Page 80 of What They'll Say About Us

"No report of that, but we're going to have a patrol officer in the area stop by her residence to talk to her about it."

My hopes of a good lead from the license plate vanished with his words. "I have a feeling it's going to be another dead end, which makes me feel like whoever we're dealing with is pretty damn smart, and also has help. Right? It doesn't feel like one person, does it?"

"It's difficult to say at this point."

"You really don't like to speculate, do you?"

"I've already done too much of that with you. I don't like to risk my imagination taking me down the wrong road."

"I love to speculate. It's part of being interested in criminal mysteries. There are so many things to wonder about. I think we should go over everyone who had any connection to Paige. I'll share what I know. You share what you know. We'll see where we end up."

"That could be a long conversation."

"I've got time. What about you?"

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

I was surprised by the question. "Uh, actually, yes."

"You want to share a pizza while we're doing all that sharing?" he asked with a teasing smile.

"I'd love to."

"What do you like?"

"Pepperoni, mushrooms, and onions," I returned.

He laughed. "Well, that's refreshing."

"What is?"

"A woman who knows what she wants and says it. Most women say they don't care, then pick off the things I ordered and take two bites."

"That sounds like a date pizza, and this isn't a date."

"Would your answer have been different if it were a date?" he challenged.

"Well, I might have been more open to what you want to order. I do like other things, so if you want to throw on veggies or peppers, go for it. I'm just not a big fan of olives."

"Got it. I'll go half and half—your choice, my choice."

"What's your choice?"

"You'll have to wait to find out," he said with another smile that warmed me far more than it should have.

He got up, grabbed a notepad from his counter, and tossed it to me along with a pen. "While I order the pizza, start making a list of suspects and witnesses, and we'll go from there."

Chapter Twenty

I had made a fairly long list, and after ordering the pizza, Colton pulled out the actual police files, which he'd brought home to study. But just as we were about to start sharing, the pizza arrived, so we put that on hold while we ate.

I was thrilled that Colton's choice of pizza was vegetarian, which went well with mine and made me feel like we were on the same page, at least in terms of pizza.

As we finished eating, Colton said, "So…Crawford."

I wiped my mouth with a napkin. "You want to start with Liam? Because I think we should begin with what was going on at the theater first."

"I'd rather start with your boyfriend."