s me, Chloe. From the other day.”
    “That building is condemned, young lady. Can’t you read? I ought to call the police.”
    “Sorry to bother you. We’re just . . I scowled at Josh and corrected myself. “I’m just leaving.”
    “Hey!” Norris snarled. “What’s that?” he said, pointing to Digger’s messenger bag. “Are you stealing now? Looting? Jesus Christ, that damned chef is causing as much trouble now that he’s dead as he did when he was alive. All I want is peace and quiet. No noise, no smells, no women, and no robbers! Get outta here!” Norris pulled his head back into his apartment and slammed the window shut.
    I started to walk quickly to my car but could hear Josh clamber down the front steps and follow me. I kept walking.
    “Chloe? Chloe? Come on. Please talk to me,” he said as he caught up to me. “Slow down, would you?”
    “You want to talk? Talk to yourself all you want. I’m going home.”
    “Digger,” he said. “At least talk to me about Digger.”
    I stopped but kept my back to Josh. Okay, I could do that. “How did you hear?” I asked sadly.
    “Snacker called me. That’s why I’m here.”
    “Yes, I figured it didn’t have anything to do with me.” I gripped Digger’s bag more tightly. “So what were you doing in his apartment?”
    “This story about Digger causing the fire just isn’t credible. Digger was a pro, Chloe. He was careful, and he’d never just leave something on the stove and forget it.”
    I faced Josh. “Is that what they’re saying? All I heard is that the fire was an accident.”
    Josh nodded. “Yeah. It doesn’t make any sense.” He dropped his head. “Why didn’t you call me and tell me about Digger?”
    I shrugged. “It wasn’t my place to anymore. I knew someone would get in touch with you, and obviously someone did. It didn’t have to be me.”
    “It would’ve been nice if it’d been you.”
    “Yeah, Josh? A lot of things would’ve been nice,” I spat back.
    He bit his lip and stared at me. “So what were you doing here? What’s in the bag?”
    I continued walking. “I came to get Digger’s recipes.” I briefly explained about helping with Hank Boucher’s cookbook and saw Josh’s eyes widen at the mention of the celebrity chef’s name. “I thought it would be good to include some of Digger’s work, and his girlfriend, Ellie, seemed to agree. Well, at least she did at first.... Anyhow, I need to get home and start sorting through this stuff. Kyle will be expecting to hear from me.” When we reached my car, I got in without glancing at Josh. Then I rolled down the window.
    “Who’s Kyle?” he asked.
    “Kyle is... It doesn’t matter. Do you, uh, do you