Read Online Desert Exposure by Robena Grant - Free Book Online Page A

dark blue Honda. They were the only vehicle on this side of the highway. Rachel gave him a quick once over, and then looked straight ahead, hands on the steering wheel, talking to him without looking in his direction.
    “You’re about Grandpa’s size. We’ll find some sweats or something.”
    “Great.”
    Michael caught occasional glimpses of the Salton Sea to the east. The Santa Rosa Mountains created a ring of soft blue toward the west. Not much to look at but miles and miles of desert and tumbleweeds in between. Nobody tailed them. The entire area seemed to slumber.
    He knew the small town of Desert Scapes was up ahead, then further on, the bigger town of Salton City, and almost at the Mexican border, the city of Brawley. But even they were small communities by his standards. They’d be shit-out-of-luck if he needed back up. He’d get it, but it’d be a long time coming.
    “Haven’t been fishing in a while,” he said. “Is there a boat, or do we fish off a jetty?”
    “You get to choose.”
    “It might not be a bad idea to take out the boat. It’ll be a good opp to use binoculars and check out the shoreline, and some of the buildings. Raise less suspicion, less intrusive.”
    She smiled but kept her eyes on the road ahead. “Grandpa would hike for two or three miles on land, in either direction of the cabin. Otherwise he’d take the boat out, and then he’d pull in close to shore and take photographs. I often went with him. Maybe we’ll find some clue.”
    She stopped speaking, her smile fading.
    Maybe she’s right, and the old man is alive. He glanced out the window. He hoped so. If he could, he’d try to find him. But his first obligation was to his undercover assignment. He’d been transferred over from the Riverside Sheriff’s Department of SIB. Special Investigations Bureau, drug enforcement. The Coachella Valley had become a hot bed for drug trafficking, and the back roads from the border via the Salton Sea had been the latest route. The Saurez brothers knew the area well. If the two cases connected, it would be all for the better. That is, if the old man wasn’t working with them.
    “Does Ralph like the boat?” He looked down, and Ralph looked up and wagged his tail.
    “You’re kidding, right? Boat!” she yelled, and Ralph barked and wagged his tail. She glanced in the rear vision mirror, checked the side mirrors, and then switched lanes. “The dog goes everywhere with me.”
    “Even to work?”
    “You bet.”
    She kept her eyes on the road ahead, and hadn’t seemed to notice his reaction. He studied her profile. She was a good driver, even if she had a lead foot. And a businesswoman, and from what he’d seen yesterday, a damn good one. He’d been wined and dined at Cliffs on his first day in the area. Someone at the department had said the owner was engaged to a cop. He watched her even closer.
    “Cliffs is great,” he said. “I had dinner there a week ago. It came highly recommended.”
    “Yeah. Most of the cops know my place. They’re regulars.”
    “Do you ever date any of them?”
    “What’s this, twenty questions?”
    She laughed then and he realized how much he liked her laugh, and how he’d probably sounded like a wounded teenager. Damn it, man. She’s trouble with a capital T.
    “Do you mind if I close my eyes for a bit?”
    “Go for it,” she said. “You must be tired.”
    “Yes. A long night.” He closed his eyes, and rested his head back on the seat headrest. She would drive like a maniac whether or not he stayed awake; might as well grab a few minutes of shut eye, and nurse his wounded ego.
    “Dave Stanton.”
    “What?” Michael opened one eye.
    “I dated him, off and on, for about a year. We split up three months ago. We both knew it wasn’t ever going to develop into anything significant.”
    “Oh,” he said, and closed his eyes tight.
    Stanton ? His skin prickled with annoyance. Maybe she dated a lot of cops. Well, it wasn’t his place to ask.