Holding Out for a Fairy Tale by A J Thomas

Author:A J Thomas [Thomas, A J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A.J. Thomas Books, LLC
Published: 2019-10-08T16:00:00+00:00

Ray had stripped down to a pair of pants and a white undershirt because he didn’t want to get plaster dust and paint all over the only respectable thing he had to wear. He was twisting two wires together with a yellow plastic cap when Elliot came through the door, his sparkling eyes marred by a grim expression.

Despite his threats, Ray hadn’t made a mess of Elliot’s house. He’d removed a section of drywall almost four inches square where he was working, but he had a matching square set aside for a patch, and a tiny bucket of spackling paste sat beside it. He’d even put down a dust cloth.

“What happened?” Ray rolled up from his knees in a fluid, rocking gesture. “Did the search teams find her?”

“Not yet. SDPD searched Garcia’s place this morning. Apparently they didn’t find any traces of blood and nothing that might belong to Sophie.”

“SDPD is working this?” Ray narrowed his eyes. He’d asked around last Friday, and everyone he’d spoken with told him the case had been handed off to the FBI.

“They found Luca Garcia’s body in an alley in Hillcrest. Shot through the back of the head. There was no sign of her.”

Ray forced himself to take a deep breath. News of Garcia’s death was a surprise, but it wasn’t something he was going to get upset about. He ran through a list of potential suspects associated with Sophie’s disappearance who might have killed him, realized he was third on the list himself, and smirked. He began to twist another set of wires together. “Give me a minute. I want to get this done and turn the breaker back on before I lose the sun.”

“Delgado, I….”

“I’m almost done. You can arrest me before or after I patch the drywall, but let me get your power back on first.”

“Did you do it?” Elliot laughed.

“You know I didn’t. But I’d be the most likely suspect, after Holland and Alejandro, wouldn’t I? I’ve been with you since Friday, but that’s not really something we can type up and submit.”

“You’re on the top of the list, Delgado, with Alejandro Munoz and Professor Holland coming after.”

“Am I?” Ray knew he shouldn’t think that was funny, but he couldn’t help it.

“He had your Glock in his jacket.”

Ray was very careful about not flinching. He finished connecting wires, then plugged the bundle of wires back into the alarm control box. “So he was the one who broke into my place?”

“Probably.”

“Huh.”

“His estimated time of death was ten o’clock Saturday night. I’m not your only alibi. My boss, her husband, and the rest of my judo class all vouched for you. Besides, I told my boss I could account for the rest of your weekend too.”

Ray swallowed hard, hoping Elliot had just told his boss they’d been together, rather than giving the frightening woman a play-by-play account of how they’d spent Sunday afternoon. He prided himself on being able to keep a straight face regardless of the circumstances, but that revelation was just too much.

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