Wabanaki Blues by Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel

Author:Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Published: 2015-05-06T04:00:00+00:00

Eleven

It’s All in the Stars

Hartford Police Headquarters is a tidy contemporary brick building that looks the way Colt High should. The duty officer at the reception desk wears a steel-wool buzz cut and the glow of impending retirement.

He shakes his head disgustedly, as he writes down my name. “That’s LaPierre with a capital ‘P,’ as in ‘Problem Child,’ right?”

I ignore his sarcasm and tell him about my discovery of the infamous Harley with green flames from the Mia Delaney case.

He yawns in a rudely exaggerated fashion, patting his open mouth. “Which crazy cold case murder site have you been following on the Internet, girly?”

I push through his insult. “I need to make a statement regarding new evidence in the Mia Delaney case.”

The cop licks the tip of his pen. “Let ’er rip.”

I offer a statement about Will Pyne: where he lives, that he owns a picture of a green-flamed Harley, that he sleeps with a picture of Mia.

I finish and the cop says, “Okey dokey,” more like I’d just bought a raffle ticket rather than submitted critical evidence in a cold case murder.

I exit this brick box full of morons out a side door that leads me past a fragrant stew of sidewalk garbage. My whole world stinks. I’m almost home when a white Escalade rolls up alongside me, its wheels so shiny they catch the hot August sun and blind me. I figure the car belongs to a drug dealer and hug Rosalita. Nobody is stealing my baby and selling her for crack. The vehicle stops and the car door swings open. I stiffen. Out steps Worthington Dill, sporting khaki Bermuda shorts and lime-green Docksiders. A drug dealer would have been preferable. I wish I could snap my fingers and make him disappear. I never wanted the Dills to see where I live.

“Greetings, Mona!” Worthy hugs me; his broad shoulders remind me too much of Beetle. His eyes stay fixed on my face, seemingly oblivious to my neighborhood.

After a few uneasy throat clearings, he continues, “I am here to apologize for the incident at my home last week. My wife knows I find the subject of Mia Delaney a difficult one. She tends to react overly harshly when people mention that girl’s name around me.”

“She doesn’t care much for musicians, either, does she?”

“No,” he smirks. “Speaking of which, how is your budding music career coming along?”

I notice he stutters on the word “music.”

“I need a partner who can sing. My voice is mediocre.”

He raises his eyebrows cheerfully. “I’m sure you’ll find one, soon. Meanwhile, I want to hear all about this New Hampshire biker whom you suspect of foul play.”

My palms moisten. I wipe them on my jeans, recalling that day at his house when Mia’s electric blue fingernails replaced Beetle’s sweaty hand. Mia’s nowhere in sight, but she could reappear at any minute as long as Will Pyne remains free. I know I am her messenger, standing alone, as her sole hope for justice.

“I told the police everything,” I explain.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.