JК
Incubus Dreams :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 557 из 605“I’ll put the call in, tell them that one of our people is onthe scene, but if the sheriff gets there first, be nice.”
“I’m always nice,” I said.
He laughed. “Yeah, and hell is cool in the summertime. Just try to behave until we can get there to back you up.”
“I’ll behave, if he does,” I said.
“Great. I’ll be there as soon as I can, Anita.”
“I know you will.”
“Long damn night,” he said.
“Yeah,” I said.
He hung up. I hung up and started walking. I heard sirens before Ieven made it back to the parking area. I had time to give Nathaniel and Micah a thumbnail sketch of what had happened and what was about to happen. Ronnie was sitting on the ground, moaning and holding her head. I’m not sure she would have heard me even if I’d tried to talk to her. Then cars squealed into the gravel parking lot, and in the lead car was Sheriff Melvin Christopher. There wasn’t a state cop in sight. Perfect.
73
The EMTs, emergency medical techs, had given Ronnie a blanket.
They seemed to think she was suffering from shock. That wasn’t it. She was sobering up. Sobering up in the middle of a murder investigation, when she’d drunk more in one night than she’d consumed in the entire six years I’d known her. They had her sitting in the open back of their ambulance. I think partly it gave them something to do. It’s good to keep busy.
Physically Ronnie felt the worst, but none of us were having a good time. Sheriff Melvin Christopher’s opening shot to me had been, “Almost didn’t recognize you with more clothes on, Miss Blake.”
I smiled sweetly and said, “That’s Marshal Blake to you, sheriff, and you are awfully interested in women’s clothing for a heterosexual man in a rural area.” It had gone downhill from there. I even admit that part of it was my fault. I shouldn’t have made the comment about women’s clothing, or questioned his sexual orientation, but, hey, his face got all the way to this awful maroon color before he started yelling at me. For a second, I thought I’d given him a stroke or something. Deputy Douglas had to separate us and take his boss for a little walk around the parking lot.
It gave me time to go check on Micah and Nathaniel. Micah was saying calmly, patiently, but in a tone that said it wasn’t the first time he’d said it, or the second, “I do not work at this club.”
The deputy who was questioning him was too tall for his body, as if his joints and hands and feet hadn’t had a chance to catch up yet.
“I’m always nice,” I said.
He laughed. “Yeah, and hell is cool in the summertime. Just try to behave until we can get there to back you up.”
“I’ll behave, if he does,” I said.
“Great. I’ll be there as soon as I can, Anita.”
“I know you will.”
“Long damn night,” he said.
“Yeah,” I said.
He hung up. I hung up and started walking. I heard sirens before Ieven made it back to the parking area. I had time to give Nathaniel and Micah a thumbnail sketch of what had happened and what was about to happen. Ronnie was sitting on the ground, moaning and holding her head. I’m not sure she would have heard me even if I’d tried to talk to her. Then cars squealed into the gravel parking lot, and in the lead car was Sheriff Melvin Christopher. There wasn’t a state cop in sight. Perfect.
73
The EMTs, emergency medical techs, had given Ronnie a blanket.
They seemed to think she was suffering from shock. That wasn’t it. She was sobering up. Sobering up in the middle of a murder investigation, when she’d drunk more in one night than she’d consumed in the entire six years I’d known her. They had her sitting in the open back of their ambulance. I think partly it gave them something to do. It’s good to keep busy.
Physically Ronnie felt the worst, but none of us were having a good time. Sheriff Melvin Christopher’s opening shot to me had been, “Almost didn’t recognize you with more clothes on, Miss Blake.”
I smiled sweetly and said, “That’s Marshal Blake to you, sheriff, and you are awfully interested in women’s clothing for a heterosexual man in a rural area.” It had gone downhill from there. I even admit that part of it was my fault. I shouldn’t have made the comment about women’s clothing, or questioned his sexual orientation, but, hey, his face got all the way to this awful maroon color before he started yelling at me. For a second, I thought I’d given him a stroke or something. Deputy Douglas had to separate us and take his boss for a little walk around the parking lot.
It gave me time to go check on Micah and Nathaniel. Micah was saying calmly, patiently, but in a tone that said it wasn’t the first time he’d said it, or the second, “I do not work at this club.”
The deputy who was questioning him was too tall for his body, as if his joints and hands and feet hadn’t had a chance to catch up yet.