Read Online Checkered Thief (A Laurel London Mystery Book 3) by tonya kappes - Free Book Online

jumped out and grabbed her walker from the back. She slapped my hands away. “I don’t need that. I don’t need these old men thinking I need their help, it’s their ‘in’ for talking to me.” She slammed the door and I put the walker back in the car. “If I want a man, I want one at least half my age.”
    She didn’t bother saying bye, she just waddled up to the glass sliding doors of the entrance and disappeared into the building.
    What Sharon had said about Brittany’s turn of behavior was making Bethany’s case even better. The fact that Derek went to that extreme to keep it from me until he was able to tell me was not the right thing to do, but I did feel like he was trying to find a way to tell me. The only way I was going to get to the bottom of the real truth was to talk to Derek himself. If he would see me.
    Before I could get out of my thoughts, I was crossing River Road and pulling into the Walnut Grove Police Station on the left. I sucked in a deep breath while putting the car in PARK. The police station was a good place to see him after last night and the confrontation this morning. He would at least be somewhat civil if he was really, truly mad at me.
    There were times he was mad, but one wink and some good old memories never let him stay mad for long.
    The dispatcher sat behind the glass and slid it open when I walked in.
    “Not here,” he barely looked up from his crossword puzzle. “It’s slow today so he said he had some car to work on.”
    The car was no doubt Brittany’s since Louie said she claimed she had car trouble.
    “Thanks,” I muttered. My insides churned at the thought of going to his service shop. There was no time to waste. By the time I got to his place and groveled for forgiveness and pulled the information I needed out of him, it would be time for me to go back and pick up Sharon.
    I steered the car back to River Road and took a right, passing Porty Morty’s and Fiddle & Sons before turning into Derek’s shop on the right.
    There he was, buried under the hood of a yellow Jeep Wrangler. Without realizing it until after it was too late, I rolled my eyes and got a bad taste in my mouth about Brittany. Of course she would drive an awesome car. I rubbed my hand over the old Belvedere.
    “I do love you.” I gave it a slight pat to ward away any bad ju-ju I might have given myself.
    Derek’s head cocked over his shoulder. The three-second stare was a little too long before he stood up. I hated how he always contemplated his actions before he did them, unlike me. A fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda girl, I am. There were some situations I should’ve been more like Derek.
    He took the dirty oil rag from the back pocket of his mechanic’s jumper and rubbed his hands off on it before he put it back and leaned on the guts of the opened hood.
    “Laurel.” He crossed his arms across his chest. “If you are coming here to defend what you’ve done, you are wasting your time.”
    “I’m not.” I stopped in front of him. His five o’clock stubble was already starting to spread across his strong chin. The dimples I had grown to love were nowhere to be seen. “I’ve come to get the scoop from you, but first I have to apologize for my behavior.” I scuffed the toe of my shoe in the loose gravel. “I hate that it upset me so much. And don’t get me wrong.” I held my hands out. “I know I did wrong, but I really thought something like this, you would’ve told me before I found out. The way I found out was not good for me. You are my best friend. My brother.”
    “Laurel, you and I both know the brother and sister thing changed that night at the river.” His eyes bore into mine.
    I tried to bury the memory of the night he was referring to. We were adults and we consented. And it wasn’t too long ago. Only the two of us knew about it.
    “I didn’t let it change me.” I bit back the memory of how he looked at me in the moonlight that night.
    His blue eyes were crystal