memory seemed sharper and sharper. I had no idea what to attribute that to, but I wasn’t complaining.
When I was finished, Hanner nodded once and turned and looked at me. Her movements were economical and precise. She seemed like a well-oiled—and quite beautiful—machine. Her blond hair was pulled back tightly, revealing a smooth sweep of forehead. Her eyes were impossibly big, and most guys probably would have had the hots for her if she didn’t project such a fiercely calm and professional presence.
“I can’t imagine that a child knows how to block caller ID,” she said when I was finished. Her voice had a hint of an accent. Or maybe, for once, I was simply hearing perfectly enunciated English.
“Which is why I figured the phone had the block already programmed in.”
She nodded. “A reasonable assumption. Is your business number a toll free number, Samantha?”
“At the time of the call, no.”
“But you have it now?”
“Better. Just before coming here I added another feature to my phone, called Trap Call.”
“I’m not following,” said Sherbet.
No surprise there. Sherbet was an old-school homicide detective and probably not up to date on some of the modern tracing technology. Conversely, private investigators were almost always up on such new gadgets. New gadgets gave us an edge over our competitors. Including the police. Of course, having a freaky sixth sense was a hell of an advantage, too. He said, “And what does that do?”
“It’s a call forwarding service,” I said, “When a blocked call comes through, I forward it to Trap Call and their toll-free line. The caller’s ID shows up on their end, and Trap Call relays the information to me. Within seconds.”
Sherbet looked at Murphy. “This make sense to you?”
“Perfectly.”
“Good enough. So we wait for the next call, then?” he said.
I nodded. “If it comes. Until then, I would like to assist you on this case.”
“Do you have a paying client?” asked Sherbet.
“No.”
Sherbet looked at Hanner . “Could you use the help?”
“More than you know,” she answered.
He looked back at me. “You can help. Unofficially, of course.”
“Of course.”
Sherbet asked Hanner to leave the case file with him and she obliged. She smiled at me, nodded at Sherbet, and left.
The detective touched the file on his desk, and said, “I’m going to get some coffee. Maybe a donut. Okay, definitely a donut. I’ll be gone for about ten minutes. You are not to look at this official police file, and you are most definitely not to copy them on the convenient copy machine in the corner of my office.”
“Yes, sir.”
He set the file down in front of me, and when he left to get his coffee and donut, I quickly made a copy of the file. I slipped my copy in my purse and returned the original to its folder.
When Sherbet returned with his coffee and a fresh jelly stain, he calmly picked up the file and dropped it in the “Out” box at the corner of his desk.
“I trust you didn’t look at the file,” he said.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, sir.”
“So what’s your first step?” he asked.
“First, I’m going to read a file I most certainly didn’t copy. And second, then I’m going to do what I do best.”
“Drive to soccer games in your
When I was finished, Hanner nodded once and turned and looked at me. Her movements were economical and precise. She seemed like a well-oiled—and quite beautiful—machine. Her blond hair was pulled back tightly, revealing a smooth sweep of forehead. Her eyes were impossibly big, and most guys probably would have had the hots for her if she didn’t project such a fiercely calm and professional presence.
“I can’t imagine that a child knows how to block caller ID,” she said when I was finished. Her voice had a hint of an accent. Or maybe, for once, I was simply hearing perfectly enunciated English.
“Which is why I figured the phone had the block already programmed in.”
She nodded. “A reasonable assumption. Is your business number a toll free number, Samantha?”
“At the time of the call, no.”
“But you have it now?”
“Better. Just before coming here I added another feature to my phone, called Trap Call.”
“I’m not following,” said Sherbet.
No surprise there. Sherbet was an old-school homicide detective and probably not up to date on some of the modern tracing technology. Conversely, private investigators were almost always up on such new gadgets. New gadgets gave us an edge over our competitors. Including the police. Of course, having a freaky sixth sense was a hell of an advantage, too. He said, “And what does that do?”
“It’s a call forwarding service,” I said, “When a blocked call comes through, I forward it to Trap Call and their toll-free line. The caller’s ID shows up on their end, and Trap Call relays the information to me. Within seconds.”
Sherbet looked at Murphy. “This make sense to you?”
“Perfectly.”
“Good enough. So we wait for the next call, then?” he said.
I nodded. “If it comes. Until then, I would like to assist you on this case.”
“Do you have a paying client?” asked Sherbet.
“No.”
Sherbet looked at Hanner . “Could you use the help?”
“More than you know,” she answered.
He looked back at me. “You can help. Unofficially, of course.”
“Of course.”
Sherbet asked Hanner to leave the case file with him and she obliged. She smiled at me, nodded at Sherbet, and left.
The detective touched the file on his desk, and said, “I’m going to get some coffee. Maybe a donut. Okay, definitely a donut. I’ll be gone for about ten minutes. You are not to look at this official police file, and you are most definitely not to copy them on the convenient copy machine in the corner of my office.”
“Yes, sir.”
He set the file down in front of me, and when he left to get his coffee and donut, I quickly made a copy of the file. I slipped my copy in my purse and returned the original to its folder.
When Sherbet returned with his coffee and a fresh jelly stain, he calmly picked up the file and dropped it in the “Out” box at the corner of his desk.
“I trust you didn’t look at the file,” he said.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, sir.”
“So what’s your first step?” he asked.
“First, I’m going to read a file I most certainly didn’t copy. And second, then I’m going to do what I do best.”
“Drive to soccer games in your
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