mom, looking for black and white striped spandex, so her precious nine-year-old can dress up as David Lee Roth"
I stifled a giggle. Ina's pale green eyes were flashing, so I knew laughing was not a good idea, but the image of a miniature David Lee Roth was a funny one.
"No phone call is that important. That's why I ban cell phones." She pointed to the basket that sat on a small table by the entrance to the room. Ina didn't trust people to just turn them off, she insisted people empty their pocketbooks. We almost always had a panicked phone call the next morning from a student who left hers behind. I'd stashed mine in my office, so as not to incur her unreasonable cell phone wrath.
The phone stopped ringing. I went back to my fabric and the dreaded cutter. Ina moved away to answer a question.
The door opened. I was surprised to see Vangie enter. Ina glanced up sharply from across the room. She had a strict closed-door policy when it came to her classes. Grim-faced, Vangie made a beeline to my table. She tilted her head, indicating I should come out into the hall. I didn't look at Ina as I followed her out of the classroom, but I felt her eyes on my back.
"Was the phone for me?" I asked.
Vangie look startled and shook her head "Urn ... I don't know. I didn't get to it in time."
I quickly saw why she looked so disturbed. A uniformed police officer was standing quietly in the hall near the back door. I recognized him as the neighborhood liaison officer. Wong. He had jet black hair cut so short, I could see his scalp. If it wasn't for the uniform, I would have thought he was still in high school. I guess that was a sign of being thirty. Everyone younger than you was of indeterminate age.
Vangie was overreacting, but I knew she didn't like the police. As a teen, she'd felt targeted because of her Mexican heritage, and she couldn't let go of the idea that most police officers had hidden agendas. She made a small exception for Buster.
I put out my hand. "Officer Wong? Is this about the Neighborhood Watch? I swear I'll make the meeting next week." I'd been ignoring the e-mail notices about October being Crime Prevention month.
I knew he wasn't here about that, but, as long as my mouth was busy, my mind would not acknowledge why a grim-faced policeman was standing in my store. I only hoped it wasn't as bad as I thought.
Vangie spoke before he did. "Mrs. Unites found a dead body in the alley, Dewey."
My stomach fell. I couldn't have heard her right. "Someone died in my alley?"
The alley between QP and the burrito place began in the small gravel parking lot behind the store and ended at the street. Not wide enough to drive a car through, it was home to the dumpster and recycling bins. The shortcut was popular with teenagers on their way to Starbucks. And the homeless.
"Is it Juan? Our homeless guy?" I said to Wong. "Maybe he's not dead. When he's asleep out there, sometimes I swear he looks like a bundle of rags. Usually if you talk to him, he'll move on." I looked at my watch. It was nearly seven PM. That was early-Juan usually waited for the store to close before he went down for the night. His was often the last face I saw when I left the store late at night.
That would be bad, but a homeless guy dying of natural causes was not the worst thing that could happen. Please, please, please, I repeated silently, like a kid hoping for the claw to grab the toy once and for all.
Wong said, "I know him, too. This is not Juan, and he is definitely not sleeping."
"Then who?" I asked.
Wong's lips were pressed tightly together. I wondered if this was his first body. If so, I was two up on him.
"I don't know at this time. The medical examiner will retrieve his wallet when he arrives. Until then, I'd like assistance with a visual identification," he said. "Would one of you be willing to come out and view the deceased?"
Vangie blanched and shook her head. She cracked her thumb knuckle, making my skin crawl. Right about now, she
I stifled a giggle. Ina's pale green eyes were flashing, so I knew laughing was not a good idea, but the image of a miniature David Lee Roth was a funny one.
"No phone call is that important. That's why I ban cell phones." She pointed to the basket that sat on a small table by the entrance to the room. Ina didn't trust people to just turn them off, she insisted people empty their pocketbooks. We almost always had a panicked phone call the next morning from a student who left hers behind. I'd stashed mine in my office, so as not to incur her unreasonable cell phone wrath.
The phone stopped ringing. I went back to my fabric and the dreaded cutter. Ina moved away to answer a question.
The door opened. I was surprised to see Vangie enter. Ina glanced up sharply from across the room. She had a strict closed-door policy when it came to her classes. Grim-faced, Vangie made a beeline to my table. She tilted her head, indicating I should come out into the hall. I didn't look at Ina as I followed her out of the classroom, but I felt her eyes on my back.
"Was the phone for me?" I asked.
Vangie look startled and shook her head "Urn ... I don't know. I didn't get to it in time."
I quickly saw why she looked so disturbed. A uniformed police officer was standing quietly in the hall near the back door. I recognized him as the neighborhood liaison officer. Wong. He had jet black hair cut so short, I could see his scalp. If it wasn't for the uniform, I would have thought he was still in high school. I guess that was a sign of being thirty. Everyone younger than you was of indeterminate age.
Vangie was overreacting, but I knew she didn't like the police. As a teen, she'd felt targeted because of her Mexican heritage, and she couldn't let go of the idea that most police officers had hidden agendas. She made a small exception for Buster.
I put out my hand. "Officer Wong? Is this about the Neighborhood Watch? I swear I'll make the meeting next week." I'd been ignoring the e-mail notices about October being Crime Prevention month.
I knew he wasn't here about that, but, as long as my mouth was busy, my mind would not acknowledge why a grim-faced policeman was standing in my store. I only hoped it wasn't as bad as I thought.
Vangie spoke before he did. "Mrs. Unites found a dead body in the alley, Dewey."
My stomach fell. I couldn't have heard her right. "Someone died in my alley?"
The alley between QP and the burrito place began in the small gravel parking lot behind the store and ended at the street. Not wide enough to drive a car through, it was home to the dumpster and recycling bins. The shortcut was popular with teenagers on their way to Starbucks. And the homeless.
"Is it Juan? Our homeless guy?" I said to Wong. "Maybe he's not dead. When he's asleep out there, sometimes I swear he looks like a bundle of rags. Usually if you talk to him, he'll move on." I looked at my watch. It was nearly seven PM. That was early-Juan usually waited for the store to close before he went down for the night. His was often the last face I saw when I left the store late at night.
That would be bad, but a homeless guy dying of natural causes was not the worst thing that could happen. Please, please, please, I repeated silently, like a kid hoping for the claw to grab the toy once and for all.
Wong said, "I know him, too. This is not Juan, and he is definitely not sleeping."
"Then who?" I asked.
Wong's lips were pressed tightly together. I wondered if this was his first body. If so, I was two up on him.
"I don't know at this time. The medical examiner will retrieve his wallet when he arrives. Until then, I'd like assistance with a visual identification," he said. "Would one of you be willing to come out and view the deceased?"
Vangie blanched and shook her head. She cracked her thumb knuckle, making my skin crawl. Right about now, she
Similar Books
My Texas Sweetheart (book one)
Pauliena Acheson
Charmed by His Love
Janet Chapman
Cheri Red (sWet)
Charisma Knight
Through the Fire
Donna Hill
The Hen of the Baskervilles
Donna Andrews
Can't Shake You
Molly McLain
A Cast of Vultures
Judith Flanders
Wings of Lomay
Devri Walls
Five Parts Dead
Tim Pegler
Angel Stations
Gary Gibson