Fat Chance by Rhonda Pollero Read Free Book Online

shrugged. His shoulders were narrow and boney. His hair was blond and neatly cropped. His charm was marginal. Other than being thirtyish and bringing me a decent iced coffee, there wasn’t a single thing about this guy that landed him on my radar.
    “That would be a violation of departmental protocol,” he explained. Wink, wink, nod, nod. “No offense intended. But if you’re not doing anything on Friday night—”
    “I’m in the middle of a celibacy thing,” I cut in.
    Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a business card and passed it across the carved cherrywood table. “Feel free to give me a call if you change your mind.”
    “Can we move this along?” I asked, pulling the card close and using it as a coaster.
    If he was disappointed, it didn’t show on his tanned face. For some idiotic reason, that stung. First Patrick, then Liam, and now Officer Kiss-ass. I was starting to wonder if I was destined to spend the rest of my life internet dating.
    His cell phone chirped, and he had a brief conversation thatconsisted of “Okay,” and “I’ll let her know.” Holding the phone away from his ear, he said, “Your friends have finished giving their statements. They want to know if you want them to wait for you.”
    Knowing that Jane was probably totally freaked, I shook my head. “I’m good.” I was irritated that my interview was taking so long, but I had learned the hard way not to annoy the police. Even when the police annoyed me. And this guy was in danger of leapfrogging over Graves and Steadman as my least-favorite law enforcement officer. The only thing preventing me from putting him at the top of the list was the latte, and I was almost finished with that.
    It took him another thirty-nine minutes to complete the questionnaire, then he went and got a tape recorder and listened as I recounted how we’d found the skeleton. I was left to trace the logo of the coffee shop with my fingernail while my statement was typed, then presented for my signature.
    I read it, signed it, and stood up. “Thanks for the coffee.”
    “Wish I could take credit for it,” he said unapologetically. “Some guy dropped them off for you and your friends.”
    As fast as possible, I left the police station. It was fully dark, but the parking lot had lights attached to tall poles. I looked around for my car, or at least for a familiar face to take me back to my car. Tucked into the half dozen cars in the parking lot, I spotted Liam leaning against my new car, one foot resting on the front bumper. His half-primer, half-putty car was in the spot next to mine. He brought a long-necked bottle of beer to his lips and, judging by the sharp angle of the bottle, took the last sip.
    “There are laws against having open containers of alcohol,” I said. “Why are you here?”
    He smiled and my stomach knotted. I was torn betweenwanting to slap the smile off his face and kissing him senseless. I hated him for making me feel like this.
    He flung the empty bottle into a Dumpster a good ten yards from where we stood. The sound of the glass breaking echoed in the still night.
    “Thanks for the coffee, Liam,” he teased. “That was a really decent thing for you to do, and I really appreciate it.”
    “I’m eternally grateful,” I said flatly. “You want to get off my car? I’d like to go home.”
    “Wanna tell me what you lifted off the deceased?”
    I felt my cheeks grow warm and was thrilled that it was too dark for him to see the guilty blush. “What makes you think I—”
    “I heard what you said to your mother.”
    “Eavesdropping is rude.”
    He shrugged and rose to his full height. I hated that I had to tilt my head back to compensate for his height. “Have it your way,” he said as he turned his back and moved toward his car.
    “Thanks for bringing me my car,” I said, finding it easier to talk to his back.
    “I didn’t. The cops towed it here. The bill’s on the passenger seat next to your purse.”

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