Page 28 of Capture My Heart

It had been years, but she still recognized Pauline’s low, smoky voice when she heard it. Amy turned to face her old friend. “It’s been a while. I decided to grab something to eat since I was in the area. You know I always loved your mom’s lasagna.”

“Okay, so what about them?” She raised her hand with the to-go bag and pointed at the men. “I smelt cop on them even before you came in.”

Amy turned to look at the men. Whittier and Swenson most definitely gave off a cop vibe, but Fenley? Hell, yes! How did she miss it? She'd be doing some Google searching on her new neighbor tonight. If he wasn’t a cop, she’d bet former military.

Now the gears were turning. It started to make sense, his stance and the way he fit right in with the other officers at the softball game. But she had big question marks as well. Why would he not tell her, a fellow officer of the law?

Pauline tapped her arm with the bag. “Here’s your food. I have to get back to the kitchen.”

Amy snagged her arm before she left. “Hey, we should catch up sometime.”

The words were out before she could stop them. She couldn’t believe she’d just said them.

Apparently, neither could Pauline by the look on her face. A split second later, the tough girl Amy had snuck into the guy’s locker room with in eighth grade was back. “Sure.”

Then she disappeared through the swinging doors.

“I better get back to work. You three can get back to whatever you were doing.” Amy threw a squinty-eyed look at the men and left.

Trey blew out a breath and slid his notes from his lap. “That was close.”

“We’re busted.” Jim pulled the case files out from under the table.

“Totally busted,” CJ agreed. “Larson’s smart and perceptive. I bet she’ll have your complete history by dinnertime.”

Trey’s gaze scanned from the guys to the door, still swinging from when Amy left. His lungs deflated. “Damn, you're right. No use pretending anymore.”

Jim’s brows climbed. “Not yet.”

Swenson and Whittier shared a look. Trey didn’t need to hear the words to know they were having a conversation. These two had some weird Wonder Twins way of communicating. “Okay, guys. Spill.”

CJ leaned in and lowered his voice. “Jim and I were never convinced that Larson should be on the list of suspects. She’s a damn fine officer, trying to make detective. The time stamps had her at her computer at the time of death and her father was a decorated officer...”

“And his death never sat right with us,” Jim added.

“What if we bring her in on it?” CJ asked.

“Time stamps can be faked. I can’t dismiss her from the list just because your gut says so.”

But what about his gut? It said Amy didn’t have a corrupt bone in her body. And what a body.

There lies the problem. He didn’t know if he could trust his usual instincts when it came to Amy Larson because his attraction for her blinded him. “I need facts.”

CJ tapped his index finger against his lips. “What if you keep her on the list, but we bring her in to a point? Give her a chance to clear her name. She could be an asset.”

Trey dropped his head back and huffed. “I don’t know, guys.”

“At the very least, what if we tell her what’s going on? If you don’t say who the suspects are, then you might not need to make the investigation public, yet.” Jim looked at him as if Trey had the ability to crush his dreams.

They had a point. What did he have to lose? If he didn’t try it, she’d talk and his BCA involvement would become public knowledge anyway. “Okay, I will tell her tonight.”

The guys relaxed. Relief washed over their faces.

“But I’m not divulging my suspect list. Not yet.” He’d probably still be outed as a BCA agent to the rest of the department by tomorrow, but it was worth a shot.

“Liz will be so happy not to have to keep this from Amy.” Jim took a gulp of his soda.

“Lorna, too.”