Page 26 of Givin' Me Fitz!
She had a grandmotherly vibe, reminding me of my mother, and I stepped forward. “I think we’re okay, ma’am. We’ll just take a seat over there.” I pointed to a group of chairs to the right and led the guys over.
Greeley followed me, and the other two joined us. Greeley and Keats didn’t speak at first, so it was oddly quiet. Finally, Greeley sat forward.
“You can’t stay mad at me, Keats. That guy was an ass to say something to you, but I can’t control what other people say or do.” Greeley’s voice was so quiet I could barely hear it, but the look on Keats’ face was priceless.
“Maybe keep your pecker in your pants?” Keats got up and walked to a water fountain to get a drink before pulling out his phone and scrolling.
I gave Jagger a look and saw his right hand was over his mouth, but the crinkles around his eyes told me he was trying hard not to laugh. I was right there with him. If Greeley didn’t know there was something more to Keats’ anger, he was a fool.
Delores came back with an old man following her, using a cane. “Gentlemen, this is Silas. Silas, these are Sparky’s guys.” She floated her hand in the air like a spokesmodel, which made me smile.
There was no way they weren’t a couple. They were absolutely adorable and reminded me I needed to call Mom and Pop back in Midland.
Greeley stepped forward like a leader. “I’m Brian Greeley. This is Jay Keats. Fitz Morgan, and Jagger Hansen. Sparky said to give you his regards. What can we do for you, Mr. Drell?”
“Come with—”
Drell began the most awful coughing fit I’d ever heard outside of an emergency room. Delores stepped closer and led him into the conference room, so we followed the pair of them.
Once we were inside, a young lady joined us. “Hello. I’m Evan, Delores and Silas’ granddaughter. I work with them, preparing the detailed packets we give to the hunters we hire.”
She grabbed some folders from a credenza, handing one to each of us. As if on cue, Delores stood and walked to the wall, flipping two switches that turned off the lights. A screen descended from the ceiling as Evan pressed some buttons on the laptop.
“This is Nancy Raymond, charged with open murder.”
A mug shot appeared on the screen with a woman in her mid-thirties. She was bald and had dark circles under her bloodshot eyes, and there was a bruise on her cheek.
“What are we seeing? What happened to her?” A woman with a bruise on her face had a story to tell. The lack of hair and dark circles gave the impression she was quite ill.
“Mrs. Raymond is thirty-six years old. Mother of two boys, ages seven and ten. Allegedly, she caught her husband screwing his assistant in their bed. The babysitter, who was supposed to watch the boys while Nancy went to a scheduled chemotherapy treatment that day, cancelled at the last minute. Nancy knew her husband was working from home, so she rescheduled her appointment and took the boys home to return to the medical center an hour later.
“She heard noises coming from the bedroom, so she went to check it out and found her husband having sex with his assistant in their bed. She claims she walked away and ended up taking the boys with her to her chemo appointment.”
I heard a gasp, turning to see Jagger Hansen with his hand on his throat clutching his invisible pearls. If the trooper wasn’t ready for the world where we worked, he wouldn’t last long.
“Did she shoot him in front of the kids?” I turned to see Keats with an inquisitive expression.
“Not that the authorities have been able to confirm. He was shot in the second-floor bedroom, though, but by the time the neighbors called it in and the police arrived, nobody was there. When Nancy and the boys left the house to go to the medical center, Nancy claims Mr. Raymond was still alive and his secretary was still at the house with him.
“After her appointment, Nancy went to the house of a friend who was out of town, and she and the boys spent the night there. The police called her cell phone about one in the morning to give her the bad news. She took the boys to her parents’ house and went to the hospital where her husband had already died during surgery.”
I flipped through the file to see the suspect had no priors. Not even fucking speeding tickets or a violation of Nevada watering rules. “How did she end up charged with open murder?” My old Marshal’s instincts kicked in.
Greeley stood. “It doesn’t matter. Who are her friends or family in the area? How about the friend’s house where she stayed? Are they back in the area?”
He was right. All we were required to do was bring her back. “When was her court date?”
“Last Thursday. My grandfather had a tail on her after he bonded her out because he was worried about her, not because he thought she’d skip town. She disappeared sometime in the middle of the night with her kids because grandpa’s friend fell asleep.” Evan smiled at her grandfather, who was napping.
“Didi, we don’t need you. If you wanna take—”
“I’m on it, Evan. Will you lock up?” Delores asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” Evan walked over and kissed her grandfather on the cheek.
His eyes sprung open, and he smiled. “Are they on the case?”
I tried like hell to hold the laugh. How did the old man still do business? Obviously, the granddaughter was running the show. I couldn’t figure out why they still showed up at work.
