Chapter 13: Start Your Day With a DOA

Grace’s shift started with a potential suicide victim who moved the gun at the last second and only managed to shoot off his ear. Cleanly.
While her partner stemmed the bleeding, she and a cop searched for the missing body part.
“What are the chances that this guy’s ear would blow out the window?” Officer Henry said.
“If he’d had screens we wouldn’t be doing this.”
“Dumpster diving on a Spring day.”
Grace didn’t chuckle, her mind ruminating on Jared’s attitude “You know a Lance Antonio?”
“Yeah. Used to be my partner. Why? He giving you trouble?”
“Why would you think that?”
“He does that. Latches onto a woman and doesn’t let go. He has at least one restraining order out against him.”
“So I’d heard. You know Zach Holton?”
The officer moved around some rotting garbage. To Grace’s relief her nose stopped working. She couldn’t smell anymore.
“By reputation.”
“Which is?” she asked.
“He’s a cop at all times and would ticket his grandmother for jaywalking. Even if he isn’t a cop anymore.”
“Why’d he quit?”
Officer Henry stopped and looked over his mirrored sunglasses at her. “He believed a psychic and she was wrong. They arrested the wrong guy.”
Grace digested that information. Her abilities would not be welcome in Zach’s eyes. “No temper?”
The officer stopped and studied her. “Why do you want to know about all of these people?”
“I think a friend of mine is in trouble and I’m just trying to get to know the cast of characters in her life.”
“Anyone I know?”
“Dolores Holton?”
He snorted. “She brings trouble on herself.”
“You know her?”
“We dated several years ago before I met my wife. She lives life on the wild side.”
His picture of her didn’t fit with the Dolores Holton Grace knew. Maybe the pregnancy slowed her down. Who knew? Grace’s job wasn’t to judge, but to save her from being killed.
Just because the victim made it hard to narrow down subjects didn’t mean it couldn’t be done. “You think you could show me around the Robber Baron tonight?”
“Hey, I’m a married man.”
She punched his arm lightly. “This isn’t a date. I just need you to introduce me to Lance Antonio. Then you can leave. It’ll take five minutes.”
“Sure. Wait I found something.”
Officer Henry’s grin creased his face as he held up an ear.
***
“There’s been another one,” Ed Bauer said while sitting in Zach’s office.
“Beer? It’s quitting time.”
“I’m off. Please don’t tell me it’s an import.”
Zach reaching into a small refrigerator behind his desk. “I stocked some Bud for you.”
“Good.” His friend looked around his new office and Zach realized just how shabby it appeared. Her hadn’t had time or even the inclination to decorate. Maybe some part of him had hoped this was temporary.
Opening the bottle he said, “I know I haven’t done much with the place.”
“Martha Stewart, you are not.”
The clinked bottles. Zach took a sip, savoring the amber brew. Nothing like a cold beer at the end of the day. “So tell me about this new case.”
“Set. Arson for hire. I’d bet my balls it is the same person as last time.”
“That sure?”
“The worst is that is looks like the guy we sent away.”
“Mm.”
That case would haunt Zach forever. On a psychic’s tip and some circumstantial evidence he arrested someone. The wrong person and that ended Zach’s career because the person had good lawyers.
“But that guy is in jail. Or twelve jurors thought he was the right guy.”
The Prosecutor’s office had nabbed someone else and he’d been convicted. “I’m cringing as I say this. Celia said the first fire was a copycat. Could the same person have done it again? A second time?”
“But who could this be. They’d have to know about the first one or be the true person who set those other fires.”
Zach frowned. “Are you suggesting the wrong man was convicted?”
Ed took a healthy swig of his beer. “Happens at times.”
“I don’t have any other ideas,” Zach said.
Zach loathed the idea that some innocent man had been convicted. The Prosecutor had been pretty sure of his case.
“Enough about this. Just mull it over for me and if you have anything you can add, let me know.”
“Sure, buddy.”
“Now how is that love life?”
Ed laughed as Zach’s mind went to Grace.
***
The Robber Baron, a cop hangout in the small burg of Mill Hall, blasted Conway Twitty when Grace arrived. She spotted Officer Henry or Hank as he wanted her to call him. Hank Henry, quite a name she’d told him. He just smiled and reminded her that she had no room to talk.
“He walked in five minutes ago. He’s at the end of the bar.”
Grace slid onto the stool that Hank gave up for her. Glancing down the smoke-free bar, she saw a talk, lanky man with a cowboy hat. He was talking to the man next to him and glancing at one of the waitresses. Not glancing, undressing her with his eyes.
She expected the conversation was lewd and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was on his territory. “Is he really a cowboy?”
“A legend in his own mind.”
“Why are you ratting him out? What about the cop brotherhood?”
Hank shook his head. “He doesn’t feel that way about any other cops so why should I feel that way about him?”
“I see.”
“What’ll you have?” Hank asked.
Grace surveyed the beer bottles in front of the many bar patrons. “I’ll take a Budweiser to blend in.”
“We’d have to throw you out if you ordered white wine, though they do serve it. And a great meatloaf.”
“I’ll remember that. They do takeout?”
“Yep. I ate here a lot when I was a bachelor. I don’t miss those days.”
“You ever see Dolores in here?”
“Oh, Dolores loves this place though I haven’t seen her in a month or so. Rumor is that she was back with Zach.”
Grace shrugged. She didn’t know the answer to that one. And maybe she didn’t want to. Her mind turned briefly to her dream about Zach. A shudder went through her.
Dolores was turning out to be a harder person to pin down with her many amours. Who wouldn’t have a motive?
Her beer landed in front of her and she took a swig trying not to look dainty. Not that she was, but sometimes being small didn’t help.
Lance looked her way, but she figured her chest was too tiny for him. Maybe she’d sidle up to him anyway. She tipped her beer at him and flashed a million dollar smile. Well her mother only paid three thousand dollars to the orthodontist for it.
“I may try this by myself,” she said.
“What?”
“Use my feminine wiles on him. That way you don’t have to be involved.”
“You going to confront him with something?”
“Maybe. Thanks for your help, Hank. Kiss your wife for me and thank her for letting me borrow you.”
“Good luck, Grace.”
Grace ambled past a collection of the county’s law enforcement officers. Even out of uniform, she would have spotted that they were cops. Each looked her over as she passed them in her flowered shirt and blue jeans. Maybe they were too snug to be legal, but she figured she could use all of her assets.
Pun intended, she thought with a smile.
Some of the cops gave her a cursory look while others openly gaped. Please, I’m not that good-looking.
She shifted her startling blond hair over her shoulder and smiled at Lance when she reached him. “Hey.”
His gaze ricocheted from her face to her toes then back to her face. “Yeah? You’re a little lacking in the chest area for me.”
Her gaze went south. “You’re a little lacking elsewhere for me, but I’ll buy you a beer if you’ll answer some questions for me.”
“Oh? What about?”