Merit Badge Murder (24 page)

"A cat is fine, as long as it can't operate a gun," Kelly insisted.

I thought about that armed chicken. "Maybe I'll wait a little bit on that."

I could almost hear her grinning. "Yeah. That's one relationship you should take slowly."

I remembered what Rex had said about a date. Covering the phone, I whispered, "Rex asked me out!"

"Really?" Kelly expressed some surprise.

"Hey!" I protested. "It's not that weird!"

She laughed. "When are you going on this date?"

"Um. I don't really know. The last thing he said was that it was contingent on our surviving the showdown. And we
did
survive it."

Doubt crept into my mind. It was possible Rex had second thoughts after this whole mess went down. After all, I was completely wrong about Riley and Lana. And my Girl Scout troop had been involved—which was also bad.

"I'm sure he meant it." Kelly seemed to be her old self again. "Call me back when you get home, and I'll come over. I made Rice Krispies Treats."

My stomach rumbled. When had I eaten last? "Sounds great, but I'm beat. How about tomorrow?" I was more tired than hungry. Kelly agreed before hanging up.

I watched Rex and Riley as they worked. Riley's laid-back, surfer vibe was a stark contrast to Rex's dark, all-business manner. But maybe that was unfair. He was at work, after all. Both of them shot me a smile whenever they could. And it seemed like they were both a little interested in me. Right?

A couple of SWAT guys approached Rex, and I studied him while they talked. There was no doubt that Rex was respected here. I'd never really worked in an office full of people, but it seemed like that was a good thing. When talking to the other officers, no matter where they were in the hierarchy, he seemed to have command over the conversation. It was pretty hot.

Riley moved back and forth between the police chief and the old men who'd showed up earlier. They had to be administrative CIA. I was pretty sure they weren't happy with the way things went down. They had that constipated scowl that old men get. Riley didn't seem worried about it. He smiled and laughed easily, coaxing good moods out of everyone he talked to.

These two were about as different as they could be. Which one was my type? Hmmmm…  I'd never really thought about having a type before. Maybe that was a good thing. These two men were physically fit and had very nice bodies. But there was no resemblance after that. Rex had black hair cropped close to his head. His eyes were blue and intense. When he talked to you, you knew you had all of his attention, but it took a little while to get to that point with him.

Riley's longer, thick, wavy blonde hair, smiling blue eyes, and easy smile made him irresistible from the moment he introduced himself. And he'd kissed me. He hadn't asked me out like Rex had, but he'd kissed me.

I closed my eyes. There was no point thinking about this now. It was too early to tell if a relationship with either man was even remotely possible or if I was destined to be a neurotic, multi-cat owner instead. I was too tired to think about these kinds of things. I really wanted to go home and crawl into bed.

"You can go now, Ms. Wrath." Rex spoke, and my eyes flew open. When did he sneak up on me? "If we need anything more, I'll call you." He winked. I guessed that the dinner date thingy was still on the table. Yay!

"I'll take her home, Detective," Riley said as he extended his hand. Rex shook it. "And thanks again." Rex nodded, as another officer approached him with a large file.

"And what are we using for a car?" I asked as we left the station. "Mine's in the garage, and yours is in my driveway." I kind of left out the part that I'd broken his car. I figured that was a discussion that could wait...at least until I was fully armed.

"I had a new rental delivered while you were being questioned." He said as he opened the door to what looked just like the other black SUV.

Riley didn't say a word all the way back to my house, and that seemed like a solid strategy, so I didn't either. He came in with me, and I went straight to the fridge to pour us each a glass of wine.

"Again…" He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about Lana. I had no idea."

I swallowed the whole glassful like it was a shot and poured another. "Well," I said, "I guess I didn't see it either. So don't worry about it."

My face hurt. I studied my reflection in the microwave door. I should put a mirror in here. Was that weird? Did people have mirrors in kitchens?

There was a fist-shaped bruise on my chin, and my nose had started to swell to the size of a pumpkin. But that didn't hurt as much as the guilt I was feeling.

"I'm sorry too," I said slowly, "for suspecting you, I mean."

Riley frowned. "About that…really? You really thought I'd turned for the Russians?"

"Um…no?" I gave him a weak smile, but I was sure it wouldn't help. Accusing a CIA agent of turning mole was about the worst insult there was. I couldn't take those words back, no matter how much I wanted to.

I changed the subject. "What about Midori? Did the police ask about her?"

Riley shook his head. "I think the good detective forgot about her, or he didn't hear Lana in the first place. We're okay for now."

"So if Lana didn't bring her here, kill her, and plant her in my kitchen, who did?" It was the one loose end that still dangled.

"I don't know. But the agency is concerned. You saw Smith and Johnson at the station?"

My eyes bulged to a size almost on par with my nose. "THAT was Smith and Johnson?" Smith and Johnson were legends at the Agency. Legendary heroes of the Cold War, those guys practically invented the tradecraft we used to this day. They were superstars! No one I knew had ever met them. And here they were, in my hometown, because of me! Wow. I'd rated big enough to get Smith and Johnson!

Oh no…I'd rated big enough to get Smith and Johnson. Now that I thought about it, I was pretty sure that wasn't a good thing. Obviously I was still under suspicion.

"Yes," Riley said, reading my mind, "you are still being investigated." He frowned. "And they're wondering if maybe you did know about Lana."

"WHAT??? I didn't know about Lana!" Shit. This was going to make me the laughingstock of the CIA.

He nodded. "I know, I know. I'm trying to convince them that you had no idea. That you were completely fooled by her."

I grumbled. "Not better. I'm either a traitor or a moron." Somewhere in the Black Box at Langley there was a file with my name on it. And it just got a little bigger. And not in a good way.

