him.”
Two of April Springs’ other police officers had shown up and were now intent on securing the crime scene as Chief Martin made his telephone call. It was clear that George wanted to help them, but somehow he managed to restrain himself.
I looked up to see Emma’s father, Ray Blake, come racing up the street on foot, a camera slung around his neck.
He tried to get a picture of the mayor’s body, but the chief hung up his phone and closed the shop door before Ray could get a shot.
“Come on, Chief, give me a break,” Ray said plaintively.
“I don’t want to see a dead body on the front page of your newspaper tomorrow,” Martin said.
Ray shrugged, then stepped back and took a photo of our group. “Fine, I’ll use this one. Care to comment?”
“No,” the chief said.
“I already know it’s the mayor,” Ray said. “Give me something.”
The chief glanced at Emma, who just smiled at him. He shook his head. “You won’t be getting anything out of me, so you might as well go back to that cramped little office of yours and wait for another hot tip.”
“If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll stick around.”
Ray winked at his daughter, and I saw her return it. I had a feeling that tomorrow’s story would be full of quotes from an anonymous witness, but at least that way maybe Ray would get things right. I knew that for Emma, getting her father’s approval about anything meant a great deal, so I couldn’t really blame her.
“What happens now?” Momma asked.
“I need to speak with each of you alone,” he said.
“What did Jake say?” I asked.
“He couldn’t talk, but he said he’d call me right back,” Chief Martin said. He then turned to my mother and suggested, “Dorothy, why don’t we go first?”
“Are you sure someone else shouldn’t conduct the interviews?” George asked.
“I can handle it fine on my own. Why, are you volunteering?” The last bit was said with a bite, and I saw George flinch a little.
He didn’t back down, though. “Chief, you really should let Grant do it.”
The chief looked at George as though he wanted to swat him, but again, Momma intervened. “You know, that might be for the best.”
“Grant!” the chief barked out, and the young officer appeared quickly. Stephen Grant had become a friend of mine over the past few years, coming in for donuts when he was off duty, but no outsider would have been able to tell that at the moment.
“Sir,” he said.
“Take this group to the squad room and interview them individually about what happened this morning. I expect you to be thorough and show no favoritism. Is that understood?”
The officer nodded, looked surprised for a split second, and then said to us, “If you’ll all follow me, please.”
As we walked away, I glanced back at the chief of police for one quick second. There was a look of helplessness on his face that I hadn’t seen before, a vulnerability that made me like him more than I ever had. He was clearly torn between his love for my mother and his duty, and I didn’t envy him that one bit. He was decent at what he did, but he wasn’t on a level with Jake, and somehow that conflict made him a little more human to me.
* * *
I was waiting to speak with Officer Grant next when my phone rang. “What’s going on, Suzanne?” Jake asked.
“Did you talk to the chief yet?” I asked.
“Yes,” he admitted. “He asked me to take the mayor’s murder case, but I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
I couldn’t believe that Jake would back down from a case like that. “Why not? You know all of the people involved.”
“That’s the problem,” he said. “It could really complicate things.”
“Have you at least considered it?” I asked him.
He paused, and I could almost see him running his hand through his hair. “Suzanne, think about it. Do you really want to put me in a position where I might have to arrest your mother for murder?”
The
Two of April Springs’ other police officers had shown up and were now intent on securing the crime scene as Chief Martin made his telephone call. It was clear that George wanted to help them, but somehow he managed to restrain himself.
I looked up to see Emma’s father, Ray Blake, come racing up the street on foot, a camera slung around his neck.
He tried to get a picture of the mayor’s body, but the chief hung up his phone and closed the shop door before Ray could get a shot.
“Come on, Chief, give me a break,” Ray said plaintively.
“I don’t want to see a dead body on the front page of your newspaper tomorrow,” Martin said.
Ray shrugged, then stepped back and took a photo of our group. “Fine, I’ll use this one. Care to comment?”
“No,” the chief said.
“I already know it’s the mayor,” Ray said. “Give me something.”
The chief glanced at Emma, who just smiled at him. He shook his head. “You won’t be getting anything out of me, so you might as well go back to that cramped little office of yours and wait for another hot tip.”
“If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll stick around.”
Ray winked at his daughter, and I saw her return it. I had a feeling that tomorrow’s story would be full of quotes from an anonymous witness, but at least that way maybe Ray would get things right. I knew that for Emma, getting her father’s approval about anything meant a great deal, so I couldn’t really blame her.
“What happens now?” Momma asked.
“I need to speak with each of you alone,” he said.
“What did Jake say?” I asked.
“He couldn’t talk, but he said he’d call me right back,” Chief Martin said. He then turned to my mother and suggested, “Dorothy, why don’t we go first?”
“Are you sure someone else shouldn’t conduct the interviews?” George asked.
“I can handle it fine on my own. Why, are you volunteering?” The last bit was said with a bite, and I saw George flinch a little.
He didn’t back down, though. “Chief, you really should let Grant do it.”
The chief looked at George as though he wanted to swat him, but again, Momma intervened. “You know, that might be for the best.”
“Grant!” the chief barked out, and the young officer appeared quickly. Stephen Grant had become a friend of mine over the past few years, coming in for donuts when he was off duty, but no outsider would have been able to tell that at the moment.
“Sir,” he said.
“Take this group to the squad room and interview them individually about what happened this morning. I expect you to be thorough and show no favoritism. Is that understood?”
The officer nodded, looked surprised for a split second, and then said to us, “If you’ll all follow me, please.”
As we walked away, I glanced back at the chief of police for one quick second. There was a look of helplessness on his face that I hadn’t seen before, a vulnerability that made me like him more than I ever had. He was clearly torn between his love for my mother and his duty, and I didn’t envy him that one bit. He was decent at what he did, but he wasn’t on a level with Jake, and somehow that conflict made him a little more human to me.
* * *
I was waiting to speak with Officer Grant next when my phone rang. “What’s going on, Suzanne?” Jake asked.
“Did you talk to the chief yet?” I asked.
“Yes,” he admitted. “He asked me to take the mayor’s murder case, but I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
I couldn’t believe that Jake would back down from a case like that. “Why not? You know all of the people involved.”
“That’s the problem,” he said. “It could really complicate things.”
“Have you at least considered it?” I asked him.
He paused, and I could almost see him running his hand through his hair. “Suzanne, think about it. Do you really want to put me in a position where I might have to arrest your mother for murder?”
The
Similar Books
