The Saucy Lucy Murders by Cindy Keen Reynders Page B

by now.”
    He ignored her question. “Is Bigfoot chasing you or something? You’re jittery as a field mouse in a snake’s cage.”
    Lexie swallowed hard. She’d have to watch herself around Deputy Dog here. There was no hiding anything from him. “I was just out for a stroll.”
    “By yourself?”
    She nodded.
    “And is it a common Wyoming custom to greet everyone you meet on your strolls by shoving a spiked heel in their face?”
    “Uh, no. Like I said, I thought you were someone else.”
    “Who?”
    Lexie shrugged. Darn it. All she needed was Westonville’s finest to discover she and Lucy had been asking around about Henry Whitehead. Stevenson would tell Otis for sure, and their plans would be hosed.
    Lord, she felt desperate. When she’d persuaded Lucy to help her with this investigation, it had seemed like the right thing to do. It had made complete sense for them to try and find out who had done poor Whitehead in, especially since Lexie was the last person to see him alive.
    Now her plan seemed insane and dangerous. Especially in light of the recent attack.
    Lexie leaned against the porch railing to take the weight off her throbbing foot. She hoped Gabe wouldn’t guess how much pain she was in. “One of the cowboys in there just got a little carried away and I didn’t like it,” she lied. “Is it a crime to party a little on a Friday night?”
    “For some reason, I get the impression that MacGreggor’s Pub and horny cowboys aren’t exactly your idea of fun.” A muscle twitched along his whiskered jaw. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were snooping around and asking questions about Whitehead’smurder.”
    With a deep sigh, Lexie leaned over and put her shoe back on her throbbing foot, then straightened and stared up at the tall detective. “You know, if you were doing your job, you’d have found out that Whitehead had plenty of enemies around here. Instead of following me around, you’d be checking them out.”
    Gabe raised a dark brow. “What makes you think I’m not?”
    “I’m still under suspicion,” she finally said, hating the pout in her voice.
    “You and several other people.”
    “But I don’t like it.”
    “You’ll live. Meantime, leave the murder investigation to me, Lexie. I’ll chase the bad guys, OK?”
    She nodded.
    Gabe glanced down. “Go on home now and ice that ankle. It’ll feel better in the morning.”
    Incredulous, Lexie intended to deny that her foot hurt. But the front door to the pub swung open and Lucy hustled out, a concerned expression on her face.
    “Lexie, wherever have you been? It was awful! The lights went out and everyone went crazy in there.” Lucy glared accusingly at her, support hose so tight her face was turning red. She smoothed down the front of her sad brown dress.
    Lexie shook her head. “I told you to come with me when I went to powder my nose. But you were too busy playing Mother Theresa.”
    “Why you ungrateful little—” Then Lucy noticed Gabe and smiled demurely. “Why, Detective Stevenson, I didn’t see you standing there. I almost ran into you.”
    He grinned. “Seems like lots of folks are running into me tonight. At least you didn’t shove a spiked heel in my face.”
    Lexie’s face flushed with warmth.
    “What?” Lucy asked with large, curious eyes.
    “Never mind,” Lexie said. “Let’s just go home.”
    “I’ll walk you ladies to your cars,” Gabe offered.
    “No, we’re fine.” Lexie grabbed Lucy’s elbow and steered her to her car trying hard not to limp. She decided to come back tomorrow and pick up the truck when her ankle felt better.
    “What on earth is wrong with you?” Lucy asked. “Wait a minute! I know! You and Detective Stevenson had a lovers’ quarrel. How exciting!”
    “Knock it off,” Lexie said. “We are not dating, therefore we cannot have a lovers’ quarrel.”
    Lucy’s face fell. “Then what were you two talking about?”
    “Nothing,” Lexie said.
    They didn’t say