Lost to the Sea: A Cozy Mystery (Lost in Alaska Series Book 3) by Leigh Mayberry

Author:Leigh Mayberry [Mayberry, Leigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-09T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

It was impossible to track days when they overlapped because of lack of sleep. Now Meghan had a pounding headache and ringing in her ears because she’d dropped her guard. She thought to appeal to Bartlett’s string of bad luck, showing him she understood, turned out to be a bad idea.

That was one broken nose ago, and Meghan realized the rest of the community gave up on Bartlett long before she ever met him. She was supposed to do the same.

By Thursday morning, Meghan had five hours of sleep in three days. The rest of her officers fared better because Meghan insisted they take breaks.

The animosity between Lester and Bartlett was palpable. Meghan wasn’t leaving them alone together. She wrote a preliminary report regarding the stolen property recovered from Bartlett’s campsite. Hesitantly, Meghan sent it to AST. That was around midnight when Wednesday slipped into Thursday morning.

At seven-thirty, lying on the couch in her office, Meghan got a call from Gregory Anderson, a detective with the Alaska State Troopers in Anchorage. Anderson gave Meghan his private phone line. She knew it was out of attraction to her, not because Anderson felt obliged knowing she was a police chief.

“Are you going to ask what we’re going to do with the Seagrass?” she asked as a way of ‘hello.’

“Nope,” Anderson said. “I figured the city confiscated it.”

“Not yet.” Meghan yawned, stretched, and looked out at the sleeping form of Bartlett on the temporary cot they kept in storage. Lester dozed in a chair with his feet on the conference table. “So, what can I do for you?”

“I’m wondering why I don’t see assault charges on the complaint you filed. I assumed you were tired and overlooked it.”

“I’m not charging Bartlett with assault. He’s already got two counts of resisting arrest. Assaulting a police officer is a felony. I’m not interested in adding another felony to his record.”

“I think you should add the charge. He broke your nose.”

Meghan reported everything. Documenting details of crimes and procedures gave everyone a full picture with the suspect. She wasn’t happy about adding the headbutt incident. But Meghan wasn’t interested in hiding facts.

“This is my case, right?” she asked bitterly. Lack of sleep made her ornery.

“It is, yes.”

“Then please, let me deal with this my way. The guy has enough people pushing against him. It’s bad enough that I get blindsided with him as an unregistered sex offender. By the way, Trooper Sergeant Reeve is a dick. You can tell him I said that.”

“He’s got more than enough to worry about, than your hurt feelings.” Anderson segued before Meghan said anything else. “I got a call from the assistant DA this morning.”

“Isn’t it a little early in the morning for lawyers?”

“Only defense attorneys,” Anderson said. “This lady is on top of her game. She wants to know why we’re not charging Bartlett with murder.”

“Are you serious? With what evidence?” she asked. Meghan searched in the backpack and found a compact mirror. She opened it to see what stared back at her following the broken nose.

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