Page 6 of Cougar Point

“The boss in?” Lucas asked.

She nodded and gestured at the door markedSheriff Longbow.

Charlie Longbow looked up from his desk as Lucas knocked and entered. Longbow was in his late fifties, with hair that was more gray than brown now, and a paunch that spoke of too many years behind the desk. A worn black Stetson sat on the desk beside a nicotine-stained desk phone that was probably anofficial antique. The office was smaller than the shrink’s had been, and with cheaper furniture. The view was of the diner across the street, instead of a graveyard. Longbow glanced at the phone on his desk, then back at Lucas.

“Dr. Wright just called.”

Lucas smiled. “Oh yeah? She give you the good news?” He pulled out one of the rickety wooden chairs on the visitor side of the desk out and took a seat.

Longbow steepled his fingers on the desk. “She’s not convinced, Mike. Tell you the truth, I’m not either. It’s barely been a month since?—”

“How long does it need to be?” Lucas asked. “You think six weeks will make it all better? Eight?”

“No, but?—”

He leaned forward. “Charlie. I’m ready. I need to come back. And you need me.”

Longbow stiffened slightly. “We’re doing fine.”

“Sure you are.”

Longbow almost smiled at that. He shook his head.

“Believe it or not, you are not indispensable.” He sighed. “But it will be good to have you back. If you’re ready.”

“What did I miss?”

“Nothing much. You might have heard that Larry Stroud quit.”

Lucas nodded. “I’ll try and contain my disappointment.”

“I know you two never saw eye to eye, but he really blew up after…” He stopped and reconsidered.

“It’s all right,” Lucas said. “And let’s face it, he saved you the trouble of firing him for drinking on the job. And worse.”

Longbow bristled a little, which was weird because Lucas knew there was no love lost between his sheriff and his former partner. “He was a decent cop.”

“Maybe once.”

Longbow gave Lucas a rundown of the current caseload. Nothing out of the ordinary. When Joyce had…when Lucas had had to stop work abruptly, he had been working a case involving a narcotics gang from a neighboring county making incursions beyond their turf. Pete Stimpson had taken over and resolved it in his absence. Stroud’s departure had left a pile of work on the desk, which Lucas surmised was a big reason Longbow was willing to welcome him back a little sooner than expected.

“Why don’t you come back in tomorrow?” Longbow said. “You can take a look at Larry’s backlog, see if we can close anything off. We’ll keep you riding a desk for a little while, let you take it easy.”

Lucas was opening his mouth to say that easy was the very last thing he wanted, when the phone on Longbow’s desk rang and took that decision out of their hands.

Longbow picked it up on the second ring and said his name. He listened, his eyes narrowing. Lucas couldn’t make out the individual words, but whoever was on the other end of the call was talking quickly.

“Yeah…no, tell them to sit tight, we’ll be there in ten. Yeah. Okay, thanks, Arnie.”

He replaced the phone on the hook and picked up his Stetson from the desk and got up, digging in his pocket for the keys to his SUV.

“That was Arnold Cooney. They just found a body in a gully. A woman.”

SIX

The upshot of visiting my mother in jail was that it was a big mistake, like I had always known it was going to be. But at least it’s made my mind up about one thing: I’ve decided to tell Hayden the truth about his family. My mother can spin the facts until she throws up.

Back in the parking lot I’m still soaking up the A/C when my phone rings.

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