All the Pretty Hearses by Mary Daheim Read Free Book Online

victims and perps in the cul-de-sac.” She made the turn onto the street that led to the precinct station. “Are you sure this is where they’ve taken Joe?”
    “You mean instead of to headquarters further downtown?”
    “Right.”
    “I . . . I don’t know,” Judith admitted. “It’s where Woody is located since his promotion. I wonder why he’s ‘acting’ captain?”
    “Maybe he needs to rehearse,” Renie said, though the lightness in her voice was forced. “You know how much Woody likes opera. A dress rehearsal would probably suit him.” She slowed to a crawl as the station came into view. “Where do we park? The lot’s full. So are all the parking places on the street.”
    “Drive around the block,” Judith said, rummaging in her purse to find the new cell phone her son, Mike, and his wife, Kristin, had given her for Christmas. “I’m calling the main headquarters.”
    “Okay.” Renie turned the corner—and found herself facing a detour sign in front of what was obviously a construction project. “Dammit! I’d like to go someplace in this stupid city where the streets weren’t closed or some giant crane wasn’t looming over my head.” She put the Camry into reverse—and realized that a cement mixer was blocking her exit. “Oh, crap! Now we’re stuck! What am I supposed to do?” Swearing under her breath, she began honking the horn.
    “Hey,” Judith said, having dialed the downtown police-department number she’d memorized long ago. “I can’t hear.”
    Renie ignored her and got out of the car, leaving the motor running. A faint voice answered. “Homicide, please,” Judith said, a finger in her other ear to block out her cousin’s shouts at the cement mixer’s driver. She winced when a jackhammer began pounding away at the construction site. A second voice spoke into the phone, but Judith couldn’t make out what was being said. Frustrated, she disconnected—just as Renie approached with a man in a hard hat.
    “Hey, coz,” Renie called, “it’s Kevin Rankers. He’ll back up.”
    Judith recognized the Rankerses’ elder son immediately. “Hi, Kevin. What are you doing here?”
    Kevin grinned at Judith. “Supervising.” He had to raise his voice to be heard above the din. “I followed your example and got a hip replacement a couple of months ago. I can’t do any of the grunt work for my construction company, so I decided to drive one of the trucks to keep my hand in. Office work bores me stiff.”
    To Judith’s relief, the jackhammer stopped. “I heard you’d had the surgery,” she said. “How’s it going?”
    Kevin shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Hey—is it true you’ve got a bunch of Paines spending the night tomorrow? I went through school with Andy. Watch that guy—he’s a big eater.”
    Lactose-intolerant, Judith remembered. “Is he the oldest Paine?”
    “Right,” Kevin replied, stepping aside so Renie could get back in the driver’s seat. “His wife’s Paulina. Hey, I better move the truck. Good luck with the Paines.”
    Renie was wiping rain from her face. “Did you call headquarters?”
    “Yes,” Judith said, “but I couldn’t hear a damned thing. I still think that’s where Joe must be. I was so upset that I wasn’t thinking straight, but at least that’s how it worked with a homicide suspect when Joe was on the force.” She leaned back in the seat. “I can hardly believe he’s been arrested. I keep thinking I’m having a very bad dream.”
    Renie was looking into the rearview mirror, watching Kevin reverse the cement mixer. “Tell me more about the actual incident. You sort of breezed through it earlier.”
    As the cousins drove farther into downtown, Judith tried to recall the details of what had happened while Joe was on surveillance. She finished just as they reached the city’s police headquarters.
    “Parking may be hard to find, so I’ll drop you off,” Renie said, pulling up by the main entrance.
    “Thanks.” Judith smiled