Killer Calories

to keep this little secret, right?”
    “No way. I’m not saying I did that. I’m just telling you what I saw and heard, because I’m a good citizen, doing my duty and all.”
    “Uh-huh. And you probably pleaded with the good doctor to turn himself in.”
    “That’s true. I did.”
    “Yeah, yeah. You’re so full of shit, your eyes are turnin ’ brown. Get outta here before I change my mind and bust you anyway.”
    Josef shot up off his chair. “You mean... I can go?”
    “Yeah, this time. But if I get wind of you trying to squeeze Dr. Ross, or anybody else, for more money, I’ll have your ass in a sling before you know what’s hit you. Got that?”
    “No problem, man. I was just trying to do the right thing here. That’s all.”
    “Sure, sure. You’re a real fuckin ’ Eagle Scout. Get lost.” Savannah waited for Dirk to join her in the tiny observation “closet.”
    “Well, well,” she said, “it appears that Dr. Kevorkian has competition.”
    “No kidding! Cool, huh?”
    Dirk was jazzed; the excitement was glowing all over his street-worn, experience-weary face. As far as Savannah was concerned, it was his most endearing quality, this tendency practically to jump out of his hide at the prospect of catching one of the “bad guys.”
    “What now?”
    “One of us has to talk to Dr. Liu, to get her to reconsider her ‘accidental death’ ruling. Maybe convince her to run some more tests.”
    Savannah gave him a poke in the ribs. “What’s this ‘one of us’ bullshit? You’re the investigating officer; you do it.”
    “I would. I mean, it’s not like I’m trying to get out of it or anything like that. But she really likes you, you both being girls and all, and—”
    “And nothing. You’re scared of sweet little Dr. Jenny. You’re a lily-livered, yellow-backed chicken!”
    “I’m not either. And she’s not all that sweet. Not when you question one of her rulings. Hell, she’s bitten my head off for less—like asking her if she’d done certain tests. She may look little and cute and feminine, but it’s deceiving. You get her on a bad day and she can be a real bitch!”
    Savannah tucked her hands into her armpits, began to flap her arms and cackle. “Ba-a- awwk ! Ba-a- awwk !”
    “Stop it! I am not!” he said, giving her a push. “All right. I’ll make a deal with you. You talk to her; I’ll buy you chocolate.”
    “Okay—a one-pound box of Godiva assorted cremes .“
    “Deal.”
    She snickered, knowing that Dirk would die when he saw the price of Godiva chocolate.
    Linking her arm through his, she left the room with him. As they strolled companionably out the back door of the station, he said, “What’s with the chocolate? I thought you were on some sort of diet at that spa.”
    “They aren’t for me. They’re for Jennifer. You don’t think I’m going to go in there unarmed, do you?”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

    “ G odiva chocolates! Oh, Savannah , you shouldn’t have!” Jennifer clapped her hands with delight and reached for the gold foil box with an eagerness that could only have been born of a serious PMS craving.
    Savannah could have admitted that she hadn’t—Dirk had—but she wasn’t that magnanimous. After all, it had been her idea, and in the end, he had nagged her into paying half. So...
    “You’re welcome. You do such a good job around here, I thought you deserved a little treat.” Oh, boy, she thought, too much, too sweet. She had definitely tipped her hand.
    Jennifer eyed her suspiciously across her desk, then waved toward the chair beside it. “Have a seat,” she said, guardedly. “And a chocolate.”
    Savannah chose one of her favorites with a silky lemon center . But the moment she bit into it, Jennifer said, “Why are you buttering me up, Savannah ? Spit it out.”
    Savannah nearly did as the chocolate caught in her throat and choked her. Finally, she found her voice. “What do you mean? Like I said, I thought you deserve—”
    “Of course I deserve. But your idea of a little treat is a simple candy bar, not Godiva cremes . You’re here to weasel something out of me. What is it?”
    “Well, if you really want to know—”
    “I do. But I think you should know—whether I’m going to give it to you or not—I’m still going to eat your chocolates .“
    “As you should. I wouldn’t have it any other way .“
    “Without guilt.”
    “I understand.”
    Jennifer took a nibble of a raspberry creme , chewed, and closed her eyes in