The City PI and the Country Cop by xxxxxxxxxxxx Page A

you have your phone on
vibrate.”
    “Well duh. And I didn’t answer until I was
sure there wasn’t anyone around.”
    “Are you in the park?”
    “Yep,” Keir replied. “Hunkered down by a
stand of bushes that served as my, you should excuse the
expression, bedroom. I gotta tell you, there wasn’t much going on
around here, but then, it was a Monday night.”
    “Makes sense. I’m at the motel Hoyt
suggested, if you want to come by and catch some real sleep.” He
told Keir how to get to it from the park when the young man said
that sounded good to him.
    After they hung up, Teague called Hoyt. The
detective answered on the first ring, asking right off the bat if
everything was all right.
    “It is. I got a room at the Cut-Rate, in
back. Number 110.”
    “Using your name?” Hoyt asked.
    “A variation. Don Teagan.”
    “That works. What do you look like?”
    Teague chuckled. “I’m six-one, blond—”
    “That is not what I meant and you know
it.”
    “Yeah, I did. My hair is short now. No beard
or mustache. Dark framed glasses.”
    “Glasses?”
    “I have a pair in case something happens and
I lose a contact.”
    “You wear…? Okay, obviously you do from what
you said. The glasses will do a lot to keep people who’ve seen you
from recognizing you now. Good ploy.”
    “Bad eyes,” Teague countered with a laugh.
“But yeah, I’ve done this before and it does help. Right now I look
sort of like a studious professor heading home before classes start
up again.”
    “That would be a good cover story,” Hoyt
commented. “Especially around here. There’s a small university
about forty miles to the west. We get profs coming in for winter
break to ski, so people are used to seeing older college types in
the area.”
    “Maybe I should gray my hair and get one of
those jackets with the leather patches on the sleeves and smoke a
pipe.”
    Hoyt snorted. “Let’s not get carried
away.”
    “Don’t worry. Among other things, I don’t
smoke so I’d probably spend half my time coughing when I
inhaled.”
    “Which wouldn’t work for the image,” Hoyt
agreed before changing the subject. “Have you been in contact with
Keir?”
    “Yep. He said it was a slow night. I should
get more of report when he shows up to get some decent sleep.”
    There was a long moment of silence on Hoyt’s
end before he replied coolly, “Let me know what he says.”
    “Of course.” Teague frowned. “Is something
wrong?”
    “No.”
    “Hoyt…”
    “I said no!”
    “Wait a second. Okay, maybe I’m misreading
this, but just so you know, Keir’s like a son to me, and a damned
good employee. Nothing more.”
    “Did I say differently?” Hoyt asked calmly.
But Teague thought he heard relief in his voice.
    “No. I just wanted to make that clear.”
    “Thanks for…All right. Yeah, I got a twinge
of…jealousy.” Hoyt huffed out a small laugh. “Not that I should
have.”
    “I might have myself, if the situation was
reversed.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah, really.” There was a soft tap on the
door just then. “Hang on. I think my employee—” Teague emphasized
the word, “—has arrived. Do you want to come by and hear what he
has to say?”
    Hoyt chuckled softly. “No, that’s all right.
Among other things, I probably should stay clear of any even
semi-public contact with you, and him. All things considered.”
    “Yeah. Okay, I’ll call to give you an
update.”
    “Thanks. Go let him in before he wonders if
he’s got the wrong room. Talk to you later.”
    Teague hung up and went to open the door,
making certain it was Keir, saying as he did, “You look beat, to
put it mildly.”
    “I’m out of practice sleeping rough. I spent
half the night with one eye open. Used to be it was instinctive,
knowing if there was someone around I had to worry about.” Keir
yawned prodigiously, flopping down on one of the beds. “I’ll be
fine.”
    “Before you pass out, did you see anyone who
tweaked your radar?”
    Keir