Worked to Death (Working Stiff Mysteries Book 2) (2 page)

BOOK: Worked to Death (Working Stiff Mysteries Book 2)
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CHAPTER TWO

 

"Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit." —Things We Say in the South

 

I thought about swinging my legs out and hopping down from the rig to greet Captain Ty Dempsey but thought better of it when I looked down at my soaking wet tank top that just happened to be white. Better not to broadcast my body's response to the chilly January morning. Also, I could already hear the laughs from the other guys at the station as they recounted my "wet T-shirt" appearance.

Instead, I pulled the cover-all across my lap and over my chest. Even though it was also soaking wet, I decided that modesty was the best policy. I took another peek into the mirror and was surprised to see a uniformed officer whom I didn't recognize approaching the truck rather cautiously. In fact, his hand was on his service weapon, and he was studying the silver sedan with more than a little interest.

I rolled down the window and popped my head out. "Oh, hello there, officer. I don't believe I know you. Was I speeding back there?"

The questions rolled out of my mouth in rapid succession, and my damp hair sprung out around my face in tight ringlets. His mirrored sunglass-covered eyes looked my way, and his left hand extended forward in warning.

"Stay there in the vehicle, ma'am."

I looked down at myself. I
was
staying in the vehicle. What was he talking about?

"No problem. Why did you stop me, officer?"

He seemed to be struggling with a decision of some sort. Finally making up his mind to lift his radio off his shoulder and tapped the button twice before speaking. "This is Officer Devon Keith. I need back-up on Airport Road just north of the elementary school. We have a possible 10-54."

A voice I thought I recognized as that of Officer Prentiss, the desk sergeant, responded through a crackle of static, and though I couldn't make out the words, his response seemed to appease this Officer Keith into moving closer to my door. I wondered what a possible 10-54 could be.

"Ma'am, where did you obtain this vehicle?"

"I picked it up from the Thibault residence. Oh, is this about the trunk not being secured? Is there some city ordinance or some such thing about that? It just loosened when I hit that speed bump back there. Want me to tie it down?"

I was still talking incredibly fast in a sort of machine gun fire cadence. The blond-haired, officer with bulging biceps and a clean shaven face stared at me. Though I couldn't see his eyes behind his glasses, I just knew that they'd be sparkling blue. And despite the season, I couldn't help but to notice his very tan physique. He was definitely new to Millbrook, and I was definitely sort of interested in finding out more about him. Kind of a cross between Bradley Cooper and Matthew McConaughey.

Yum.

"No ma'am, I don't want you to touch the car. I would like you to slowly lower yourself from the vehicle, keeping your hands where I can see them."

Uh, oh. This didn't sound like a simple traffic stop.

I looked down at the wet coverall clenched to my chest and considered my options. Soon realizing that there were none.

"I'm sorry Officer—Keith, is it? But I'm a little wet right now. I sort of had to dive into a pool in order to get this car, and I'm still soaking wet. I'd rather not exit the vehicle right now if that's okay?" I offered him what I thought was an innocent smile.

"Are you resisting my request, ma'am?" His hand tightened ever so slightly on the butt of his gun.

Geez, this guy was super serious.

"No. Look, I'm friends with your Captain. If you could just radio him and tell him that it is Mandy Murrin. I'm sure he'll tell you that I'm no threat whatsoever."

I laughed on the inside about what Ty might really say about me. I'm not sure he'd agree that I was totally innocent in all aspects.

"Ma'am, I'm going to ask you one more time to exit the vehicle slowly, keeping your hands where I can see them, and if you don't comply, I will be forced to remove you from the vehicle and place you under arrest."

Good Lord. Mr. Tan-hottie was suddenly a little too intense for my book. I still wasn't sure why I'd been stopped in the first place. Ty was never going to hear the end of this from me. I was seriously going to run late for my lunch date with Paget now.

"Okay. Okay. Geez," I muttered under my breath as I opened the door and started to lower myself down—tugging the sopping wet cover-all along with me. Only, as one of my boots hit the running board under the door—it slipped a little and meanwhile the leg of the coverall's trousers got snagged around the gearshift and caught just when my other foot was in mid-air. I got caught, slipped and fell the rest of the way out the door. The door swung open, and I tumbled forward and out of the truck—crashing into the officer and hitting his broad chest with a full frontal assault. Meanwhile, the coverall was left dangling from the open door.

But I didn't have time to consider my modesty as the officer flipped me around in a sort of swift, manhandling maneuver wherein, he spun me, pressed me against the back door of the rig, and handcuffed me all in one succinct motion. The breath was knocked out of me, and his radio started crackling to life on his shoulder. While I tried to breathe again, sirens sounded in the distance.

Ty was so gonna hear about this.

The radio crackled again, and Officer Rough Stuff stepped me backward walking me toward the rear of the truck and around to the curb—helping me to sit down.

Uncomfortable much?

"This is Officer Keith, over." He responded on the radio.

That was when I looked up to see the car, gleaming in the January sunlight, dripping water and sporting a plump bare leg dangling from the open drunk. The thick patches of hair on the leg indicated that it was most likely a male.

Heat flooded my face while chills wracked my body. I'd been swimming in that pool right next to this body and had never known it. What was it doing there? Who did it belong to? Did I really want to find out?

A voice I did recognize suddenly emerged from the Officer Keith's radio, "This is Captain Dempsey. You say you've found a DB on Airport Road?"

"That's a negative, Captain. I've found a tow truck from Hollon Brothers Towing, and there's a vehicle on the truck with a DB on board."

"Did you say Hollon Brothers Towing?" Ty's voice responded, and I could have sworn his tone of voice was one of both frustration and yet a total lack of surprise.

