Chapter 17

The rest of the ride was uneventful, but neither Cooper nor Jennifer said a word to one another. Cooper parked in his garage. As Jennifer followed him towards the side door that was the entrance to his town house, she decided although the detective was a bone head, it was best to try and get along with him.

She stopped to admire his Mustang. “Wow, nice car. What year is it?”

Jennifer finally saw the detective smile. “It’s a 1965. It was a piece of junk when I bought it, but with some hard work, I was able to restore it to its original condition. I put three coats of paint on it to get it so shiny.”

Jennifer teased. “I got a classic too, only it’s not near as nice as yours, because it needs a little work, and it got a bullet hole in it. Anyway, I can’t drive it right now because I don’t have money for gas.”

Cooper snorted. “What, that bucket of bolts I saw parked outside your apartment?”

Jennifer nodded. “It’s not as old as yours, but it’s a twenty-year-old Honda. I heard that’s old enough to be called a classic, and lots of people stare at me when I drive it.”

Cooper realized she was pulling his legs. Well, at least she had a sense of humor.

“I bet. They’re probably wondering why it’s still on the road. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to Hugo, but you got to be careful because he doesn’t like strangers.”

Jennifer followed the detective into the house. They were met with a series of loud barks and a bundle of fur rushing towards them. Just before the big, shaggy dog was upon them, it skidded to a stop and stared inquisitively at the strange woman.

“Oh, he’s beautiful,” Jennifer gushed. She showed no fear. Instead, she held out her hand. “Come here boy, I won’t hurt you.”

Cooper was stunned when his dog turned meek as a lamb, crept forward, and allowed Jennifer to scratch its head. So much for it being a ferocious watch dog. It was going to need some serious training as soon as he could get rid of her.

When Jennifer finished fussing over Hugo, Cooper showed her where the spare bedroom was. She sat the battered suitcase and her knapsack on the bed and wondered back to the kitchen where the detective was putting away the food taken from the motel.

He asked her. “You hungry?”

Jennifer shook her head.

“Okay, it’s getting late and I have a busy day tomorrow so I’m going to turn in.”

Jennifer replied. “Go ahead. I got a couple ideas for my Nick James story, so I’ll be working on my lap top for a while yet. I’ll go to my room so I won’t disturb you.”

As Cooper headed for his bedroom he wondered how he was going to get along with a night hawk in his house. Jennifer didn’t keep regular hours, and was used to going to bed late and getting up when she felt like it. She sorted out her notes on Nick James and inserted a few facts into her scoop before turning off the light and crawling under the covers.