Page 2 of Courting Danger
The trigger-happy cop seemed satisfied he’d found his prowler, but I wasn’t about to go down that easily.
“I haven’t seen anything,” I said. “Sorry.”
“You got a name?” angry cop asked.
“Parker Ferro,” I said. The only ID I had on me was my real one. I hadn’t thought I’d need a fake ID for a haunting.
“You mind if we take a look around, Mr. Ferro?” the second officer said. He nudged his partner slightly and the man startled and shot him a narrow-eyed look. Still, he moved his hand a little farther from his gun. He’d downgraded me from someone hemighthave to shoot to someone he wanted to be ready to shoot, you know,just in case.
Cop number two was the sort of guy that normally I’d give the once over. Tall, broad, with warm brown skin, he’d probably even deserve my best crappy pickup line. If he laughed the way his smile lines said he could, maybe I’d even buy him a drink. Was that size just extra layers because of the rain, or was he as muscled as he looked?
I dragged my eyes back from where I was trying to see through his bulky uniform and watched the silent interplay between the officers. Officer Trigger Happy was scowling at his partner, and I realized it wasn’t just me that he didn’t like. Hereallydid not like his partner, who appeared to be outright ignoring the glare being sent his way.
“Sir?” Officer Tall Drink of Water said.
“Sure,” I agreed. It wasn’t like I had anything to hide. My duffel upstairs was only the overnight basics and I was still wearing my satchel, which meant they couldn’t accidentally knock it over to get around needing a search warrant. I glanced at the name stitched on his uniform. “Officer King.”
The officers stepped in.
“You live here?” King asked. He looked around, his expression neutral. His partner, Officer Richmond, seemed more skeptical, raising an eyebrow, his lips pursed.
“Renting,” I said. “It’s a Rntl.”
“A what?” Richmond asked.
“R-N-T-L,” I said, spelling it out. “The app?”
“Never heard of it,” Richmond said. His hand was resting on his gun again, and it looked like if it were between me and his partner, he still wanted to shootmemore than King. “We’re going to need you to provide some ID and proof of residence.”
“Why?” I said. “On what basis?”
King looked at his partner and then back to me. His expression twitched, and he said, “If you just have the confirmation email from Rntl, that would be great.”
This was not going according to plan. Ididn’thave a confirmation email, and I doubted that my client wanted it spread around that he’d hired someone to take care of his ghost issue when he was arguing with Rntl that it was just a bunch of renters trying to get out of paying their bill.
“I think I’d like you to leave,” I said.
“Can we take a look around first?” King said. “Just to make sure that you’re safe.”
“From the prowler,” I said, drily. “In this weather?”
“She said she saw someone sneaking around the house the past few days,” Richmond said, eyes narrowed. “You know anything about that?”
Ididknow something about it. I’d been by the house a few times over the past two days. Once in daylight, once at night, and I’d combed through every inch of the grounds, looking for even a hint of a grave, altar, or anything else that could trap a spirit here.
Still, that wouldn’t do much for my cover story as a tourist here on holiday. I waved a hand. “Look away.”
They began a search of the house, always keeping me between the two of them. At the bedroom where I’d dropped my gear, I wasn’t even a little surprised when Richmond “accidentally” knocked the bag over. It was still zipped shut, and he bent to lift it back onto the bed.
“Heavy,” he commented, eyes narrowed. “You mind if I take a look inside?”
I glanced at King, whose mouth had gone tight. King’s voice went low, and that did something to my stomach. Ayes, officer, sir,kind of thing. “Richmond.”
It sounded like a warning, and I wanted to see who would win. Richmond looked older. Was he senior to Officer Goodie-two-shoes?
“He’s going to say it’s okay,” Richmond said, his eyes staring me down.
“We don’t have any reason to search his bag,” King said. “Unless you think a prowler can fit inside it?”
