Part 14 (1/2)

I shook my head while I finished chewing. ”Nothing. Although Darby did give him a copy of all her photos yesterday. He was very appreciative.”

Darby scoffed. ”I don't know about that. But he did mutter the words, 'thank you'.”

”Does anyone want a bite?” I held up what was left of my sandwich. They both declined, and I was thankful. Darby and Grey made small talk as I finished my lunch.

”Have you seen Hagan Stone today?” he asked Darby.

”Oh, yes. I met with him early this morning. He's around here somewhere. Did you need to talk to him?”

He shook his head. ”No.”

”I noticed the two of you talking yesterday. I didn't realize you knew each other.” She wiped her palms on her jeans as if she were nervous.

I watched Grey with a sideways glance, curious to hear his answer.

”We don't. I met him while looking for Betty's gun.”

Darby's blue eyes blinked repeatedly. ”Oh, it seemed like you were awfully friendly.”

Grey's shoulders tensed. If you didn't know him, you probably wouldn't have noticed. But I did know him, and he was being very cautious with his answer. ”He's a friendly guy. He was telling me about the dogumentary and how excited he was to have the promotion.”

I frowned. That wasn't the story he'd given me. Grey was lying to one of us.

Darby grabbed her camera and messenger bag. ”I've got to go. The race will start soon, and I want to shoot some pictures of the crowd beforehand.”

”Is everything okay?” I asked her.

She nodded, a tentative smile pasted on her face. ”I realized how late it's getting. Can't doc.u.ment the race without the photographer.”

”True. Good luck. I hope today runs smoother than yesterday.”

”Don't we all. See ya later, Grey.”

”Good-bye.” He waved as she walked away.

I cracked open the water bottle and drank deeply, was.h.i.+ng down the last of my sandwich. ”I'm surprised to see you.”

He leaned against the table. ”I had some unexpected free time so I thought I'd swing by. Where's Missy?”

”At the house. Yesterday was too much excitement for her. She'll be disappointed she missed you.” I gathered my trash and looked around for a garbage can. Not seeing one, I said, ”I'll be right back.”

”Can't stand being alone with me?” Did he actually look worried or was that wishful thinking on my part?

I gestured to the budding crowd and excited dogs. ”This is not alone. I'm looking forward to being alone with you later tonight.” Feeling confident in our relations.h.i.+p for the first time in weeks, I kissed him lightly on the mouth without an ounce of hesitation. ”Hold down the fort. I'm going to find a place to toss this before a dog sniffs it out. If someone stops, entertain them until I get back.”

My stomach was full, and my heart was optimistic. I felt a huge goofy smile slowly spread across my mouth. I picked my way through the crowd toward the bright yellow barrel, thinking about the different possible endings of my dinner with Grey later tonight.

A blur of blue velour sped ahead of me, knocking a dog walker aside. It looked like Gia and Zippy. I bobbed to the right but lost sight of them after they slipped behind the Feline and Me tent.

I reached the trash can and pitched my garbage inside. Before returning to Grey, I decided to make a quick side trip in the direction where I thought I'd seen Gia and her dog dash off. Sure enough, they were there. With her back to the crowd, Gia bent over and poured the contents from her purple reusable water bottle into Zippy's special bowl. The dog lapped up the liquid almost as quickly as she poured it.

I wish I'd paid more attention to her when she'd rattled off his schedule earlier. Normally, I wouldn't be suspicious of an owner pouring her pooch a drink. But Gia had been adamant that whatever was in the bottle was hers. ”Vitamin water,” she had said. I wasn't so sure.

She'd purposely hidden behind a tent, away from public viewing, before giving Zippy his drink. What was Gia Eriksen hiding? My long stride ate up the distance between Grey and me at a quick pace.

It was possible I'd just caught Gia red-handed breaking the rules. I had to find a way to get that water bottle to Doctor Daniel.

Chapter Seventeen.

I HAULED MY BEHIND back to the booth, skidding to a stop in front of Grey who was leaning against the table reading email from his phone. I grabbed his shoulders and practically shouted, ”I think I just saw Gia doping Zippy.”

Grey looked up, surprised. ”What?”

I tamped down my excitement. After stepping to the side, I pointed toward the Feline and Me booth. ”Over there, behind the tent. Lenny might have been telling the truth. We've got to get Gia's water bottle.”

”You're leveling a pretty serious allegation. Are you sure she was drugging him?”

What a joy-killer. I dragged my gaze away from where Gia and Zippy were tucked away like a couple of paparazzi-ducking celebrities. ”Nooo,” I dragged out the one syllable word. ”That's why I said we have to get the water bottle from her. We need proof.”

He didn't say a word. At least not verbally. I ignored his nonverbal cues and took his silence as an invitation to sway him to my way of thinking.

”Don't you find it odd that she hid behind the tents to give her dog a drink? Why be so secretive?”

”Maybe she wanted privacy.”

”She could have gone to the veterinarian clinic or her car. What if Lenny was right? What if she's been cheating this whole time?”

He pocketed his phone with a sigh. ”You're scheming.”

”No,” I lied, my eye twitching.

A wry smile settled on his mouth. ”The eye spasm gives you away.”

I pressed my fingers against my eyelid.

”You need to stay out of it,” he said.

I sighed, frustrated. ”Why? Why do I need to stay out of it? If Gia is cheating, aren't I just as guilty for turning a blind eye?”

He attempted to hide a pained look, but I saw it and recognized the furrowed brow for what it was-resignation.

”What did you have in mind?” he asked.

I wasn't one to gloat over a win. Believe it or not, I am willing to solicit suggestions if warranted. To be honest, my motives weren't one hundred percent pure. If I could find a way to get him emotionally invested in helping me, it might rebuild the trust I'd broken.

I stepped closer until we were an arm's length apart. I lowered my voice. ”You're the FBI. What do you normally do?”