The Double Wedding Ring by Clare O' Donohue Read Free Book Online Page B

force. . . .” I started.
    â€œI somehow got on his bad side. I don’t know how. All I tried to do was explain a little about a new technique to re-create crime timelines.” Greg put the ticket under the windshield wiper blade of the offending car, and flipped his ticket book closed. “He’s been weird since it happened. I found a card in the dead guy’s pocket and was putting it into evidence and Jesse told me not to. But that’s procedure. I told him, and he got mad at me about it.”
    â€œMaybe it wasn’t relevant.”
    â€œEverything’s relevant this early in the investigation. That was one of the first things Jesse taught me after I became a detective.”
    â€œDo you remember what the card said?”
    â€œIt was a business card. C. G. Something. New York City,” he said. “Look, Nell, I know you help with stuff that comes up at the sheriff’s office. I know you’re really good at it, but it’s up to Jesse to tell you. . . .”
    I’d overstepped. One minute we were sharing, and now I was in danger of this entire conversation being reported back.
    â€œI’m sorry,” I said. “Sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me. And Jesse is so sad. I don’t want to make things worse. I just don’t know how to help.”
    â€œWe should be turning this whole investigation over to the state police, you know, because of Jesse’s connection to the victim. But he won’t hear of it. His town, his case. And I guess I get that. If my friend were dead in front of my house, I’d feel the same way,” he said. “You know I’d do anything to help the chief.”
    I liked Greg so much. He was sweet and helpful. I could feel his frustration and I shared it. Jesse was a stickler for procedure, so why wasn’t he following it?
    â€œMaybe he just wanted to bag it himself,” I said. “I mean, he’s so particular, and that man was his friend. . . .”
    â€œHe put the card in his pocket, unbagged. Chain of evidence is broken. It’s useless now. I mean, if it leads to the killer and it goes to trial, a defense attorney could say we made the whole thing up. It’s just not how things work.”
    â€œYou’ll catch the guy who did this, Greg. I know Jesse wants that more than anything. There has to have been other evidence.”
    He nodded. “Just the notebook he had on him. At least we got that into evidence.”
    â€œWhat was in the notebook?”
    â€œNo idea. Jesse took the evidence bags.”
    â€œAnd there was nothing else in the rest of the car? Maybe he had an address, a piece of paper . . .”
    â€œNothing. The rest of the car was spotless.”
    As he spoke I saw Jesse drive by in the squad car. He drove past us, so I wasn’t sure he saw me talking with Greg, but then he stopped the car a few feet away. Greg looked like he’d been caught doing something wrong, so I decided to take the hit. “I’ll talk to him,” I said.
    I could see Greg was relieved. “Tell him I’m heading back to the station.”
    As I walked toward the squad car, I turned briefly to look at the blue sedan. To my eye it didn’t seem parked too close to the corner, so I made a note of the license plate. Just in case.

C HAPTER 9
    â€œH i.” It wasn’t an inspiring start, but it was something. I opened the passenger door and got in.
    Jesse looked at me as if he didn’t know me, then something roused in him and he smiled. “How’s your day going?”
    I wanted to tell him about Eleanor and the shop, and Patch, and about the woman wanting to buy a pattern of my quilt. I wanted to do what I always did, share the tiniest details of my day and hear the tiniest details of his. But this wasn’t the time for it. I could tell that much by the worn look and the tiredness in his eyes.
    â€œHow are you