Page 37 of Colorado Christmas Carol
Dean said his goodbyes and went up to his room to make everything ready for the trip. He hoped he could outrun his guilt for just a little while longer. He phoned his lawyer and made some changes to his will. Just in case.
* * *
“You two did great!” Duke told them on the way back to the hotel.
“Yes, but now what?” Essa asked. “You’ve already told us not to go anywhere with him.”
Mellie nodded.
“I’ll think of something,” he promised.
“Oh, Daddy, you always say that.” Mellie laughed.
He wrinkled his nose and smiled at her. “It gives me time to think up excuses.” He chuckled.
Essa listened to the byplay. She was still in the dark about what Duke wanted them to do and why. He knew things that he wasn’t sharing. She wondered what they were.
* * *
Duke dropped them off at the hotel and went on to Sheriff Jeff Ralston’s office in town.
“Any news?” Jeff asked with a smile.
“Lots. He’s coming back here. He wants to take Essa and my daughter out to the dig site again,” Duke told him.
Jeff grimaced. “Bad idea. Very bad.”
“Yes, I know. But I don’t have any evidence that would hold up—just a sec,” he excused himself as his phone rang.
He answered it and went to the other end of the room. He listened to the arrogant, prideful voice on the other end of the line.
“You’ve spent enough time lazing around that hick town and producing nothing of note,” his boss said. “So you either come back now or you’re fired.”
Duke was barely able to hold his temper. “I’ve been following leads. The man is dangerous. He’s already killed three people . . .”
“You have no proof of that,” came the icy reply. “You have a theory.”
“The same killing method on three corpses and you think it’s a coincidence,” Duke said through his teeth.
“You’re chasing shadows. You’re supposed to be getting evidence in a burglary, not tracking down phantom killers!”
“The man is a serial killer,” Duke said shortly. “I know what I’m talking about. I worked forensics for the FBI.”
“Obviously their recruiter was desperate when they hired you,” came the reply. “As I’ve just told you . . .”
“Fine. Take your job and shove it,” he said. “I’ll send you my new address. You can forward my severance pay.”
“You can’t quit! This case . . . !”
“Is now your problem.” Duke hung up. The phone rang again. He ignored it and went back to Jeff, his face taut, his dark eyes blazing.
Jeff studied him. “Lost your job, I’ll wager.”
“I quit,” he replied. “The damned idiot wouldn’t listen. He wants me to investigate a burglary! There’s a serial killer on the loose, I’m this close to nailing him, and my boss wants me to throw away the investigation for a burglary!”
“Your boss is an idiot. Come work for me. My investigator got married and moved to Denver. I need an investigator, and you need a job. The pay’s probably about the same, except that I’m a dandy boss. You can have holidays free and even an occasional free meal when we go to meetings at our local gun club—I’ll nominate you for membership.” He grinned.
Duke laughed. “Well!”
