“Don’t pull that BS with me. You know that’s not what I’m saying.” The words were biting, but her brown eyes were swamped with worry.
That took the wind out of Cora’s sails. “Look, I’m sorry. I went to a business mixer with Grace. It was outside of the city and wasn’t over until late. I was tired and got careless. I wasn’t paying attention like I should’ve been. Believe me, it won’t happen again. And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry.”
Janet sank into the chair across from her and shook her head. “I told you that neighborhood wasn’t the best. You can’t plunk a hip coffee shop and an organic burger joint in the middle of a notoriously high-crime neighborhood and magically make it more safe.”
“It’s a transitional neighborhood. And it’s not that bad. My neighbors are nice and look out for each other. And the hookers and drug pushers are at least four blocks away.”
Her mom pinched the bridge of her nose, a sign she was hitting her smartass tolerance for the morning. “I don’t know why you don’t just move back home with me and Greg until you can afford something better. You know we don’t need that whole house to ourselves and we’re barely there anyway.”
Cora pressed her lips together to keep the Oh, hell no from slipping out. This was an old argument. She loved her mother more than anyone else on this planet. And Greg, her mom’s boyfriend of the last six years, was great. But Cora had done her time at home. She’d already lived that legacy. Being exposed to what her mom had would’ve made anyone paranoid and overprotective. Cora understood, but she wouldn’t enter that brand of captivity again no matter how well-intentioned. “I’m twenty-six, Mom. I have a life plan to not become a cliché. And living in my mother’s basement is the biggest of them all. I’m good.”
“We don’t have a basement.”
“It’s proverbial.”
Her mother huffed a breath, her impatience obvious. “I’m worried about you, honey. Did you get a good look at the guy? Was it anyone you’ve seen before?”
“I’ve never seen him before.”
“Are you sure? Could it be someone you investigated here? I hold your name out of things but it keeps me up at night wondering what might happen if someone finds out you’re helping put them behind bars. Maybe it’s time that you stop—”
Cora put up her hand, cutting her off. “I got a good look. He was a stranger. College-aged. I’d recognize him if it was a case I’d worked on. What I do here has nothing to do with what happened.”
As much as her mom appreciated Cora’s help on cases, she’d always been reluctant to let Cora continue with it. It’d started with an internship years ago—which was really a way for her mother to keep a close eye on her while she’d been in college. It was supposed to be temporary. But Cora hadn’t wanted to walk away once she’d graduated. Where else could she work and feel like she was really making an impact? Where there were clear results? So she’d applied for a more permanent position that would have let her provide services to multiple precincts. Her application had been denied. Her mom had blamed it on the city not wanting nepotism, but Cora had known who’d made sure it didn’t happen.
Janet pressed her lips together. “Do you think he’ll come back?”
“No. He thought I was someone else. He thought I wanted to play some kind of game.”
“What the hell kind of game would that be?”
She shrugged. “Who knows? Kinky sex games?”
Her mother blanched. In her jaded cop mind, kinky meant demented. She’d seen sadistic killers, and had no room to parse out sexual sadism from the sociopathic kind. They’d had that conversation after a popular movie, and Cora had given up trying to argue that there was a difference. “That doesn’t make me feel any better, Coraline.”
“I’ve already contacted the landlord to ask if he would put in an alarm system, and I got an extra dead bolt installed on both the front and back door yesterday.” She lifted her purse from the desk. “And I’m carrying my Taser in my hand wherever I go. Plus, I’m not going to be working from home for a while anyway. I landed a contract with a tech company and will be in an office filled with people.”
The tense lines in Janet’s expression softened a bit at that. “Oh. Well, that’s good at least. I hate knowing you’re working at home all day. That’s—”
“—the most popular time for burglaries. I know. I don’t answer the door and one of the guys next door works from home often anyway. I’m careful. This was just a freak thing.”
“Freak things get people killed.”
“Mom.” Cora’s patience was waning. She needed more coffee for this.
Her mom’s hands went up and she stood. “Fine. I’ll stop. For now. But I want you texting me when you get home each night. Just let me know you’re there and safe so I can sleep. And I’m sending an officer to dust for fingerprints on your porch. We might have this guy in the system already.”
“Fine.” Cora stood and arched her back, her joints popping from sitting too long. She grabbed the laptop and handed it to her mother. “I’ve sent you a file with the evidence I found on here.”
“Pay dirt?”
“Go throw a book at the bastard. And maybe cut off his balls for good measure.”
She gave her a grim look. “I
was hoping this one wasn’t true.”
“Yeah, me, too.” She stepped around the desk and hiked her purse and laptop bag onto her shoulder. “I won’t be coming in for a little while if this job goes the way I expect, but if something urgent bubbles up, let me know.”