Page 65 of Thick

She rolled her eyes, and then looked at me. “You could go on a date with anyone you want. Why me? Is it a gratitude thing?”

“Gratitude thing?”

“You know. Because you appreciate that I wasn’t like Perry?”

“I asked you out because I like the way you look, act, and think. If I didn’t like all three, you wouldn’t be here.”

“How do I think?”

“You’re not prejudiced. You don’t have Instagram because you think it’s a waste of time. You’ve got no use for child molesters, but a man who robs a bank to feed his family doesn’t seem to bother you much. You’re the real deal.”

She blinked a few times, and then simply stared. “How did you…how did you know what I thought about those guys?”

“While I exercised, I listened. I counted the bean slots as they opened. Price was in number one, and Grossman was in number three.”

“You were in twenty-four. There’s no way you could hear what I said.”

“You’re right. But I can count. You’d spend five seconds at everyone’s cells, except for the ones you talked to.”

“Interesting,” she said. “I had no idea you paid that much attention.”

“Not much else to do,” I said. “Being attentive is pretty cheap insurance.”

“Insurance on what?”

“Life.”

“If I would have spent time talking to Jerry Porter Price, you wouldn’t have had the same interest in me?”

“I would have had no interest in you.”

“None?”

“Zero.”

Her eyes thinned a little. “Why?”

“If you could find a way to be compassionate with someone who molested children and filmed it, there would be no way you and I would have got along.”

She clenched her fist, and blew into it while she looked at me. As she inhaled her next breath, she lowered her hand. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“A serious question.”

Her face washed with worry. I wondered what might be troubling her, and decided it could be nothing other than Gravy’s death. I was afraid she wouldn’t like my answer if I gave it.

“Go ahead.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am right now, but you better hurry up before I change my mind.”

If she was going to ask what I suspected she was going to ask, I didn’t want to tell her the truth, but I damned sure couldn’t lie to her. There was no way I could build a relationship using a lie as the foundation.

She locked eyes with me. “Did you kill Darin Wheatland?”

“Are you asking me as a cop, or as my date?”