Riley drained his glass and got to his feet. He seemed to be staring at my ginormous nose.

"At any rate, I'm sticking around for a while. Just to make sure no more dead bodies show up around you."

My heart skipped a little beat. He was staying? I guess I'd thought he'd be on the first plane to DC once the paperwork was done.

"Lana explained Ahmed and Carlos," I said.

He nodded. "Yes, but not about Midori. And there's no reason I can think of for the head of the Yakuza to show up dead in your kitchen."

He had a point. "So you're staying?" I asked.

"Yes, Wrath. I'm staying." He looked like he was going to say something more but changed his mind. Riley took a step closer to me.

"I'd kiss you," he said softly. "But I'm not sure that's possible just yet." Then he took my hands in his and squeezed them before leaving my house. Yet? There was going to be a
yet?

That seemed pretty positive that another kiss was impending. I watched as the door swung shut. Was Riley really boyfriend-worthy? I'd have to think about that.

I took a shower and changed into my Dora pajamas. I needed to get more grown up jammies. I wandered into the living room and looked at the Dora sheet. The long, muddy smear was still there. It made me think for a moment about Lana. It was really too bad she hated me. For a short time I'd actually thought we could be friends.

Can't do anything about that, I thought. But I could do something about getting real curtains.
When I talk to Kelly tomorrow, I'll have to ask her to help me measure.
Maybe she'd go with me to the mall to get drapes and pj's. She was coming over to bring the Rice Krispies Treats. My stomach complained loudly.

I found some bread and made a couple of pieces of toast. As I chewed it occurred to me that more had happened to me in the last few days than in the past year. And I'd liked it. I'd missed it. Going back into the CIA was a no-go. But maybe I could find something here to keep me occupied and give me that same buzz.

Rex stopped by as I was cleaning up. He insisted that my part in all of this was pretty much over.

"The CIA sent some serious guns to bail you out." He smiled.

"Yeah," I said weakly. He looked so good in a suit. "I heard about that."

Rex sat at the breakfast bar and looked at me in a strange way I couldn't dissect. "That was pretty awful, back at the school."

I nodded. "You'll get no argument from me about that."

"You did this kind of thing before? When you worked for the CIA?" He seemed puzzled.

"I did. I spent most of my time gathering intel, but there was a lot of action too." Did he doubt me? What was I thinking? Of course he did. I would've if I were him. This whole screw up made me look like a terrible agent.

"I was good at what I did, Rex," I said. "I know it doesn't seem like that now, but I was a damn good agent."

He pointed at my nose. "That explains why you're not freaking out about that nose. Most women would've screamed the minute they got hit. But not you."

I shook my head. "No. Not me." I thought about giving him a laundry list of my injuries and wounds over the years. But maybe I should save that for our first date.

Rex got to his feet and came over to where I was standing. He reached out and lifted my chin, examining my face. "Not bad. I think you'll heal."

Rex's eyes were really close to mine. We stared at each other for a moment before he let go and stepped back.

In a dazed voice, I asked, "Did you get in trouble? For being part of it without authorization?"

"No." He smiled. "Not much. It might actually work out. The Captain is trying to get some funding from the CIA. When I left it looked like it was a definite possibility."

"They should," I said. "They've got deep pockets. I used to give my informants huge sums of money. The agency never batted an eyelash when I asked for it."

Rex arched his right eyebrow. "You look like you want to ask me something."

I nodded. I was worried about something. "Are you sure you won't get busted down to patrol? This wasn't exactly a good thing for you to be part of."

"I won't get busted." Rex laughed. "I won't get promoted, but I won't get busted." He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "SWAT's pretty pissed at me though."

"Because you called them in?" I asked. I could still feel the warmth of his fingers on my cheek.

He shook his head. "No. Because they didn't get to shoot anyone."

"They could've shot Lana. I wouldn't have minded that very much." I smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind next time I have you and them in an old elementary school gym, surrounded by seven-year-old girls."

There's going to be a next time! Like a date, but with bad acoustics and guns. I didn't care if it included rutabagas and bat guano. Rex was imagining us in the future.

"You know," he said slowly, "it's going to take a few days to get all of this sorted out. But when that's over, I was wondering if you'd still want to take me up on that dinner?"

I smiled. "I'd love to."

Rex opened the door and looked back at me. "Good." He winked at me just before he walked out.

As I closed the door behind him, I leaned against it, the grin still on my face. Two men were interested in me. Two totally hot men. And even though I was out of commission with the CIA, I had a feeling that soon I'd be seeing some interesting action.

* * * * *

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* * * * *

Leslie Langtry is the author of the
Greatest Hits Mysteries
series,
Sex, Lies, & Family Vacations
,
The Hanging Tree Tales
as Max Deimos, the
Merry Wrath Mysteries,
and several books she hasn't finished yet, because she's very lazy.

Leslie loves puppies and cake (but she will not share her cake with puppies) and thinks praying mantids make everything better. She lives with her family and assorted animals in the Midwest, where she is currently working on her next book and trying to learn to play the ukulele.

To learn more about Leslie, visit her online at:
http://www.leslielangtry.com

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Merry Wrath Mysteries

Merit Badge Murder

Greatest Hits Mysteries:

'Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy

Guns Will Keep Us Together

Stand By Your Hitman

I Shot You Babe

Paradise By The Rifle Sights

Snuff the Magic Dragon

My Heroes Have Always Been Hitmen

Four Killing Birds (a holiday short story)

Other Works:

Sex, Lies, & Family Vacations

* * * * *

Of the first Greatest Hits Mystery by Leslie Langtry:

'SCUSE ME WHILE I KILL THIS GUY

CHAPTER ONE

"On a large enough time line, the survival rate for everyone will drop to zero."

~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club