A Dose of Murder by Lori Avocato Page A

smiled.
    â€œJagger’s an enigma. Don’t lose any sleep over him. I like you too much for you to fall for someone so far out of your reach.”
    I huffed. “Thanks a lot.”
    Goldie touched my arm. His nails glided across my skin. “Suga, I don’t mean it like that. You’re a hell of a looker yourself and have legs to die for.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œYou know it. I only mean, Jagger isn’t your type. He’s like a current of air. Sweeps in, sweeps out. I wouldn’t want you hurt. Hell, I’m not sure if he’s anyone’s type.”
    Touched, I patted his hand. “Thank you.” He removed his hand to take a sip of coffee. I did the same.
    â€œOkay, you want the skinny on Jagger. Sure you don’t want it on Nick instead? Nick plays the field. But that’s better than Jagger.”
    â€œYou saying he’s involved with someone?”
    â€œI’m saying I have no idea about his love life, and I’m guessing neither does anyone else. The guy comes and goes, sans attachments. He has a past with Nick—”
    â€œNick already told me about their being in the military together.” I stood and gathered up the dishes. Goldie got up to help. I’d never felt so close to someone so quickly. Well, Miles and I were like siblings, but Goldie was more a “girlfriend,” and I’d known Miles for years.
    â€œI’ve never been convinced by the reason either of them gave as why they got out of the service. Great fighter pilots. Both of them.”
    â€œThose casualties in Baghdad.”
    â€œBullshit. Nick and Jagger wouldn’t get out because of that. They’d suck it up and trudge on. Nope. I never bought that. There’s more to it than meets the eye.” He took off his jacket to reveal a white silk long-sleeve blouse with a ruffled front.
    â€œI’m sorry. Were you going somewhere?”
    He laughed. “After we get your car, I’ll make the rounds.”
    â€œYou need a guy.” I sighed.
    â€œWe both do, suga.” We laughed.
    â€œCall Miles,” I said without thinking.
    Goldie paused, then rinsed out the mugs while I washed off the counter. I think he smiled though.
    â€œAnyway,” he continued, “Jagger headed out to California. Married some chick he met out there, but it only lasted a few years.”
    I felt my muscles relax. They’d clenched when Goldie first mentioned that Jagger had married.
    â€œChildren?”
    â€œNone that I ever heard about. Anyway”—he looked at his watch—“let’s head out to get your car. I’ll fill you in on the way.”
    â€œFine.” We let Spanky out and back in, locked up and got into Goldie’s Camaro. The interior was bright pink. Pepto-Bismol pink. So Goldie. A pair of spongy black dice hung from the rearview mirror. I felt as if I’d stepped back into the past.
    Goldie started the engine and we drove out of the parking lot. “Okay. Where was I?”
    I could barely hear him over the muffler. “No kids that you knew of.” I didn’t want Jagger to have kids. How selfish of me. Still, that was my honest gut feeling. I wanted him totally unattached. As if I could attach him.
Yeah, Pauline. Right
.
    I was amazed that someone like him had interested me. I assumed it was because he was so very different from all the men I’d ever met. Men of my past. They could all fit around my mother’s dinner table at once. She’d love that.
    â€œWorked for a PI firm out there. As I understand it, he was trained by some ex-Navy Seal turned LAPD who had retired. Jagger worked high-profile cases including murder but always gravitated toward insurance fraud.”
    â€œWhy’s that?” We turned down Maple. Goldie had taken the long way. What a doll.
    He shrugged as he downshifted. “Several speculative rumors about that. The closest one I tend to believe is his old man owned