Crime Seen by Victoria Laurie

over Darren’s shoulder. I did a quick double take as I realized that Dutch Rivers was across the patio, saluting me with the beer in his hand.
    ‘‘Ohmigod!’’ I yelped.
    ‘‘What?’’ Darren and Candice both said together.
    I slapped my hand over my right eye and said, ‘‘My contact! I think it’s gone under the table!’’ With that, I dove under the table and began to pat the pavement.
    Candice poked her head under too. ‘‘What’s going on?’’ she whispered.
    ‘‘Dutch!’’ I hissed at her, and just then I heard a familiar baritone above the table.
    ‘‘Hey there, Candice,’’ Dutch said.
    Candice mouthed ‘‘Oh, shit!’’ at me and lifted her head from under the table. ‘‘Well, hello, Dutch,’’ I heard her say. ‘‘What brings you by?’’
    ‘‘I’m looking for Abby. Seen her?’’
    ‘‘I’m right here,’’ I said as I emerged from under the table and poked convincingly at my eye.
    ‘‘Did you find your contact?’’ Darren asked.
    ‘‘Sure did.’’ I smiled at him. ‘‘Mr. Rivers, this is a pleasant surprise. I didn’t realize our appointment was for tonight.’’
    ‘‘Yes, and you’re late,’’ he said to me, thankfully going along with the ruse.
    ‘‘Aw,’’ Darren said, ‘‘does that mean we won’t be able to finish our date?’’
    I jumped up so quickly that I nearly flipped the table. ‘‘Oh, so sorry!’’ I said, putting a steadying hand on the tabletop. ‘‘Yes, some other time. You and Candice can catch up for a bit. Mr. Rivers, come on. We’ll head up to my office and get started, okay?’’
    I hurried away from the table, hoping Dutch would be right on my heels. He was, and the moment we were out of earshot he gripped my elbow and said in my ear, ‘‘Want to tell me what that was all about?’’
    I kept walking and said, ‘‘ What are you doing here?’’
    ‘‘You sounded tipsy on the phone. I came to make sure you were okay to drive.’’
    ‘‘How the hell did you find me?’’
    Dutch wiggled his cell phone. I had its twin, and I knew from past experience that the two could be easily linked and my location pinpointed via the GPS chip inside. ‘‘Dirty pool,’’ I said as we turned the corner, heading to my car.
    ‘‘It’s dirty pool to make sure my girlfriend isn’t impaired?’’
    ‘‘You should know me better than that,’’ I said, keeping my pace brisk.
    ‘‘Well, I thought I knew you well enough to think we were exclusive,’’ Dutch snapped, and I winced at the jealousy in his voice.
    I stopped walking and turned to look at him. ‘‘It’s not what you think.’’
    ‘‘Neither was the wedding invitation to Denver,’’ he said coldly.
    I sucked in a breath. ‘‘You know I thought we’d split up!’’ I said, referring to the small, not even worth mentioning, teensy affair I’d had with a very old friend just before I’d been shot.
    Dutch sighed heavily and ran a hand through his short blond hair. ‘‘Yeah, well, I was willing to let that one go, babycakes, but now three months later, here I find you testing those waters again.’’
    I stared at my boyfriend for a full minute. Half of me wanted to walk off in a huff and not speak to him for a while. The other half realized that if the situation were reversed, I certainly wouldn’t have been so understanding about his sleeping with another woman. Luckily, my reasonable half won out. ‘‘I never really told you how sorry I was about that, did I?’’
    ‘‘No,’’ he said, leaning against a tree. ‘‘You didn’t.’’
    ‘‘Well, I am, you know. I’m really, really sorry, Dutch.’’
    ‘‘Okay,’’ he mumbled, not meeting my eyes.
    I walked over to him. His arms were crossed and his face was hard as granite. I reached my hands out to his waist and gripped him firmly. ‘‘I will never understand how you put up with me,’’ I said after a moment.
    A tiny smile cracked the granite surface. ‘‘I get paid