It's Tuesday afternoon. McKenzie and Logan have known each other 14 days.

Ending of Previous Post:

"That fits with our theory that Parks killed her. We just need to prove motive."

"What motives are you looking at?" asked Bill.

She held up two fingers. "Same as before. First, Megan thought she was pregnant, so mentioned it to Sidney. Who we think is Sidney Parks. He's a married man, so Megan pregnant with his child wouldn't be good. Besides his wife is also pregnant. Also Megan either saw him kill Donny or found out he did and confronted him. We know Megan was in some sort of relationship with Donny. Of course, we need to prove he murdered Donny. Donny was running a meth lab out of his house. We think Parks wanted him to pay protection money. When Donny wouldn't pay or threatened to turn him in, he had to permanently shut him up. Of course there's always a third option that we have no clue what's going on."

"Your ideas are possible. We just need proof. They found the amphetamine, GHB, at Donny's house. He was making it and it had the same formula used on you. So there's another connection." Bill's eyes met Logan's. "They're releasing Megan's body to the funeral home about three-thirty today. I'm sure you'll want to be there with your parents."

"I do. Can you set that up?"

"I'll make sure a team stays with both of you and nothing at all happens here today."

"No." McKenzie shook her head. "I won't be going." She put her hand on Logan's. "This needs to be only immediate family. You and your parents need to grieve privately. I won't be going."

"But..."

"You only want me to go out of sense of duty to me," interrupted McKenzie. "I'll be fine. What could possibly go wrong?"


TODAY'S POST:

As Logan prepared to meet with his parents at the funeral home, he touched McKenzie's arm. "Are you sure you're going to be okay? My gut's sending me all sorts of warnings and it's rarely wrong."

"I'll be fine. You don't feel good about this because of the decisions your family needs to make about your sister's funeral. Nobody would have good feelings."

"I'd feel better if you'd come along."

"No. Your family needs privacy. I'd be an outsider." She leaned over and gave him a hug. "You need to do this by yourself." Running her hand along his arm, she said, "And you need to leave, or you're going to be late."

Logan drew her into a hug and kissed her.

*****
McKenzie stood at the door and watched him leave. He's kissed me three times. I wonder if there'll be a fourth. I hope so. She placed a phone call. "Hello, Joanie, they're releasing Megan's body today. Logan's busy with his family. I'd like to surprise him with a home cooked meal. Any suggestions?" After listening for a while, she said, "I don't know if he likes fish. He's never fixed it. I think anything else is safe."

She fingered a piece of paper. "Okay, I'll do the chicken and pasta. Can you bring by the recipe? I'll need to go grocery shopping. I'll talk with Bill about that." She listened a minute. "I appreciate the help, but you don't need to go to that much trouble." Again, she listened. "Okay, I'll see you in about an hour and a half."

*****
Later that afternoon, Joanie arrived with the recipe and groceries. "I bought some zucchini and yellow squash. I thought they'd make a good side dish." She handed McKenzie the recipe. "Read this and see if you have any questions."

After reading, McKenzie said, "It seems pretty self-explanatory. But you won't be busy later, will you? I might need help."

"Silly, I'm free all day, but I'm sure you can do this. You're a smart, resourceful, young lady." Joanie chewed on her bottom lip. "It seems you and that hunky man are getting closer. Am I right?"

McKenzie's cheeks tinged pink. "I guess it's safe to say we're friends. At least we're not at each other's throats anymore."

"By your blushed cheeks, I'd say there's more to it than that."

"Are you forgetting in a few weeks, exactly sixteen days, he'll go back to Fort Bragg?"

Joanie laughed. "But you're not counting or worried about him leaving, are you?"

"Of course not. Why would I?" McKenzie walked away.

"What time do you expect Logan to return?"

"Megan's body was supposed to arrive at the funeral home at three-thirty. I'm guessing it'll take a couple of hours to make all the funeral plans; maybe five-thirty or sixish? What do you think?"

"I agree. Have this ready about five-forty-five. It will hold for a little while." Joanie scanned the area. "I'll leave. If you need anything, I'm only a phone call away and will be right over. Even if you just want to talk about Logan and your relationship." She grinned.

"We're not in a relationship."

Joanie walked out the door but laughed and called over her shoulder. "Of course not. Keep telling yourself that, but nobody believes it. Not even you."

*****
Around five-o'clock, McKenzie heated a pan of water for the pasta. "Okay, when you boil, I'll add the noodles. How hard can that be?"

She added four tablespoons of olive oil to a skillet. "Now, I'll stir fry some mushrooms. This cooking isn't hard. I'm rocking it."

After straining the pasta and removing the mushrooms, McKenzie put the chicken breast in the skillet. "They're sticking. How do I tell if they're done? It doesn't say how long." She called Joanie. "The chicken's sticking to the pan and how long do I cook it? How do I know if it's done?"

Picking up the olive oil, McKenzie said, "Of course, I added the oil. Wait, did I? Or did I forget? I don't know. Please come and help." She listened. "Oh, put all the oil in at once. Thank you. I'll see you in a few minutes."

When both dogs barked, McKenzie looked up and turned off the stove. "What's wrong with you two?" She petted Arlo. "Did you see a butterfly and upset Edger? Okay, I'll let you guys out." She opened the door and waved at the officers patrolling the backyard. "They're useless. They couldn't even protect poor Edger Sunday."

As she scraped the chicken from the bottom of the skillet, she heard the backdoor open. "Edger, you're good but you haven't learned to let yourself back in, have you?" She glanced at the door and went into JKD stance.

As soon as the hooded man reached her, she began fighting him. A second and third man appeared and surrounded her. A fourth man came from nowhere. I can't get to my gun. Where's the police?

After hits to her jaw and kicks to her stomach, McKenzie collapsed to the floor in a bloody and unconscious heap.




Characters:

McKenzie 'Mac' Morgan a 27 year old private investigator
Major Logan Nelson 34 years old and an active duty soldier
Arlo McKenzie's black and tan dachshund
Megan Nelson Logan's younger sister - murdered
The Lou local name for St. Louis
Simon Knight and Sheila Logan's former Army buddy and a Lab technician. Sheila's his wife.
Fan name for the St. Louis Cardinals - a major league
baseball team.
Yadi What Cardinal fans call Yadier Molina - Cardinal's all-star catcher.
Edger McKenzie's black and tan rottweiler
George Whitney A former boyfriend of Megan, early suspect in her murger.
John Benson Man who murdered McKenzie's parents
Bill Abbot A D.A and McKenzie's God-Father; he was a high-
school friend of McKenzie's father. Joanie is his wife.
Jose Lopez his wife is Lucy Chicago Police Department undercover police
department.
Kate Hartford Megan Nelson's friend they taught middle school
together.
Donny Carlton A man Megan Nelson dated.
Mitch Gardner St. Louis Police Department detective who has
partnered with McKenzie's dad.
Ivan Smart A bad guy
Peter and Nancy Nelson Logan's parents
Sidney Parks works for the St. Louis Police Detective with the drug unit.
Mack and Helen Morgan McKenzie's parents - both deceased
Gus Piper McKenzie's abusive grandfather - deceased
Austin Bryant an old boyfriend - McKenzie broke up with him because he's a jerk.
Joshua Davis so far a nobody, but is a neighbor to Donny Carlton
Mark Young an acquaintance of McKenzie, a state trooper, and will become important much late