on Peggy Sue are so encouraging,â he said, businesslike but not without warmth. âHowâs Sushi?â
âShe dodged a bullet, too. The vet says she can come home tomorrow.â
âDr. Tillie?â
âYes.â
âGood man. If he ever retires, Serenity will be the lesser for it.â
âNo question.â
His expression turned serious. âWe interviewed Peggy Sue earlier this morning, when she first came around, and apparently she didnât see who hit her.â
âYou think she was hit from behind?â
âYes. That means whoever did it realizes Peggy Sue didnât see him, or her. So ... with any luck, your sister isnât in any danger of retaliation.â He paused, adding, âStill, weâll keep an officer at the hospital until sheâs released.â
âThanks. Maybe a car outside the house, too, for a day or so?â
âWe can manage that.â
âI realize Peg probably poses no threat to the assailant, but thank you for the added protection.â
He nodded.
I shifted in the chair. I couldnât help feeling uncomfortable. Was it simply being in Tonyâs old office ... or because Brian and I had once been an item? And yes, before Mother asks, I will tell you right outâwe had been intimate.
He was saying, âBrandy, you have to promise me youâll stay out of this matter. None of this silly Murder, She Wrote stuff from you or Vivian.â
I didnât answer immediately. If Mother had been here, sheâd have been defensive, reminding Brian that we had helped clear up a number of matters that the Serenity PD otherwise might have fumbled.
But I merely said, âI can try, Brian ... but I canât promise. You know Mother.â
He cocked his head, and a lock of sandy hair fell across his brow. He was a cutie-pie. Sorry if that makes you sick, a woman my age thinking about a man in such childish terms. But he was. A cutie-pie.
âYou mean,â he said delicately, âbecause your mother will get you involved whether you want her to or not?â
In the past I would have said, âOr whether you want her to or not ... but Iâll try.â
But instead I replied, âBrian, someone almost killed Peggy Sue, and Sushi. Which Jaws movie was it?â
âHuh?â
âWhere the poster said, âThis time, itâs personalâ? Well, this time, Iâm afraid it is. Personal.â
Brianâs puppy dog eyes tightened into a pit bullâs, and he leaned forward. He shook a finger. âListen, Brandy, you just stay out of it. Whoever killed Jim Bob, and broke into your home, is obviously a very, very dangerous person.â
All I could manage was âYeah, well.â
âYou and your mother have been so damn lucky in the past, not getting yourselves killed, meddling in police business.â
Now I cocked my head, ignoring being called a meddler, instead thinking about what heâd said before. âSounds like you think the events were connected. Almost like ... Brian, do you already know who it was?â
He held up a crossing-guard palm. âI donât know who it was... .â
âBrian ...â
âBut ... I do know the kind of company Jim Bob Mc-Roberts kept, back in Texas, before he returned to Serenity.â
âWhat kind of company is that?â
He shrugged. âWhat do you think? Bad company.â
âMaybe a little more specific?â
Now a sigh. âDrug dealers, petty thieves, ex-convicts... .â
âSo ... something from his past came home to roost?â
I took Brianâs silence as a yes.
âBut what would the killing have to do with our break-in?â I frowned. âThere has to be a connection... .â
âDoes there?â
I leaned forward. âMaybe the killer thought weâd seen something the morning of the auctionâsomething that meant we could later identify him.â
Brian winced.