A Man To Count On

Chapter Five

E.D. didn’t lock out Dylan, but fate intervened elsewhere and business forced Alyx Carmel to postpone her meeting with E.D. until Friday evening. It was just as well because E.D. already felt run through the wringer by the end of Thursday, and Dylan’s declaration certainly compounded that.

Alyx ultimately invited E.D. for dinner to her home in a posh Austin neighborhood. E.D. brought a bottle of pinot noir that a trusted wine expert in her office had recommended. Because of Alyx’s reputation as a true professional, she was surprised by the invitation to meet away from an office environment. Alyx was notoriously private and no one seemed to know anything about her personal life except that she was single and rejected all personal social invitations. Naturally, that triggered some comments about her sexuality. E.D. didn’t care one iota about that; she had enough of her own concerns to deal with. Then, upon pulling into Alyx’s driveway, she was met by a uniformed cop who stepped from his squad car parked out front. That triggered different concerns.

While the officer didn’t smile, he also didn’t rest his hand on his holstered gun in a way to suggest he thought her a threat. Small gifts, E.D. thought, wondering what was up now.

“ID, ma’am.”

This wasn’t a gated community and Alyx hadn’t warned her of trouble. Wondering if she was about to get back into the evening news again, she reached for her purse. “l’m E. D. Martel… D.A.’s office,” she added because although she’d met many of Austin’s finest in court, she hadn’t yet met this gentleman and wanted to send a signal that they were on the same team. “I have a dinner appointment with Ms. Carmel.”