As I heard the exchange between this Officer Keith and my old high school flame turned police Captain, Ty Dempsey, I had to say that I was also feeling both frustration and lack of surprise. It seemed that since my return to Millbrook, dead bodies seemed to follow me wherever I went.

Well, not really
follow me
'cause that would be weird. But they always seemed to be in the near vicinity of where I was currently positioned. And I was currently positioned in a crouched-down, hands-behind-the-back, bum-on-rough-concrete, and knees-bent-at-a-severe-angle-in-order-to-keep-my-balance kind of place.

In other words, not a good place. I wiggled my mouth back and forth and tried to roll my eyes down far enough to see what was currently stuck to my cheek. I tilted my head over and managed to scratch my face with my shoulder. A large smear of mud spread onto my bare shoulder.

I guessed that I'd obtained it when Officer Quick Response had pressed me against the muddy exterior of the tow truck while he'd unnecessarily cuffed me. Things weren't going exactly well with me and the new Millbrook officer on duty.

It looked like pulling a car out of a pool and falling through that lawn chair would, in fact, not be the worst or most challenging parts of my day after all.

My stomach rumbled. Looked like lunch would have to wait.

 

*  *  *

 

The good news was that Officer Keith was more than nice looking, he was smoking hot, and if his left ring finger was any indication—he was single. The bad news was that he was looking at me with nothing close to attraction. He was looking at me with suspicion, curiosity, and something akin to a mild case of fear.

He watched me over Ty's shoulder as I filled Ty in on the events of my morning and how I'd innocently retrieved the car from Matty Thibault's pool just an hour earlier and how when I'd hit that speed bump, the trunk latch must have had released revealing a dead man's leg.

It was a simple explanation if I'd ever heard one. Of course, I left out the part about my falling through the lawn chair. No need to recount details unnecessary to the investigation. But, the question remained—who was the dead body, and how did it get into Matty's car?

Officer Keith had not taken his eyes off me since Captain Dempsey had arrived and ordered him to uncuff me. He didn't seem to trust me and didn't plan on taking any chances where the wet, wild-haired redhead was concerned. I knew I must look unhinged. But he had totally overreacted to my innocent fall from the truck—I mentioned as much to Ty and rubbed my wrists in response to the unmitigated cuffing.

Ty listened carefully to me without interrupting, but he did not look happy. He reached out and took my hands in his. Turning them over in examination. He reached up and brushed his hand across my cheek. I felt the remainder of the mud smear off and wondered how deranged I must look at the moment.

"I'll talk to Keith. He's new. Just transferred over from Atlanta. Those big city cops aren't used to folks like us."

I thought I caught a little shift in his tone of voice on the word "us" but I probably imagined it.

"Yeah, well… I probably looked a little weird hauling a body down the road on my tow truck. If only I'd known it was there—you can bet I wouldn't have gotten involved. I know I promised you, I'd try to keep my distance." I tried a small smile, but he didn't return it.

I stood up a little straighter as his eyes dropped to the level of my wet shirt. My face turned hot, and I crossed my arms over my chest as I cleared my throat.

He blinked slowly and then tried to return to the business at hand. "Mandy, how is it that whenever I see you lately, there's a dead body in the near vicinity?"

"Once again, Ty, I was simply doing my job. And frankly, I'm getting concerned about your ability to protect the citizens of Millbrook. I don't ever remember this many bodies showing up when we were growing up and your father was running the department."

He pulled his lower lip into his mouth and seemed to bite down on it. I knew he was biting back a response. We were always like this lately. Tentative friends one minute and shooting barbs back and forth at each other the very next.

"I'll need you to call someone to pick you up, and then I'll see you down at the station in two hours for a formal report. We'll have to hold the truck here until Dr. Cavello can examine the body, and we can get a crime scene tech over from Montgomery to collect any evidence."

I let out a pent-up breath and shrugged. "I'll just call Penny. She'll come and get me, I'm sure."

He shook his head and lifted his right hand, dragging it through his hair in frustration. Penny was Ty's sister and my lifelong best friend. She also owned the local newspaper,
The Millbrook Mile
, and would love to get first dibs on this juicy story.

"Couldn't you call Ms. Lanier instead? I'd love to make an ID and notify next of kin before Penny puts out a special evening edition or some such nonsense." His voice came out softer this time around.

I knew he was trying to make a good name for himself at the department. After being promoted just a few months ago, he was running the department while they were looking for a new chief. The former chief had taken a leave of absence while he prepared to run for governor later this year.

I shrugged, feeling a little guilty for purposefully trying to ruffle his feathers. "Okay. I'll call Sundae."

He opened his mouth as if to argue but then gave a short nod of agreement. He handed me his cell phone and then turned to Officer Keith with no further comment.

I watched them walk away. Ty Dempsey was both attractive and annoying. He'd been my sort of high school love, but things had ended badly. We'd been trying to get along since I'd returned to town, but things were awkward between us—to say the least.

His sister had been trying to push us back together, but I'd been resisting. Other than a brief flirtation during the holidays, we'd remained distant.

It wasn't that I didn't care about Ty. It was that he'd broken my heart once and I tried to make a habit of learning from my mistakes.

I swiped the screen to dial Sundae's number. She was a somewhat new friend of mine and a popular local hairdresser. Truth be told, she wasn't very good at her job—my off-color hair was proof of that. But I adored being around her nonetheless.

I dialed the number for Mane Street Styles, and Sundae answered on the first ring.

"Sounds like you're not busy today then?" I guessed.

"Oh hey, Mandy, what number is this you're calling from? I don't recognize it." Sundae's voice was as sweet as her name, and her accent was pure, thick, southern belle.

"It is Ty's phone." I closed my eyes at the admission—knowing what would come next.

BOOK: Worked to Death (Working Stiff Mysteries Book 2)
13.19Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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