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The others filed out leaving Honey alone with Detective Lansdale.
“Hey, that was a bit rude don’t you think? What can you say to me that the others shouldn’t hear?”
Approaching the bed, his face relaxed into its usual calm expression, even slightly regretful for her discomfort. Surprising her even more, he took her hand and held it gently. “Honey, I’m really sorry to see you in this shape. Look, you’ve been checking in with me for a lot of years now, and I feel kind of responsible for your safety. When the officers told me you’d been attacked, I jumped to conclusions… I see they were mistaken.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, to put it bluntly, the last time we were together, you gave me the impression that you were going to try and find your sister’s killer. Gotta tell you; it gave me a few bouts of heartburn just thinking about you in that world of misfits and lowlifes.”
Honey could see the truth in his eyes, and she turned hers away before he saw the truth in hers.
Shit… too late.
Suddenly, his voice lowered, and she knew what it meant. Anger hid in those levels, controlled maybe, but nonetheless noticeable. “Honey Bolder, what are you up to? The report I read said that you were victimized by some students from your school.”
“It’s true. If my obvious wounds don’t provide enough proof I was attacked, I can show you the insulting slurs on my social media. And… then there’s the threatening text messages on my phone warning me they were going to get their revenge.”
Lansdale cut into her tirade. “Good Lord, it’s hard to believe how anyone survives these intolerable situations. If school boards don’t instigate a zero tolerance right from the start, things get out of hand and the teachers suffer. I’ve been called to too many school shit-shows lately that it makes one wonder if there’s something in the air infecting our young.” He saw her face and corrected his statement. “You’re right. Not all schools have to deal with this behavior. Many have a handle on student conduct, and it shows in their results in the year end finals.”
“Thank you. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea from this. My school is one of the good ones, Detective. It’s just a few spoilt brats that have gotten through the cracks and give a bad name to the rest.”
“Then I’m sorry you had to go through this. But I’m glad to be mistaken in thinking that you were involved in searching for Katrina’s killer.” He watched her closely, saw her turn away too fast, and his face tightened. “I thought so.”
“It’s not what you think. All I’ve done is ask a few questions.”
“And stir up the hornet’s nest as I said before. You might like to take my advice and leave the detecting up to us, Miss Bolder. I wouldn’t want you to get in above your head and end up back here.”
“Are you threatening me?” Honey’s eyes widened at his sudden formality.
Lansdale rubbed his face, and a smile broke through. “Hell, no, girl. It’s a gentle warning, is all.”
Hesitating, yet she felt impelled to be honest. “I have three names of men who were in trouble with the law years ago and are now working at Nudies. Their names are written on a paper in my phone cover.”
Detective Lansdale stared at her until she beckoned with her hand at the phone on the table next to her. He reached over and handed it to her, and she retrieved the slip Linda had given her. “Maybe you can check these guys out.”
Graciously, he took the paper. “If anything comes of this info, I’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you.”
“We’ll get him this go-around, Honey. Just give us time.” The tired-looking man stood to leave. But before he did, he stopped and stared at her, the force of his next words penetrating. “Take care, child.”
“You, too. Sir. And thanks for checking up on me.”
No sooner had he opened the door to leave, but Luke pushed in. The two men faced each other without a word spoken, and Honey swore she saw Lansdale’s head drop suddenly as if to say, I give up. With nowhere to hide, she clenched her fists and waited.
Luke strode toward her as if he had every right to be there. His cold face made her cringe until he spoke in a voice filled with gentleness. “You’ve been hurt. Who did this to you?”
Chapter Nineteen
“Hello to you too.” An attempt at sarcasm seemed her best choice. When it’s hard to breathe, speaking with any intelligence felt impossible.
“Don’t you sass me, lady. I’m in no mood.” Honey shrank back as his tall body leaned closer and surveyed her face. His eyes underwent more than one emotion until she saw the flash of grief, and her sensitive nature kicked in. “I’m sorry.”
He calmed instantly. “No. No, I’m sorry. I-I can’t stand… okay I hate to see… Shit, lady, it bugs me that you’re hurting because some asshole thought he could use you as a punching bag.” As if he heard his own words, his mouth slammed shut like a car door violently pushed.
Without thinking, Honey reached up to touch his face. “I’m okay, Luke. Just a few female schoolyard bullies carrying through with their threats. It’s a long story.”
Luke leaned over to smooth her hair back from her sweaty forehead and felt her temperature. “You’re hot, baby.” He straightened. “I’ll get the doctor to check for a fever.”
