Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 01 - Bogey Nights by Marja McGraw Page B

what’s going on?”
    “You leave that to me. I think I can talk her into jawing with us.”
    Without warning a feeling of fear overtook me . I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. We weren’t P.I.s, and we weren’t in an old movie. This was real life, even if the crime had been committed many years ago. The feeling left me as suddenly as it had hit me.
    I watched as Chris pulled out the phone book and looked up a listing. He punched in some numbers and smiled at me.
    “Who are you calling?” I asked.
    He held up his finger, letting me know he’d talk to me in a minute.
    “Yes,” he said into the phone, “I’d like to speak to Detective Riley. I believe she’s in the homicide division.”
    “Oh,” I said.
    Chris turned to me. “They’ve got me on hold. I’m simply going to invite Janet over to the house and suggest that she bring her Lab with her.”
    “Oh, you’re smart,” I said . “You’re going to make it social instead of business, and you’re going to use the dogs to do it. I like your plan. Besides, I kind of took a liking to the detective.”
    “I know . She seemed to like us, too.”
    Chris held up his finger again and I knew that Janet had come on the line . I listened while he talked to her, suggesting that she come over for a barbeque. He told her she could bring a date if she wanted to. And then he suggested the she bring her chocolate Lab, too, to play with Sherlock and Watson.
    “ Her name is Friday ,” I whispered, remembering that she’d made a comparison about our dogs’ names.
    “Your Friday and our Sherlock and Watson should get along,” he said . And then he did some listening.
    “Uh huh . Well, since we aren’t working at the moment, any day would be fine with us. I’ll tell Pamela.” He paused again and wrote something on a piece of paper. “We’ll be looking forward to it.” Pause. “She’ll call you.” They talked for a moment longer and Chris hung up.
    He handed me a piece of paper with a phone number on it . “Day after tomorrow, Wednesday. Tuesday and Wednesday are her days off. And she wants you to call her and let her know what she can bring. She sounded like she was glad to hear from me.”
    “Is she going to bring anyone with her?”
    “Probably. She had to check with her friend to see if he’s available. She sounded grateful that we suggested she bring Friday with her. She said she doesn’t get to spend as much time with her as she’d like.”
    “I feel like we’re using her,” I said, regretfully.
    “We are, but you said you like her, too, so it’s a win-win situation all the way around. Right?”
    “Right.”
    “By the way,” Chris added, “she said that we can go ahead and begin our construction.” He chuckled. “She’s playing right into our hands. She said she’d update us on the body when she sees us.”
    “Holy cow, Bogey Man . Can things get any better?”
    He grinned and picked up the phone, punching in some numbers . “Hey, Big D, we’re in business. We can start work as soon as you’re ready.”
    I immediately found an old envelope and began writing out a grocery list, tuning out Chris. I wrote down hamburger and then scratched it out. Spare ribs. That was the ticket. We wanted to have a good day with Janet and ribs would win her over. I had no doubt. I knew that barbequed ribs would win Mikey over, too. I wanted him to be on his best behavior while Janet was visiting. We needed her to open up to us, and I thought I might enjoy a friendship in the process.
    I cleaned the house, which didn’t really need it, and left to pick Mikey up at school while Chris checked to see if the barbeque needed cleaning.
    “We’ll stop at the grocery store on the way home,” I said before leaving . Chris had nodded at me and opened the lid to the barbeque, seeming distracted. He took his outdoor cooking seriously.
    With the shopping done, Mikey and I drove home . Chris met us outside and helped carry groceries inside before the two