“Silenced in the Sunflowers, here we come,” she cried out.
At that, Mugs barked, Goliath howled, and Thaddeus repeated her words in joy.
Chapter 2
Saturday Morning
Doreen stared down at the phone and repeated, “I know it’s crazy,” she said to Mack, “but the captain really did want me to look into a case that he’s personally involved in. I don’t have all the details yet. I just know what he told me. And since I’ve already told you what he told me,” she said in exasperation, “I don’t have any other information to offer.”
Silence came on the other end. Finally Mack replied, “It’s better than what I thought he wanted to say.”
“You and me both,” she said, with feeling.
She sat on her back deck, the late-afternoon sun shining down on her. Mugs had stretched out beside her, as she absentmindedly rubbed his belly. Goliath was similarly situated atop the table on the deck, lord of all he surveyed, and Thaddeus was just wandering around the grass, plucking at various items. One particularly shiny rock seemed to have caught his attention, and he kept picking it up, dropping it, and picking it up.
“I mean, I gather this is something that’s really bothered him,” Doreen added.
“You and I both know what it’s like to have a bad memory in your history. If you don’t know how to even proceed, it’s not something you can do anything about. And, with all his resources, if he hasn’t gotten any answers up until now …”
“Meaning,” she said, “why would he think that I can get answers?”
“I’m not saying that,” Mack replied cautiously. “But this was what? Forty years ago?”
She thought about that and then slowly nodded. “Yeah,” she agreed. “So what are the chances anyone’s left to prosecute?”
“It was a drive-by shooting, so somebody at least had a driver’s license. Therefore, they must be at least fifty-six today—if they were sixteen back then. And the captain’s cousin was just a kid. Who’ll hate on a ten-year-old kid so much that they kill him?”
“I’m not sure there’s any age requirement to hate on somebody,” she noted softly. “Unfortunately the world’s pretty messed up that way, and we’re seeing younger and younger criminals, thinking that they should take matters into their own hands.”
“And I see that time and time again,” Mack confirmed. “Back then I don’t think it was quite so prevalent.”
“Or … it wasn’t as well publicized,” she said. “And maybe they were never caught just because nobody ever thought real justice would happen.”
“All of which is quite true too,” he noted. “It’ll be interesting to see the case file when the captain sends it to you.”
“I’m just afraid I won’t get the full file,” she said. Again came that odd silence from the other end of the call.
“In what way? Are you thinking he might withhold information?”
“Well, usually when you give me access to something, you don’t redact names and places and statements. But the captain might to protect somebody.”
“Then he wouldn’t have come to you. And, if you don’t trust him, don’t touch this.”
“Of course I trust him,” she replied. “I just also have to trust that he might be concerned about other parties involved.”
At that, Mack laughed. “Okay, that’s a good point too. Did he say when he would send it?”
“He said later today. He did try to tell me that he’s not really expecting the investigation to go anywhere.”
“No, of course not,” Mack said. “Like anybody else, with a cold case like this, you don’t really plan to have it solved. Yet you just hope that somebody finds some answers somewhere along the line.”
“Exactly,” she said quietly. “And, in this case, I think we have a murder that’s been unsolved for far too long.”
“Yeah? What will you do about it?” he asked in a teasing voice.
“I’ll have to work on it, just as if it were the others,” she stated.
“You know that, one time, you’ll come up against a case that you can’t solve.”
She winced. “I have to admit every once in a while, I do have a nightmare about a case that I can’t solve and somebody I can’t help. And I already feel terribly guilty about it,” she murmured. “Let’s hope it’s not this one. I was trying to get onto the captain’s good side. I’ve pissed him off enough times lately that I don’t know if that’s even doable.”
Mack chuckled. “The captain doesn’t have anything against you,” he said gently. “That all these cold cases are getting solved is a good thing. They also increase our workload, and the department is getting a lot of the credit because you’re trying to stay in the background. But that’s also upsetting the captain because he would like to think that we could solve all these cases too, but we just don’t have the manpower. We’re busy trying to keep our heads above water with the current cases.”
“Which is another reason why you want me to stay out of your current cases,” she said, chuckling, “so that you guys have something on your books to close yourselves.”
“Hey, that’s not fair.” But Mack laughed too.
“How’s the shoulder?” she asked.
“Same as it was ten minutes ago,” he replied affectionately. “And I am really looking forward to paddleboarding tomorrow. And to convince you to try again.”
“And your brother will be joining us this time.”
“Yep, he is,” Mack said.
“But now you’re probably not healthy enough to go out there, after getting shot,” she added in a scolding tone.
“Actually,” he countered, “it’s probably good for me. I’m supposed to use those muscles and not let it get stiff.”
She thought about the movements needed when they were out on the board. “You at least stay on your board. So, as long as you don’t keep falling like I do, it might be okay.” But she wasn’t all that sure about it.
He chuckled. “And again we’re back to how you’re more worried than I am.”
“Somebody should be worried about you,” she stated in a serious tone of voice. “If you had your way, you’d be back at work by now.”
“I would, indeed,” he agreed, “and I am going back on Monday.”
She stopped and stared down at her phone. “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?” she cried out.
“Because I knew it would upset you.”
“You should be off for several more weeks.”
“Maybe, but I know we’re also very short-staffed.”
“So what will you do then? Are you restricted to desk duty?”
“I’ll go back to work, as usual, and I’ll try to be very careful,” he replied.
She frowned at that because, of course, his version of being very careful and her version of his being very careful were two very different things.