was my partner… my best friend… or at least, that is what we once were to each other. Next to Glenn, there was no one I trusted in this world more.
I just didn’t know anymore. I didn’t know whether to be angry or feel compassion for the man. Yes, his world was torn apart and turned upside down, but didn’t he realize that mine was, too. Yes, he lost Connie, his wife of twenty-five years, yes, his only daughter was terribly injured while serving her country, yes, he lost them both.
But I had lost all three of them , I thought selfishly. I lost him, I lost my best friend to liquor and anger and bitterness.
I stood up. I knew I had to get my act together and now concentrate on finding the creep that killed this young girl.
“What’s going on with the girls? Did anybody else but Marty interview them?” I asked her, totally changing the subject.
“Frank is working with him.” She must have thought the expression on my face pertained to Frank, because she tried to defend him. “Frank’s a good interviewer, Jean.”
“Yeah, I know.” I told her, still disturbed by what she told me about Annie. It should have been Joe that told me. Once upon a time, he would have confided in me. I realized she was still talking.
“The mayor is here and he’s making some demands. This thing is going to be one hell of a mess, Jean. It had better resolve itself quickly, or heads are going to roll. The reporters have shown up already. I think I convinced them to head over to the school—let the chief deal with them.”
“Good idea,” I replied. “I don’t need them here right now, we have enough to deal with. I’m going to see what’s doing upstairs. Maybe Marty got some answers.”
She gave me a sympathetic look and put her hand on my back as she followed me out the door.
“Joe will come around, Jean. Give him some time. Connie was his world, and Annie is his universe. He’ll come around.”
She was trying to convince me, but I knew she really was as worried about Joe as I was .We both knew that he was in a world of pain and his behavior and drinking were spiraling out of control.
I didn’t say anything else, because there was nothing more to say. I headed up the stairs to the turmoil that awaited me next. As I climbed the stairs, each step seemed to have swollen to twice its normal size. I was physically and emotionally drained.
I used to love this job. I used to take situations like this in stride. Cases like this would get my adrenaline churning resulting in a burst of energy. A murder like this should have incited my anger and made me anxious to solve the case and put away some crazy freak for the rest of his or her natural life.
But I wasn’t feeling angry or anxious. I was feeling downright depressed, and I was lacking my usual confidence. I knew I needed to shake it off, so before I got all the way up the stairs I took a deep breath, gritted my teeth and said a few expletives under my breath. Joe would have told me to chill out… but Joe wasn’t here.
Chapter Five
Marty
Marty heard the mayor before he saw him.
The man’s voice trumpeted through the hallway like a bull elephant’s cry in the jungle. Turning from Frank, who gave him a look of despair, he caught sight of His Honor making his way up the stairwell, pushing one of the uniformed officers to the side. Behind him was the first lady of Fallsburg, looking mortified.
“Don’t give me this crap, officer, I demand to see my stepdaughter!”
“Mr. Mayor, please…” The officer tried to block his way, but the husky politician was having no part of it.
“Get out of my way, kid, before I have your job!” he hollered, spraying spittle in the officer’s face.
Marty stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at the bad comb job the mayor used to hide his balding and lumpy scalp. He figured that this was as good a time as any to come to the
I just didn’t know anymore. I didn’t know whether to be angry or feel compassion for the man. Yes, his world was torn apart and turned upside down, but didn’t he realize that mine was, too. Yes, he lost Connie, his wife of twenty-five years, yes, his only daughter was terribly injured while serving her country, yes, he lost them both.
But I had lost all three of them , I thought selfishly. I lost him, I lost my best friend to liquor and anger and bitterness.
I stood up. I knew I had to get my act together and now concentrate on finding the creep that killed this young girl.
“What’s going on with the girls? Did anybody else but Marty interview them?” I asked her, totally changing the subject.
“Frank is working with him.” She must have thought the expression on my face pertained to Frank, because she tried to defend him. “Frank’s a good interviewer, Jean.”
“Yeah, I know.” I told her, still disturbed by what she told me about Annie. It should have been Joe that told me. Once upon a time, he would have confided in me. I realized she was still talking.
“The mayor is here and he’s making some demands. This thing is going to be one hell of a mess, Jean. It had better resolve itself quickly, or heads are going to roll. The reporters have shown up already. I think I convinced them to head over to the school—let the chief deal with them.”
“Good idea,” I replied. “I don’t need them here right now, we have enough to deal with. I’m going to see what’s doing upstairs. Maybe Marty got some answers.”
She gave me a sympathetic look and put her hand on my back as she followed me out the door.
“Joe will come around, Jean. Give him some time. Connie was his world, and Annie is his universe. He’ll come around.”
She was trying to convince me, but I knew she really was as worried about Joe as I was .We both knew that he was in a world of pain and his behavior and drinking were spiraling out of control.
I didn’t say anything else, because there was nothing more to say. I headed up the stairs to the turmoil that awaited me next. As I climbed the stairs, each step seemed to have swollen to twice its normal size. I was physically and emotionally drained.
I used to love this job. I used to take situations like this in stride. Cases like this would get my adrenaline churning resulting in a burst of energy. A murder like this should have incited my anger and made me anxious to solve the case and put away some crazy freak for the rest of his or her natural life.
But I wasn’t feeling angry or anxious. I was feeling downright depressed, and I was lacking my usual confidence. I knew I needed to shake it off, so before I got all the way up the stairs I took a deep breath, gritted my teeth and said a few expletives under my breath. Joe would have told me to chill out… but Joe wasn’t here.
Chapter Five
Marty
Marty heard the mayor before he saw him.
The man’s voice trumpeted through the hallway like a bull elephant’s cry in the jungle. Turning from Frank, who gave him a look of despair, he caught sight of His Honor making his way up the stairwell, pushing one of the uniformed officers to the side. Behind him was the first lady of Fallsburg, looking mortified.
“Don’t give me this crap, officer, I demand to see my stepdaughter!”
“Mr. Mayor, please…” The officer tried to block his way, but the husky politician was having no part of it.
“Get out of my way, kid, before I have your job!” he hollered, spraying spittle in the officer’s face.
Marty stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at the bad comb job the mayor used to hide his balding and lumpy scalp. He figured that this was as good a time as any to come to the
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