‘Bloody traitor,’ she said as Frost gave him the toy. He pranced off and took it to his chewing rug. The squeaking started immediately. Kim found herself hoping he broke it quickly. It wasn’t a noise she relished the thought of through the night.
‘You want one?’ she asked, pointing to the coffee machine. Anyone knew the way to her percolator was through kindness to her dog.
‘Err…yeah,’ Frost said, as though it was a no-brainer.
Frost had hobbled behind her on the impossibly high heels she always wore to mask the limp she’d had all her life. She preferred people to think she couldn’t walk in the shoes than for them to know she had one leg shorter than the other.
‘Can we get something straight?’ Kim asked as Frost took a seat on one of her bar stools.
‘Yep.’
‘When I let you kip here for one night because your life was in danger, it wasn’t like giving you keys to the city.’
‘The what?’ Frost asked, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
‘It wasn’t an open invitation. You’re a reporter, allegedly. I’m a police officer. We don’t like each other, and I am never gonna welcome your presence at crime scenes.’
‘Absolutely, but you do have the best coffee,’ she said, taking a sip of the Colombian Gold.
Yeah, it was true.
‘So what do you want?’ Kim asked.
‘A quote about the sudden surge of suicides that aren’t suicides.’
‘Liar. You know full well I won’t talk to you about an active case out in the field so I’m not gonna do it here. Real reason?’
‘Come to see my buddy here. He misses me.’
Kim laughed. ‘You were here for one night. He’s had pig’s ears that have lasted him longer than that. I can assure you that the sense of loss is on your side only. He’s hardly sitting at your side begging for attention. He’s too busy disembowelling that cupcake.’
Although, for some reason, the dog had seemed to take to her. Kim had no clue why, and it was the only time she’d doubted his intelligence and judgement.
‘Hey, I left you in peace for two months,’ Frost offered as though she’d done some kind of favour.
‘I wasn’t at work so I should bloody well think so.’
‘And don’t we know it. Your replacement was a knob.’
Kim couldn’t help the chuckle that broke free from her mouth. Finally, something they agreed on.
‘You still haven’t told me why you’re really here,’ Kim repeated.
Frost pulled a face. ‘I suppose it’s all about my little toe.’
‘Your what?’ Kim asked, pulling a face. Frost was many things but she didn’t normally talk in riddles. Maybe she had, finally, lost her mind.
‘I had a corn on it for years. Kept using those corn plasters on the little bugger, but it wouldn’t go. Finally got it dug out. Didn’t need the plasters any more, but my shoes never felt right without it. I’d really got used to having the little fecker around.’
Kim thought for a moment without speaking. ‘You know, Tuesday night, Bryant came to see me. Last night Ted Morgan dropped by, so it looks like the good Lord decided to forego the third wise man and go straight for the donkey.’
Frost threw back her head and roared with laughter. ‘Oh my goodness, corns and donkeys,’ she spluttered. ‘I wonder if we’ll ever get to a point where we admit we don’t mind each other anywhere near as much as we used to.’
‘I hope not, now drink your coffee and piss off. I’ve got shit to do.’
‘What, like catch up with friends and family? You’ve got no family and your only friend is busy extracting the squeak from a plastic cupcake so I’m pretty much the best you’ve got.’
‘Shoot me now.’