"I think I'll cross that bridge if we get that far."

He rubbed the back of his hand across the stubble under his chin.

"Never thought I'd see the day when I'd be considered the normal one."

Sadie walked into Starbucks and ordered herself a double-shot low-fat latte, then took it to a small table near the front entrance to watch for Jackie. The face-to-face interview was a must in this line of work. She'd once had a young man sound perfect on the phone, but he'd dressed Goth and had his teeth sharpened to points. It wasn't that she had a moral problem with his lifestyle; she just knew she'd have to spend way too much time explaining him, so she had to pa.s.s.

Jackie arrived wearing the bright blue Gore-Tex jacket she had described, and her smile showed no hint of vampire dental work. In fact, she looked like a very normal midheight, late-twenties, pretty brunette. Which, of course, begged the question of why a normal woman wasn't, say, a Realtor, lawyer, or soccer mom instead of a blood 'n' guts worker.

They shook hands in greeting and Sadie glanced down at their grip. Jackie was missing two fingers, the ring and pinkie digits on her right hand.

"It happened a long time ago and it doesn't interfere with doing my job." Jackie offered the answer to the unasked question.

"Fair enough."

After Sadie bought Jackie a coffee, they got down to business.

"You've brought references?"

Jackie handed her a neatly stapled two-page resume and Sadie took a moment to look it over. She managed to keep her expression bland, but she was pleased by what she read.

"You've been working cleanup in Dallas for two years?"

"Yes. My boss is great and I enjoy the work. I've learned lots."

"What's prompting your move to Seattle?"

Jackie hesitated. "I moved to Dallas to be with my boyfriend. That relationship ended and I had no other ties there. Seattle's my home. All of my family's here. As soon as I land a job, I'm moving the rest of my belongings back here."

A perfectly acceptable response. The only things stopping Sadie from hiring Jackie on the spot was the need to check her references and the hope that she wasn't going to demand an exorbitant paycheck.

"What brought you into the business?"

"I've worked as a paramedic, so the yuck factor didn't enter the equation for me. The money's better."

"Let's talk financial details, then," Sadie began. "What were they paying you in Texas?"

The figure Jackie provided was more than she'd hoped.

"You'd be on a three-month probation period, and that amount's higher than I usually pay someone when they just start."

"Yeah, but if your turnover's as high here as it is in Dallas, then you rarely give a raise because most people quit long before their probation period ends. I'm coming to you fully trained. When you call to check my references, you'll hear nothing but good." She took a sip of her coffee. Her unwavering gaze met Sadie's. "I'll break a sweat and give you one hundred percent every single day."

Sadie nodded thoughtfully. "Tell me your worst."

"Multiple shotgun murder-suicide involving kids," Jackie said without hesitation. "Yours?"

"Unattended hot-tub death."

"Nasty soup."

"Provided your references check out and your criminal record check comes back clean, I'd say we've got ourselves a deal."

They shook hands across the table.

"Let me officially welcome you back to Seattle."

"It's a beautiful city."

"Hopefully you'll still be able to say that after you've soaked up its blood."

8.

Sadie was in a great mood when she arrived home to prepare for her date with Kent, but her frame of mind changed to anxious when she looked in her closet. She knew that Pam would be able to help her out.

"I feel like a teenager all over again, and not in a good way. What should I wear tonight?"

"You're going to that Italian place downtown on Fifth, right?" Pam asked as she sat on Sadie's bed, leaning back against the headboard.

"Yes."

"Then you want something casually s.e.xy but not too accessible."

"I have no idea what that means."

"Wear your snug black pants with heels and your lace tank top with the sheer black blouse over it. You'll look fantastic. Your main job tonight will be to stay dressed."

"Very funny, but I find it scary that you know my wardrobe so well." Sadie went into her closet.

"Just means it's time you did some serious clothes shopping."

"You're probably right."

"Oh and use your black Guess! clutch purse. It'll be perfect."

Sadie carried the clothes to a corner chair, then stripped and put on the outfit Pam had suggested.

"You're right-my black pants are snug. I think I'll wear the gray ones instead."

"The gray ones make you look frumpy. Wear the black."

Sadie tried on the gray pants anyway and saw that Pam was right, so she changed back. She angled her head and examined her reflection critically in a full-length mirror. "Good choice."

"Yeah, you look hot. Think you can manage your makeup and hair on your own?"

Once Sadie a.s.sured her friend she wasn't a total failure in that department, Pam left. Sadie carefully applied makeup and dabbed on a little perfume.

"Now what?" she murmured, glancing at the clock and seeing that she was ahead of schedule. "Nothing says desperate like showing up half an hour early."

Sadie walked to the living room and sat on her sofa, channel-surfing and trying to fend off Hairy, who sensed it was a good moment to cover her in rabbit fur. She watched part of a sitcom without really seeing it at all, and finally, when she knew she'd be arriving at just past seven o'clock, she locked up her house and walked to her car.

