McCoy was talking to the detective. “It’s late. Let me offer you a place to stay tonight in our guest room. My wife would be glad to have you.”
LoSasso turned her frosty-blue stare on Mattie. “Thanks, but I’m staying at Deputy Cobb’s house. We need to work through some things.”
Taken aback, Mattie swallowed. She’d never had a houseguest before, and the last thing she wanted was a hostile one. But she didn’t feel she could protest, so she nodded agreement despite the pit in her stomach.
Mattie watched the detective’s headlights in her rearview mirror as LoSasso followed her home. Once parked, LoSasso stepped out of her car and then turned to retrieve a small overnight case and a hanging bag from the back seat. Clearly, she’d come prepared to stay the night somewhere.
Robo dashed over to welcome her, apparently delighted. Traitor! LoSasso set her bag on the car trunk, clicked the door lock on the remote, and patted Robo’s side while he leaned on her legs.
“At least someone’s happy to have me stay. Let’s go inside.”
Robo led the way, tail waving, while Mattie stepped up on the porch to unlock the door. She entered the house, switching on lights as she passed through the front room. “I’ll get you sheets and a blanket. You can have the couch.”
“First, let’s get this other thing out of the way,” LoSasso called to her.
LoSasso was standing by the sofa when Mattie reentered the room. She’d hung her bag of clothing on the door jam and placed her overnight bag on a chair. She was removing her jewelry, her hands at her ears. She took off one turquoise, bear-claw earring and put the small piece back on the post. She raised her hands to take off the other.
Mattie placed the bedding on the sofa and then stood with her arms at her sides, waiting for LoSasso to speak. Robo lay down near her, ears pricked, looking back and forth between them. Mattie could tell he sensed the tension.
LoSasso pinned the small piece to the post of the second earring, examining it as if she’d never seen it before. “I’ll tell you what pisses me off the most. The fact that you went ahead on your own and left me out of this investigation.”
Mattie lifted her chin. “When I went to Chadron’s house this evening, there was nothing to investigate. I was simply doing a welfare check.”
“Just don’t forget that this is my case.”
“It’s our case, Detective. I know you’re the lead, but this is our jurisdiction. I have as much ownership in solving this case as you do, possibly more.” Mattie drew a breath to steady her temper. “Have you ever lived in a town as small as Timber Creek? We check on each other. It’s the way we do things.”
LoSasso pursed her lips. “If you were a man, I’d have your ass in a sling. But since it’s hard to find a good cop, much less a good female cop, I’m going to let this one go. Just don’t ever cross me again.”
Mattie was in no mood to accept the left-handed compliment. “I’m not quite sure what your problem is, Detective, but I’ve worked with a lot of decent cops before. And if I see a situation where I need to act, I can’t promise that I’ll take the time to decide if I’m crossing you or not.”
They stared hard at each other for several seconds. Robo barked once, followed by a deep rumble in his chest causing them both to look at him. He was staring at the detective.
LoSasso’s lips started to twitch at the corners, ending in a slight smile. She said, “Well, I can see that I can’t bully you into submission, especially with your bodyguard ready to pounce.”
Mattie raised a brow. “Why would you want to?”
LoSasso shrugged, slipping a silver bracelet off her wrist. “It’s what I do.”
“Okay . . .” Mattie raised the tone of her voice to indicate she believed there must be more.
“Suffice it to say, I’ve had some bad experiences in the past. Used to be married to a cop who was a real asshole. It . . . colors my perspective.” LoSasso sat down on the sofa, her voice taking on a sweet tone while she patted her thigh. “That’s okay, Robo. I’m done being a bitch. Come here and see me.”
His tail thumped once, but he didn’t budge.
LoSasso gave an exaggerated sigh. “Maybe later. Would you have a beer for me, Mattie?”
Amazed at the swing in the woman’s mood, Mattie responded, “Sure, I’ll get you one. But if we’re done with this, I think I’ll go to bed now. I get up early in the morning to take Robo on his run.”
LoSasso kicked off her shoes and put her feet up on the coffee table, stretching her legs out in front of her. “Don’t get unfriendly on my account. Have a beer with me.”
Mattie went to the kitchen, popped the tops on a couple beers, and returned to hand one to Stella. Even though it wasn’t very comfortable, she settled in the only chair in the room so she wouldn’t have to sit next to the detective on the sofa. Not sure how to start a conversation, she focused on sipping her beer, hoping it would relax her.
Stella didn’t seem to have a problem with starting conversations. “Brody was sure mad at your ass.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Came in all ruffled up and complained to the sheriff about you not following protocol. McCoy seems to have your back. Told Brody, ‘Since when have we changed the protocol to do welfare checks on citizens of Timber Creek?’ Brody grumbled about you going off half-cocked and acting on your own.”
“I guess you and Brody have something to agree on.”
Stella made a dismissive sound. “Then I seriously doubt that we could find two things to agree on. Just thought I’d let you know that he seems to have it in for you. What did you ever do to him?”
Mattie shrugged. “He’s been mad ever since I got back from the academy. We had a cross-country competition to see who would be Robo’s handler. He seems to resent that I beat him.”
Stella made a low whistle. “Wish I’d been here to see that. Well, as far as I’m concerned, the best man won. He’d have made a lousy K-9 handler.”
Mattie peeled part of the label on her beer, which was now near empty. It had calmed her somewhat, and it felt good to be able to talk to someone about Brody’s attitude, especially someone who agreed with her about Brody’s disposition to be a handler. The thought of him being in charge of Robo soured her stomach.
Stella changed the subject. “Our crime scene tonight may have looked like a suicide, but I’m not convinced.”
Mattie had begun to wonder about that herself.
“I think it was staged.” Stella continued. “The way the gun lay in his lap looked like someone placed it there. No gunpowder at the entry wound and no suicide note. But now we probably have the weapon that killed Grace Hartman. Ballistics may let me know as early as tomorrow if that gun matches the casing Robo found and the slug taken from her body. After Chadron’s autopsy, they can tell us if it’s the same weapon that killed him, too. But I’m not buying that he used it on himself.”
“I agree. I thought the scene looked staged, too.” Mattie wanted Stella’s opinion on something dear to her heart. “What do you think about that box of rat poison in the kitchen?”
“The rat poison? I don’t know. Maybe Chadron came back to town earlier in the day and tried to kill Robo, but it seems like a long shot. We’re checking the box for fingerprints. If he did it, his prints should be on it. I’ll know more about that tomorrow.”