Bending the Paw by Diane Kelly

Author:Diane Kelly [Kelly, Diane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Brigit and I were back out on our beat when I turned down a street in the Fairmount neighborhood and spotted a white Chevy pickup with New Mexico plates parked in front of a wood-frame bungalow-style home. Bingo! Thought you could avoid me, did you, Tommy Perkins?

I slowed and eased past. Nobody was in the truck. A scan of the area showed nobody standing in their yard or on a porch. Perkins must be inside the bungalow or another residence in close vicinity. I pulled my cruiser to the curb in front of his truck, backing up until there were only a few inches between my back bumper and the truck’s grill so he wouldn’t get any dumb ideas like trying to speed off.

I waited for a few minutes, keeping an eye on the front door of the house, as well as my side and rearview mirrors in case he came up the street from another direction. Brigit stood in the back and wagged her tail, alerting me to the activity as the door came open on the house. The silver-haired man stepped out sideways, his head turned to look into the residence as he bade goodbye to a thirtyish woman in the front foyer. He wore dark slacks with a white dress shirt and red tie, but had paired them with no-nonsense work boots and the same warm yet stylish shearling jacket I’d seen him wearing before. I climbed out of my squad car and circled around to lean against the passenger side, my arms crossed over my chest.

Perkins told the woman, “We’ll have that crew out here ASAP.” With that he turned and took two steps forward before spotting me at the curb and faltering in his step.

The female homeowner spotted me, too, and stepped into the doorway with a concerned expression drawing her features inward.

Perkins smoothed his tie, smiled, and came forward. “Good afternoon, ma’am. Something I can do for you?”

“For starters, you could’ve returned my phone call.”

“You must be Officer Luz.” He stepped closer, maybe too close, as if trying to keep our conversation from being overheard. At this proximity, I could see he had bluish-gray eyes that nicely complemented his silver-white hair. He resembled Paul Newman. He dipped his chin in greeting. “I’m Tommy Perkins. Nice to meet you.”

I cocked my head, letting him know I was still waiting for an explanation.

“My apologies, officer. I’ve been planning to call you, but I’ve spent the last twenty-four hours putting out fires, so to speak.” He motioned at the houses around us. “As you know, that hailstorm did a number on these homes.”

“It sure did. Are you now doing a number on these homeowners?”

His brow furrowed, the deep lines reminding me of the wrinkly Shar-Pei Brigit had befriended at the dog park. “What in the world would make you think that?”

“You told Althea Nomikos that your company would get started on her roof right away. It’s been a week, and she says you haven’t returned her calls.

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