On the drive over she practiced casual conversation, small talk, and how to casually bring up Kent's so-called long-ended affair with Trudy.

When Christian instead of Kent met her at the restaurant, she knew she was in trouble. So much for thoughts of a romantic dinner date.

"My brother sends his apologies. He was showing some buyers houses and now he's stuck in a traffic snarl on the I-5."

"Oh." Great. Just great.

"I've been told to get you settled with a strong drink. Kent will be here any second. Here, let me take your coat."

For a second Sadie considered bolting out the door she'd just walked through, but instead she let him awkwardly fumble with her long trench coat and his own leather jacket. With some effort he got them onto the overstuffed rack near the door.

"Um, you know what-you don't need to do this. Really. I'll just go, and Kent and I can have dinner another time," Sadie said.

"No way. I was only a block from here, on my way to work, so it's no trouble at all. My pleasure. Plus Kent will kill me if I let you get away," Christian said, grinning warmly.

Sadie offered him her best okay-I'll-be-a-good-sport smile. With as much courage as she could muster under the circ.u.mstances, she followed the hostess to a cozy corner table.

"When Kent told me how you two met, I thought he was joking," Christian said. "Good thing you don't carry a gun on the job or you might have shot him."

He had Kent's hundred-watt smile, and when he turned it on Sadie relaxed just a bit. He was probably in his late twenties, and you could tell he had a way with women. It was a safe bet, that that smile had been used to weaken the knees of dozens of females already.

"I guess it was pretty strange, considering I thought he was a-" She stopped herself short of saying "ghost" and said, "Burglar."

"Oh, Kent's practically a saint. He's never so much as had a traffic ticket." Christian laughed throatily. "And I'm not just saying that because you're the best-looking date he's ever had."

Sadie laughed in return. "You've got his charm."

There was an awkward pause. They sipped their drinks and Sadie stole a glance at her watch. The seconds were ticking slowly just past seven fifteen.

Christian tunneled his fingers through his hair and his face grew serious. "You have a very, um, unusual job."

"Yes."

"Cleaning up Trudy and Grant's home...that must have been awful."

"You can look at it that way, but as I see it, I perform a service so that families of victims aren't traumatized twice."

He nodded and stared at her intently. Sadie felt like a bug under a microscope and changed the subject.

"What do you do, Christian?"

"Our uncle Ned runs a janitorial service. I work for him. It's mostly night work." He glanced at his watch. "And if Kent doesn't get here soon I'm going to be late."

"Did I hear my name?"

Sadie was relieved to see Kent approaching the table.

"I am so sorry for being late. I never should've agreed to take those clients out so late in the afternoon. You know what traffic's like. I don't know what I was thinking." He nodded to Christian, who was already on his feet. "I hope my brother was polite."

"A perfect gentleman," Sadie said.

"I'm off to work. Thanks for not taking off." Christian smiled at Sadie.

"Any plans after your shift?" Kent asked his brother, with a tightness in his voice beyond curiosity. "We still need to talk about a few things."

"I'll be around. See you later." Christian waved to Sadie on his way out the door.

Kent slipped into his brother's chair. He looked terribly yummy in a taupe knit sweater and dark slacks. He eyed Christian's drink, then picked it up and downed it.

"I inherited him after my parents kicked him out. He's got a job now, but I don't think I'm cut out for the big-brother routine."

"Christian seems nice, but I have to admit that if I lived with my sister, somebody would probably die."

"I try to see Christian's good points. Like he did make me go jogging recently, trying to get me into shape."

"Jogging, huh? I used to love a good run. How did it feel?"

"Sore. Definitely. Very. Sore. And I spent far too much money on exercise wear. Christian took me to this megastore in the mall, and I dropped a wad of cash on clothes that I'll probably never wear again."

They laughed, and then the waiter appeared. They ordered and continued to chat amiably until the food arrived. After Sadie took a few bites of her chicken with lemon risotto, she confirmed that it was as good as it looked.

They were quiet while enjoying the food. Eventually Kent folded his napkin and put it beside his plate.

"Okay. Confession time," he said.

Her heartbeat sped up. Part of her wouldn't be satisfied until she knew more about his relationship with Trudy. The phone records still bugged her. Still, it had been a long time since she'd been on a date.

"What do you have to confess?"

"I said I'd cook for you, but you made a good decision about eating out. I'm not a great cook. I'd already spent hours sweating over a recipe I found on the Internet yesterday, so I was glad you vetoed that."

"Seriously?"

"My usual is either Kraft Dinner or hot dogs, though I have been known to creatively scramble an egg once or twice."

She let out a burst of laughter and didn't stop grinning like a fool until they got to dessert. Around a bite of cheesecake Kent mentioned that he'd gone to Portland for a sales seminar recently. Her smile faltered, and the wheels in her head began turning with thoughts of what she'd been dying to ask him all evening.

"Sylvia said Grant and Trudy lived in Portland for only a few months before they moved back here," she said carefully, watching him to gauge his reaction.