Deception with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Two) by Jenn Vakey

The only thing I can tell you right now is that it’s a tree sap with some kind of trace mixed into it, which left it black. I should be able to tell you the type of tree, as well as the trace that’s in it, by around noon tomorrow. That is unless you’re in a rush and you want me to pull an all-nighter.” Despite offering, she could tell he really didn’t want to have to work through the night.
    “No, tomorrow will be fine,” she said, pausing briefly to enjoy the relief on his face. “I wouldn’t feel right asking you to stay all night when I’m not.”
    “Well then, if you don’t have plans,” he said in his familiar unsure tone. He flipped off the lights as he walked out of the lab and followed her toward the elevator. “We could go out for that steak dinner.” She glanced over to him, but he was avoiding her gaze.
    Rilynne smiled and pushed the down button. “That actually sounds perfect right now. Do you know a good place?” she asked as the doors opened and she stepped in.
    “Actually, I know the perfect place,” he said with an elated smile as he climbed in behind her. Rilynne peered at him curiously, but he kept his eyes on the elevator door, the smile not fading from his face. He didn’t speak again until they walked out onto the street. “I’ll drive.”
    Rilynne thought for a moment that they were lost when the car stopped in front of a run down looking building at the end of the block named simply ‘Pinkston’. Though there were cars filling the parking lot, the building itself looked like it was close to being condemned.
    He grinned at her when she climbed out of the car and stared at it skeptically. “Come on,” he said softly. He took her by the arm and led her to the door at the corner.
    When she stepped through, she felt herself draw an involuntary breath. She heard Ben chuckle over her shoulder, but she was too busy taking in the sight in front of her to acknowledge it.
    The ceiling was lined with dozens of hanging glass fishbowls, each filled with floating candles. The walls had been covered in a mural of a cliffside village at sunset. The tables, each tucked their own niche, had a fishbowl filled with candles in the middle. “Wow,” she said on a long breath as she turned to face Ben. A smile lit across his face as he held up two fingers to the hostess .
    The hostess quickly escorted them to a back table just under the sun sinking below the rocks. Rilynne had barely gotten comfortable in her chair when the waiter arrived with two carafes holding water and iced tea. They had only just finished ordering their steaks when two garden salads were delivered to the table.
    “So, do you like your new place?” he asked, picking at his salad.
    “It’s nice not hearing people stomping around through the ceiling, or doing… other stuff through the walls.” She smiled as she sipped on her iced tea.
    Ben laughed and leaned back in his chair, his ears pinking. “I can imagine.”
    “The bathtub may also be the most amazing thing in the world.”
    “I saw it when I was moving your stuff in,” he said. “I was tempted to test it out. You know, make sure it was good enough for you to use.”
    “Oh really?” She couldn’t keep the smile off of her face. “You just don’t seem much like the bath type to me. I have always taken you for a shower kind of guy.”
    His ears were now burning red. “So you think about me in the shower, huh?”
    Despite his joking tone, Rilynne felt her own cheeks growing warmer. The sight of her getting flustered only made him smile more. “It does look like an amazing bathtub,” he said, reaching for his drink. “Oh, and I left your box of pajamas on top so you could find it easily. I didn’t think you’d want to be searching for something to wear in the middle of the night.”
    “Oh, thanks. I’ll look for it when I get home.”
    His smile stretched from ear to ear. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it without making a sound. Rilynne had a