Tahoe Dark (An Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller Book 14) by Todd Borg Page B

Homicide Inspector. You know about peace officer powers?”
    Evan shrugged. “Just, you know, basic cop stuff. Not just anyone can be a cop, right?   It’s like not just anyone can sell insurance. You gotta get the education and the paper that says you have the qualification. It’s the power of the state. The state can give, and the state can take away, and if you think you can be a lone wolf and live life any way you want without government involving itself in your life, you can’t. The state is still always in control.”
    “Wow, you could write an essay on the structure of government authority. Do you always think like that? When you’re cleaning houses?”
    “No. It’s just… I don’t know. Kind of interesting, I guess. I get a lot of time to think when I’m scrubbing floors.”
    “I suppose so,” I said. I turned and looked toward where the older woman had walked. “Should I plan on giving you a ride two days from now? It’s no trouble. But no pressure, either.”
    She thought about it. I could tell she was weighing the pros and cons.
    “Okay. But I’ll call you if I have my car back.”
    I gave her my card. “If I don’t hear from you, what time should I plan to be here?”
    She thought about it. “The day after tomorrow, my first house is the Olmsteads. They like me there by eight because Mrs. Olmstead heads out to her yoga class shortly after, and she usually has special requests.”
    “So I should arrive here when?”
    “The Olmsteads are on Dollar Point, fifteen minutes from here. So if you could come here at seven-thirty, that would give me time to load up and make sure Mia is comfortable with you and your car.”
    I pointed to my Jeep. Spot was now awake, and he held his head out the window.
    “My dog Spot likes to ride along. Do you think Mia would be okay with that?”
    Evan looked over at the Jeep. “She loves dogs, but he’s bigger than any dog Mia’s ever met. I assume he’s friendly?”
    “Very.”
    “Would it be okay if I introduced Mia to him now? Then she can get used to the idea before you come.”
    “Of course.”
    Evan went inside and came back out with Mia.
    “You remember meeting Owen?” Evan said, her hand on Mia’s shoulder.
    Mia looked at me, and made a tentative nod.
    I raised my hand in a little wave and said, “Hi, Mia.”
    “Owen might be giving us a ride the day after tomorrow. He has a big dog named Spot.” She pointed toward my Jeep. Mia looked where Evan pointed. Her eyes widened when she saw Spot.
    “You know how you like dogs, Mia? Would you like to meet Spot? Let’s go meet Spot.”
    We walked over. When Spot saw us coming, he started wagging, his tail banging back and forth between the front and rear seat backs.
    I grabbed Spot’s head to show that he was tolerant of any kind of touch. “Spot, meet Mia and Evan. Here, Mia, you can pet Spot. He loves it when you pet him.”
    Evan knew exactly how to handle it. She stroked Spot’s head. “Oh, Mia, Spot loves a pet.”
    Mia reached out, slowly. Spot’s head protruding from the rear window was at the same level as Mia’s head. Spot sniffed her hand, which made her pull it back. I put my hand over Spot’s muzzle so he couldn’t sniff her. She reached forward and pet him. He wagged. Mia made a huge smile.
    “Spot likes pets,” she said.
    “Understatement of the month,” I said.
    Evan grinned, and I knew that Spot had once again given me entreé into someone else’s world.
    “I’ll see you the day after tomorrow,” I said.
     
     
     
     
    ELEVEN
     
     
    In the morning, I took Spot with me in the Jeep, headed up and over Spooner Summit, cruised down to Carson City and then north to Reno on the freeway. The contrast from cloudy cool Tahoe to hot sunny desert was dramatic.
    The Reno Armored company, northeast of the Reno Tahoe airport, was actually in Sparks, Reno’s twin city to the east. It didn’t seem fair that a Sparks company ignored its home territory and traded on Reno’s famous