G. A. McKevett - Wicked Craving (Savannah Reid Mysteries)

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S avannah Reid rolled down the window of the rented pickup, breathed in the fresh sea-scented air, and decided it was a perfect day in sunny California. But then, barring earthquakes, mudslides, and brush fires, most Southern California days were pert nigh perfect.

She vacillated between being deeply grateful she had moved from rural Georgia to the picturesque seaside town of San Carmelita, and being bored to death with perfect. She missed the drama of an old-fashioned, southern thunderstorm, complete with all-hells-done-broke-loose lightning crashing around you and the scream of tornado sirens going off, warning you to shake some tail feathers and get your tailfeathers and allinto the nearest storm cellar.

Ah, yes , she thought, watching the palm trees glisten in the tropical noonday sun. There is nothing quite like huddling with your granny and eight siblings in a spider-infested tornado shelter at two in the morning, storm raging above you, to bring a family together.

And we are close, she whispered, thinking of her loved ones in Georgia, so far away. So close its a wonder we havent murdered one another yet.

Murdered who? Dirk asked as he guided the pickup truck away from the downtown area and headed toward the poor side of town. The part of San Carmelita that didnt have perfectly matched palm trees lining the streets. The part where windows had bars, not flower boxes, and the only fresh paint on the building walls was gang graffiti. The part where you were more likely to see a pit bull chained to somebodys front porch than a Chihuahua poking its head out of somebodys purse.

What? she said to the guy sitting in the drivers seat next to her. Detective Sergeant Dirk Coulter was still with the San Carmelita Police Department.

She wasnt. And on most days, she was grateful for that. Occasionally, she waxed a bit bitter about the fact that she had been dismissed. But those days only came along about once a monthlike most of her truly dark moods. And a bar of chocolate or a dish of ice cream usually put her world right again.

You were talking to yourself, he told her.

Was not.

Were, too.

Well, do you have to bring it up and make me feel like a nitwit whos losing my marbles?

Dont snap at me. You told me to tell yousaid you wanted to break the habit.

Oh, right. Sorry. She sighed and wondered if she could blame her forgetfulness on perimenopause. After all, now that she was solidly in her mid-fortiesand if she didnt admit that shed been forgetful her whole lifeit could float, excuse-wise. And it would carry her through to menopause and past to senility.

Im forgetting stuff lately, she said, because Im approaching the change o life. You wouldnt know anything about it. Its a woman thing.

I know its not why youre talking to yourself. Youve been doing that for twenty years. He slowed the truck down to drive over a particularly deep drainage dip in the road and checked his cargo in the mirror. But that might be why youve been extra irritable lately.

She shot him a look. Ever consider it might be because youve been exceptionally irritating?

No.

No, you havent been irritating?

No, I havent considered it might be me. Id rather blame it on you and your hormones.

A dangerous thing to do, blaming anything on a womans hormones.

You brought it up.

True.

She didnt like thishim winning two arguments in a row. She decided to just keep quiet and say nothing for a while.

That never lasted long.

Its just that Ive been bored lately, she said, fifteen seconds later, as they headed deeper into a valley that stretched from the sea into the dry, brown, scrub brushcovered hills.

The tattoo parlors, pawn shops, porn stores, and junkyards had given way to tiny, dilapidated stucco houses and yards covered with dead, brown grass, surrounded by sagging fences.

Many of the inhabitants sat on sagging sofas on sagging porches, wearing saggy clothes and saggy facial expressionsmuch like many of the inhabitants of the poor, rural town where she had been raised.

Savannah understood despair. She knew, all too well, the toll it exacted on the human spirit.

Do you miss being on the job? he asked. Is that why youre bored?

She considered his question honestly before answering. Did she miss being a police officer? The constant adrenaline rushes? The camaraderie with the other cops? The fascinating view of ever-changing human drama? Having drunks throw up on her shoes?

I do sometimes, she admitted. Mostly when I dont have any clients. Private investigation can get pretty mundane when you dont have a single case to investigate. Its been a bit lonely at the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency lately.

And thats why you hang with me, he said, giving her a grin and a poke with his elbow.

That and all this philosophical, mind-expanding conversation. She looked him over, taking in the Harley-Davidson T-shirt that had, in a former life, been black, but had gone through a navy blue stage and was now a muddy chocolate brown. And your sense of style.

She glanced at herself in the trucks side mirror and saw a woman who wasnt exactly a fashion plate herself. Her thick, dark hair had a mind of its own, so she pretty much let it do its wayward-curls thing. Clean skin with a bit of lip gloss and mascara, hastily applied, were the extent of her daily beauty rituals. And her wardrobe was only a notch above Dirks on any given daya lightweight blazer over a simple cotton shirt with jeans or linen slacks. The blazer hid the Beretta strapped to her side. And the cotton and linen kept her cool under the California sun.

Years ago, when they had first met, both Savannah and Dirk had turned heads, especially when they were in uniform, before their detective days. And even though Dirks T-shirt might be faded, and they both had gained some extra poundage here and there, in Savannahs mind, Dirk was still a stud, she was a babe, and as a pair, they were both pretty darned hot stuff.

On the seat between them lay the empty sack that had recently held two apple fritters and two cups of coffee, all compliments of the Patty Cake Bakery.

Patty, the blonde bimbo baker, liked the way Dirk filled out his worn jeans and, apparently, didnt mind the old T-shirt, because she was always generous, dolling out the sugar and caffeine. She was also a major cop groupie, which irked Savannah and pleased Dirk to no end.