Page 16 of The Man I Hate

“I’m guessing the owner of that dog is the woman we’re hoping to catch him with. If we get pictures of those two together, it pays sixty grand. We need to get some wireless cameras on that place. You can take your portion of the proceeds and buy a plastic bubble to live in. That’ll alleviate any concerns you’ve got about the virus.”

“Fuck you,” he replied dryly. “I’ll set some cameras up this evening.”

“Go back there and do it now,” I insisted. “Who knows where they’ll be this evening.”

“You want me to go back there now?” He gave me a look. “In broad daylight?”

“You’re resourceful. I’m sure you’ll get something figured out.”

“I’ll get it done and then I’m going home to get some sleep.” He started to turn away, but hesitated. “Are you coming or going?”

“Excuse me?”

“You haven’t taken your jacket off.” He crossed his arms. “Are you coming, or are you going?”

“I just got here.”

He checked his watch. “It’s noon.”

“I was tied up at the police station until a few minutes ago.”

He slung the bag over one shoulder. “Doing what?”

“Some shithead was trying to carjack the neighbor on my way in this morning. I grabbed the guy before he got very far. O’Malley came by and picked him up. I had to go to the station and fill out a report.”

“The girl next door?” He sauntered to the edge of my desk. “The chick you thought was a realtor but ended up being the daughter of your neighbors? The one with all the hair?” He tapped his index finger against his lip as if he were thinking. “Let’s see. Small waist, perky tits, and a ferocious ass. Her?”

“She’d be the one.”

He threaded his free arm through the loose strap. He studied me for a moment, and then shook his head in disbelief. “You fucked her, didn’t you?”

I grinned. “In the diner’s parking lot.”

His brows raised. “Any good?”

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” I bragged. “Not much stamina, though.”

“Single?”

“Yep.”

“Probably hasn’t had any dick in a while,” he said. “Didn’t you say her parents were from Oklahoma?”

“That’s correct.”

“She’d be just like those girls in Iraq that looked at us like they wanted to fucking eat us. Bet she lives in a farmhouse in the middle of no-fucking-where with a bunch of dirty-assed goats and a couple of cows. Probably not a man for miles. Her little pussy was wet the minute you saved her from the carjacker.”

I coughed out a laugh. “Dirty-assed goats?”

He nodded. “I saw one up close in Afghanistan. Believe me, they’re nasty little fuckers.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“Anyway.” He adjusted the weight of the pack. “Sounds like she was starving for some dick.”

“She said it’d been two years.”

His face contorted. “Since she’s had any cock?”