The Man Behind The Badge

“What?”

“That you liked her.”

“I didn’t like her!”

“No?” Hank did a poor job of concealing a grin. “Travis, how many people have we interviewed together?”

“I don’t keep count.”

“But it’s got to be thousands, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. And your point is?”

“That I’ve never seen you react to any of them the way you reacted to her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? How did I react?”

“As if you liked her,” Hank said, no longer even trying to hide his grin.

“I felt sorry for her,” Travis muttered, starting the engine. “That was all.”

“Sure. If you say so.”

Pulling away from the curb, he told himself to just let the subject drop.

Celeste Langley was an attractive woman, no doubt about it. But recognizing that was worlds away from being interested in her.

He wasn’t in the market for a woman. And even if he was, he’d never get involved with a suspect—whether she was an improbable one or not.

CHAPTER TWO

Monday, October 4, 8:36 a.m.

FOR THE TENTH TIME in the past half hour, Celeste picked up the card Travis Quinn had given her and checked the number of his cell phone.

Not that she needed to. By this point, she’d looked at it often enough that she had it memorized. Yet she wasn’t sure she should call him this early. Or even at all.

Normally, she wasn’t indecisive. But she’d had another sleepless night—lying awake unable to stop thinking about Steve and her mother. And it had left her so wrung out that she just couldn’t stop vacillating.

Part of her brain was telling her not to impose on the man. Besides which, she hated the sense that there was no one she could turn to except a virtual stranger. On the other hand, none of her friends would have the answers to her questions.

Bryce would. Or if he didn’t, he could get them.

She forced away those thoughts. Her estranged husband was the last person on earth she’d ask for help. Which really left only one option.

Telling herself she’d make the call brief, she reached for the cordless and pressed in Travis Quinn’s number.

“Quinn,” he answered on the second ring.

After taking a deep breath, she said, “Detective Quinn, it’s Celeste Langley. I hope this isn’t too early to bother you, but—”

“You’re not bothering me and it isn’t too early. What can I do for you?”

There was concern in his deep voice. It made her feel a little less anxious.

“Well, I didn’t think of it while you were here last night, but...I should be doing something about Steve’s death and I’m not sure what.” Oh, man, she was sounding like an imbecile.

“There are the funeral arrangements to look after,” she continued. “And I’ll call the other relatives. But what about his friends?

“I met the ones who came to the service for our mother, and if I had his address book, I’m sure I’d recognize at least some of their names.”

“You don’t have to worry about contacting them. Detective Ballantyne and I will look after it. We have to talk to his friends, anyway—see what they know that might help. But can you recall even one of the names?”

“Yes. Gary Cooper. It stuck in my mind because of the movie star.”

“Good. We’ll start with him and he can tell us who else we should talk to. We’ll inform your brother’s regular patients, as well.”

“And he was seeing a woman. You’ll be sure to contact her?”

There was a momentary pause before Travis Quinn said, “What’s her name?”

“Jill Flores. She was at my mother’s service, too. I should have mentioned her last night when you said you thought Steve had had a female visitor. But my mind just wasn’t working right.”

“No, of course not. You were in shock.”

“I...yes, I guess. But...even if you call the others, don’t you think I should talk to Jill?”

“No, you shouldn’t do anything. Really. Leave it all to us.”

She heard the quiet sound of pages being turned, then Travis Quinn, said, “Yes, she’s in his book. We’ll get to her today. As for the funeral, you could make some tentative arrangements if you feel up to it. But until the autopsy’s been done...”

The autopsy. Her stomach felt queasy. “When will that be?” she made herself ask.

“I’m afraid I don’t know. Not for at least a few days, maybe even a week or so. Things are always backed up.”

She closed her eyes, but that didn’t stop her from imagining Steve’s body lying inside a drawer in a cold, impersonal morgue.

“Ms. Langley?” Travis Quinn said when the silence lengthened. “Was there anything else you wanted to ask about?”

If there had been, the questions had entirely escaped from her head, so she said, “No, that was all.”

“Well, as I mentioned last night, we’ll be talking to you again. But if there’s anything else in the meantime, don’t hesitate.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

As she clicked off, Snoops turned from watching the sparrows outside and fixed her with a green-eyed stare.