JP04_Taking the Fifth by J. A. Jance

Author:J. A. Jance [Jance, J. A.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780061958540
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 1987-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

SERGEANTWATSON WAS GUNNING FOR MEwhen I stepped through the doorway on the fifth floor. Beau, Captain Powell wants to see you, pronto.

That kind of summons to Captain Powells fishbowl is much the same as being twelve and getting sent to the principals office. One look at the captains face told me he was kicking ass and taking names.

When I walked into his office, Captain Larry Powell was sitting at his desk, thumbing through a thick stack of papers in front of him.

Whats up? I asked.

Shut the door, he replied without looking up. I knew right then I was in deep shit. I shut the door and waited.

What the hell have you been doing with your time that you havent bothered to notify Richard Dathan Morriss next of kin? he demanded.

The best defense was to go on the attack. Look, I said. There are only so many hours in a day. Weve been tracking her. The neighbors said she was out of town. They werent able to say where shed gone. I finally left a message for her last night, but I still havent been able to make a connection.

Powell finally looked up at me. Doug and Larry did, he said. Detectives Doug Manning and Larry Hicks worked Homicide on the day shift; obviously, they were the team Sergeant Watkins had assigned to the Jonathan Thomas case.

How come?

Because she showed up this morning at the house up on Bellevue, thats how come. When she found out what had happened, they had to call an aid car for her.

So where is she nowin a hospital? I tried calling her hotel a little while ago, and she wasnt there.

Dont waste your time looking for her now. In other words, what youre telling me is that you knew where she was staying last night, but you didnt bother to get word to her.

Look, Captain, I said. There wouldnt be a murder for Doug and Larry to investigate if Big Al and I hadnt spent half the day battling the system and tracking down Thomass parents to get this agreement on the autopsy. If it werent for us, someone would have gotten away with murder in this town.

I was hot now. I hadnt exactly been lying down on the job. I felt as if Id been living and breathing Richard Dathan Morris for days.

Not only that, I continued, most of the people involved in this case will be leaving Seattle tonight as soon as Jasmine Days concert is over at the Fifth Avenue Theater. Theyre on their way to Vancouver, B.C. When I finish up with the people who are leaving the country, Ill get around to the people who arent. With that, I turned on my heel and started out of the room.

And Al is off tonight?

Yes, hes off tonight. His grandson had emergency surgery last night. The kid almost died. Big Al spent the night at the hospital with his wife. Of course hes not coming in.

Great Powell began, but I slammed the door behind me, cutting off whatever else he might have said.

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