“Karen? What’s the story there?”
She glanced around. “A long one, and not for public ears.”
“Now I’m just going to worry myself into knots until we have the conversation.”
“Once Evie is settled for the night, I’ll come find you for some ice cream, fill you in. Karen’s got history Will is going to need to know-you as well-if the relationship is going somewhere. It’s another reason I’m here. Karen wants to discuss how and what to tell Will, or if I think it best she say nothing, which has been my advice up until now.”
“Come on over tonight. You’ve got my number and address. I’ll pick up the ice cream, we’ll talk.”
“Deal.” She rested a hand lightly on his arm. “We’ll talk about Karen, about Grace. I’ll dump those problems off my plate onto yours, then I’ll help Evie start to dig into the two cases. It will be a typical week for us.”
Gabriel had to laugh. “Been there, done that, haven’t we? Just don’t give me another dead body, Ann, like the last time you dropped by. It’s been quiet-I’d really like it to stay that way.”
“I’m retired.”
“Sure you are,” he said with a wry smile. “The governor-elect merely has your phone number, and anytime the FBI has something sensitive, Paul sends you out in advance to give us a heads up. You’re retired only in the sense you now pick and choose what you want to do.”
Her eyes glinted with humor. “The perfect definition.”
They saw Evie’s doctor coming down the hall, and their conversation shifted.
“Do you want to drive Evie over to the house or have me do it?” Gabriel asked Ann.
“Why don’t you drive her and I’ll follow you. I’ve got her things your father brought in my rental, along with the FBI case files I brought down. I’ll take the files by the old post office after she’s settled, if you can arrange for me to have keys.”
“I’ll do that. Just to satisfy my curiosity, where are the state files?”
“Still loaded in a van over in Springfield, I think. She was going to call once she was at the house and have them delivered. I’ll get that done for her, have them brought to the post-office building.”
“I’ll get our case files copied tonight. The staff will appreciate the overtime.”
“Thanks, Gabriel.”
“If we’re going to do this, let’s do it right.”
“We’re in agreement there.” Ann headed toward ER, slot sixteen, Gabriel following. Evie was going through the coordination tests with the doctor again. They seemed simple-he’d hold up a finger and ask her to touch it with hers, instruct her to hold out her arms and bring her index fingers together, drop a rubber ball from one hand and catch it in the other. She hadn’t been able to do the exercises when she first arrived. She was anticipating each one now and cruising through them. The vision tests and memory tests were not as easy for her, but she mostly passed the questions. She was still struggling to hold on to a set of three words at the beginning of a conversation and repeat them back when asked.
“I can go?” Evie asked the doctor.
“You’re going to need to be cautious about that headache for a couple days. Don’t drive until it eases up, alternate ice and heat for the stiff muscles, and come see me if your vision or balance changes at all. But otherwise, you’re sprung.”
The doctor swept aside the curtain as Evie said, “Oh, I could hug you, but I’ll settle for saying a big thanks. Can you do the paperwork fast?” She swung her feet around to sit up on the side of the bed. Gabriel saw her clench her teeth for an instant at the movement, but he could tell she was determined to leave.
The doctor signed off on the electronic chart. “I’ll have the nurse bring in the discharge paperwork and get you prescription samples for the pain-killers so you don’t have to find a pharmacy tonight.”
“Great. Thanks. Ann, do you remember where they put my jacket, my shoes?”
Gabriel caught Ann’s attention, held up his keys, and pointed to the lobby. He’d bring his truck to the pickup lane for Evie. Ann nodded, and he headed out. One problem in this day was nearly resolved.
He had the impression Evie Blackwell would be an interesting woman to get to know. Probably not as interesting as Ann had been in those early days when first making her acquaintance, but worth considering. He wanted to see Evie without that headache scrambling her thinking. Curious. That was the word Ann had used to describe Evie. He’d add pretty. She was easy to look at, mostly those green eyes and that smile he’d caught only a glimmer of so far. It was not going to be a dull few weeks, and that was fine with him.
He started the truck and moved it into place, let it idle. He figured he had a couple of minutes. He picked up his phone and found a number, made a call. “Sheriff Gabriel Thane for Paul Falcon, please.”
“One moment, Sheriff.” Paul’s longtime secretary must have his name on a short list-he always got through immediately.
“Yes, Gabe.”
“Ann is safely here in Carin, which I’m sure you already know. I need a read on an Evie Blackwell. A guy’s read. I’m told you know her.”
“I do. Solid cop, good investigator. Cracks me up with her jokes. Left a shamrock glacier behind in the freezer when she last stayed over as our guest-a painted rock with frozen layers of water coating it. You probably had to be here to appreciate its humor. It was St. Patrick’s Day, the Chicago River was green.”
Gabriel smiled. “I can see it. She had a car accident today, hit a deer, got her brains rattled a bit. I’m trying to get a sense of what normal would look like.”
“She okay?” Paul asked, instantly serious.
“Will be. The doc is doing the release paperwork now. Ann’s with her, so I’d say Evie is in good hands.”
“‘Normal’ for Evie… Curious. Funny. Not too serious about anything.”
“Not words you hear associated with a cop very often.”
“She doesn’t see a need to be serious. She figures crimes are serious enough. She prefers to enjoy the day and the work and solve the puzzle so there’s justice again. She likes everything there is about being an investigator, even the paperwork.
“She’s a sunny-mood kind of lady by nature, likes to laugh, and uses that to her advantage. Ann always carried the weight of a grim bloodstained scene home with her. Evie doesn’t. She lets herself put it aside, like a gift of grace to herself. She’s got the rare ability to be a lifer in the job and not burn out. Don’t underestimate her. But to your immediate question, when she’s laughing again, she’s probably edging back to normal.”
“Thanks. That’s helpful. The one thing I haven’t heard today is laughter.”
There was a slight pause. Then Paul said, his tone offhand, “She’s seeing someone, I think, a guy by the name of Rob Turney, if that would be useful information to have.”
So much for being subtle about why he called. “Yeah. Figures. The interesting ones tend to be seeing someone.”
“He’s not there, and she is, for the next couple of weeks at least.”
“I’m not one to poach,” Gabriel replied, unwilling to ignore that line even for an interesting woman. “Odd, isn’t it,” he said casually, signaling a shift in the conversation, “how I’m the last one to know there’s interest in our little county up at the governor’s level?”
“Comes with the territory-having friends among those whom the governor calls. I like the guy. I voted for him. But a word of advice to tuck away? Bliss is persuasive at getting you to say yes to what you didn’t intend to do when you arrived at the meeting. I don’t think Ann had in mind spending Thanksgiving and Christmas helping get a task force organized so the group could be formally announced in January. Ann’s invested in it now, owns it, but you’ve got our next governor to thank for that. He rolled her up neatly in a bow, made it so it became her idea to volunteer. Then he looked at me, and without having to say more than ‘You’ll help her out?’ had the FBI’s assistance, coming out of my budget.”