Canyons of Night by Jayne Castle Page A

the station. Devin came up off the bench and fell into step beside him. Rex popped up out of the fountain. He hopped up onto the rim and fluffed the water out of his fur. Then he scampered across the lawn to follow Slade and Devin.
    “Is the fish for Rex?” Devin asked.
    “Not at this price. Rex can have the leftovers or go catch his own fish.”
    “Looks like a big salmon for one person.”
    “I’ve got a guest coming over for dinner.”
    “Yeah? Who?”
    “Miss Enright.”
    “Holy crap.” Devin slammed to a halt. “You’ve got a date with her ?”
    Slade kept walking. “You got a problem with that?”
    “No way.” Devin rushed to catch up. “It’s just that Grandma and some other people have been saying that the two of you should date. And now you’re doing it.”
    “Talk about a psychic intercept.”
    “Huh?”
    “Never mind. Just a little inside joke.” Slade went up the steps. “Why does everyone think that Charlotte and I should date? Because we’re both new on the island?”
    “I guess. I dunno. I overheard Grandma talking about it to Mrs. Murphy.” Devin paused. “I think everyone’s afraid you’ll be leaving soon.”
    “Yeah?” Everyone is right, Slade thought, but he did not plan to say that out loud to anyone except Charlotte. She needed to know that he had no intention of getting involved in a long-term commitment of any kind. “Why would they think that?”
    “Because the guy who was the chief before you didn’t last long, and neither did the guy before him. Grandma told me that after Chief Halstead died five years ago, no one has stayed more than a few months in the job.”
    “Small-town police departments often experience a high turnover.”
    “Maybe Grandma and the others figure that if you have a girlfriend here in town you’ll stick around for a while,” Devin offered.
    “An interesting theory.”
    Slade opened the door and went inside the station. Rex and Devin followed. Automatically Slade removed his sunglasses and stuck them in the pocket of his shirt. Devin did the same.
    Rex fluttered across the room and bounded up onto his favorite perch, a waist-high file cabinet. He settled down with a lordly air and proceeded to observe what he evidently considered his territory.
    Myrna Reed was at her desk, gazing deeply into her computer screen. She jumped a little when Slade and Devin came through the door. Slade caught a glimpse of a screen full of what looked like women’s sweaters and the words Free Shipping before Myrna got to her mouse and clicked off. The clothes disappeared and a screen-saver appeared in its place.
    “Hi, Chief.” Myrna swiveled around in her chair.
    She was a good-looking woman in her early fifties who kept herself in shape. Her blonde hair was in a twist at the back of her head. She looked at Slade over the rims of a pair of reading glasses balanced on her nose.
    Slade knew something of her history. When he had taken the job, the first thing he had done was run background checks on Officer Willis and Myrna Reed. Old habits died hard. He liked to know who he was working with. He knew that Myrna could not have been more than seventeen or eighteen when she had gotten pregnant with Devin’s mother, who had, in turn, also gotten pregnant in her teens. Myrna had never married. Now she found herself raising her thirteen-year-old grandson. She clearly loved Devin and was determined to do her best. As far as Slade was concerned, that was all that mattered.
    “How did things go down at Looking Glass?” Myrna asked.
    Slade was aware of a sudden silence behind him. He knew Devin was holding his breath.
    “There was no problem at the shop,” Slade said. “Charlotte found her back door unlocked but she says nothing is missing.”
    Myrna laughed. “I’ve seen the inside of that shop. How would she know if anything had been taken?”
    “It’s a little crowded in there,” he agreed.
    “Beatrix seemed to buy a lot more than she sold,” Myrna said.