Tommy Lee. Or go back to the office. This isn’t going to work for us. I’m sorry, but getting angry won’t change anything.”
“That’s fine.” Tommy Lee spared a glance at the front of the Biscuit Bowl where Ollie was sitting. “If that’s what you really want, Zoe. That’s fine.”
I don’t know if it was Ollie’s warning face or my persistent entreaty that our relationship was over. Tommy Lee finally turned and left without a backward glance.
What did I do?
I had to wipe away a few tears even though I knew it was for the best. The change in my life wasn’t our only problem. We’d been together for a long time. Suddenly, I was alone.
Delia patted me on the shoulder. “You’ll find someone else. There’s no point in being with someone when it’s wrong.”
“You okay back there?” Ollie asked.
I sniffed, thanked Delia, and wiped my eyes. “I’m fine. thanks. I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
“I’ve heard worse. How many biscuit bowls we got left?”
It turned out to be plenty. A few people stopped on their way home, leaving police headquarters. Nothing like the lunch crowd. We still had six biscuit bowls left as we got ready to pull out of our lucrative parking space.
I saw Detective Latoure for the first time that day. I told Ollie I’d be right back and jumped out of the food truck to talk to her. I thought I might be able to butter her up with a strawberry-filled biscuit bowl.
“What’s this?” Detective Latoure asked as I hailed her.
“I brought you a biscuit bowl,” I told her cheerfully. “On the house. Try it.”
She studied the biscuit bowl but didn’t seem inclined to accept my offer. Maybe she was afraid to eat my food. It hadn’t been that long before that she’d thought I’d killed Taco Terry.
“I’m sorry, Zoe. I’m not a big fan of biscuits. Too many carbs. Sorry.”
“That’s okay. I’m glad we were near police headquarters today. A man tried to rob us.”
Detective Latoure frowned
“There are several other guns and some knives over there in the bushes, too,” I told her. “Do you want me to get them out for you? You’re wearing that nice suit. Green is a good color on you. I don’t want you to get dirty.”
Her mouth kind of dropped open. It took a minute or two for her to come around. “I’ll have an officer pick these up. You shouldn’t handle them. Thank you for letting me know about this.”
“You have to try my biscuit bowl.”
Naturally she felt obligated at this point to try a bite. She took a big crunch out of the warm, strawberry-filled biscuit bowl, and rolled it around in her mouth a little, finally smiling.
“This is good. I really like it. It doesn’t taste like most biscuits, not doughy at all.” She grinned, finishing it. “I’ll have to swim an extra few laps to get rid of it. I’ve always had to watch my weight. You know how that is!”
I did indeed, and surprisingly, we had pleasant, girl-talk about everything from drinking vinegar to eating grapefruit to lose weight. Patti was very warm and human when she wasn’t so busy being a detective.
She bought two savory biscuits to go for her and her husband’s dinner.
Word of mouth was everything. I was happy to oblige. “Thanks, Detective Latoure.”
“Patti.”
“Thanks, Patti.”
“I’m really sorry about your near robbery,” she said. “Do you have a description? You never can tell when other people have had the same experience, but not gotten away so lucky.”
“Of course.” I told her what the man had looked like, and she wrote it down. “I’m happy to help out. Did you hear about that man at my diner last night?”
She was still smiling and licking what was left of the strawberry filling from her finger tips. “I heard. Miguel came by and let us know, not to mention the police report from the responding officers. I had them run an extra patrol through there at night for this week.”
“Thanks. It probably didn’t have anything to do with
“That’s fine.” Tommy Lee spared a glance at the front of the Biscuit Bowl where Ollie was sitting. “If that’s what you really want, Zoe. That’s fine.”
I don’t know if it was Ollie’s warning face or my persistent entreaty that our relationship was over. Tommy Lee finally turned and left without a backward glance.
What did I do?
I had to wipe away a few tears even though I knew it was for the best. The change in my life wasn’t our only problem. We’d been together for a long time. Suddenly, I was alone.
Delia patted me on the shoulder. “You’ll find someone else. There’s no point in being with someone when it’s wrong.”
“You okay back there?” Ollie asked.
I sniffed, thanked Delia, and wiped my eyes. “I’m fine. thanks. I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
“I’ve heard worse. How many biscuit bowls we got left?”
It turned out to be plenty. A few people stopped on their way home, leaving police headquarters. Nothing like the lunch crowd. We still had six biscuit bowls left as we got ready to pull out of our lucrative parking space.
I saw Detective Latoure for the first time that day. I told Ollie I’d be right back and jumped out of the food truck to talk to her. I thought I might be able to butter her up with a strawberry-filled biscuit bowl.
“What’s this?” Detective Latoure asked as I hailed her.
“I brought you a biscuit bowl,” I told her cheerfully. “On the house. Try it.”
She studied the biscuit bowl but didn’t seem inclined to accept my offer. Maybe she was afraid to eat my food. It hadn’t been that long before that she’d thought I’d killed Taco Terry.
“I’m sorry, Zoe. I’m not a big fan of biscuits. Too many carbs. Sorry.”
“That’s okay. I’m glad we were near police headquarters today. A man tried to rob us.”
Detective Latoure frowned
“There are several other guns and some knives over there in the bushes, too,” I told her. “Do you want me to get them out for you? You’re wearing that nice suit. Green is a good color on you. I don’t want you to get dirty.”
Her mouth kind of dropped open. It took a minute or two for her to come around. “I’ll have an officer pick these up. You shouldn’t handle them. Thank you for letting me know about this.”
“You have to try my biscuit bowl.”
Naturally she felt obligated at this point to try a bite. She took a big crunch out of the warm, strawberry-filled biscuit bowl, and rolled it around in her mouth a little, finally smiling.
“This is good. I really like it. It doesn’t taste like most biscuits, not doughy at all.” She grinned, finishing it. “I’ll have to swim an extra few laps to get rid of it. I’ve always had to watch my weight. You know how that is!”
I did indeed, and surprisingly, we had pleasant, girl-talk about everything from drinking vinegar to eating grapefruit to lose weight. Patti was very warm and human when she wasn’t so busy being a detective.
She bought two savory biscuits to go for her and her husband’s dinner.
Word of mouth was everything. I was happy to oblige. “Thanks, Detective Latoure.”
“Patti.”
“Thanks, Patti.”
“I’m really sorry about your near robbery,” she said. “Do you have a description? You never can tell when other people have had the same experience, but not gotten away so lucky.”
“Of course.” I told her what the man had looked like, and she wrote it down. “I’m happy to help out. Did you hear about that man at my diner last night?”
She was still smiling and licking what was left of the strawberry filling from her finger tips. “I heard. Miguel came by and let us know, not to mention the police report from the responding officers. I had them run an extra patrol through there at night for this week.”
“Thanks. It probably didn’t have anything to do with
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