Chapter Thirty-Two

Raven had time before meeting Billy Ray at Edmée’s, so she took the True casefile to the makeshift BLPD command center. She had underestimated Breaker. He was meticulous, even documenting True’s clients and cases. He also marked the cases that could have made someone target True for revenge. Breaker himself interviewed everyone who worked with True, including Clyde Darling’s mother, June. It turned out that June was True’s paralegal.

True mostly did family law cases, handled adoptions, property disputes, and a smorgasbord of other cases befitting a small-town lawyer. She flipped back to the page of his client list. Raven knew those names, including Stella Morning and Edmée Crowley. He represented Morning on the case against her sister for ownership of the family farm. For Edmée, he had done some contract work, and helped place some of the boys from Edmée’s foster program. Judge Toulouse was also listed, but nothing about the case True had helped him on was mentioned. And then there was that rodent, Willie Lee Speck, on True’s client list. It appeared to Raven that True wasn’t particular who his clients were as long as they paid the retainer on time.

Raven didn’t know what it all meant, but thinking about the judge, she wondered if Breaker had really quit or if the chief unceremoniously moved him out of the way. The chief would have had no patience if Breaker started poking at the hornet’s nest of Byrd’s Landing’s powerful. She snapped the casefile closed and made her way to the chief’s office.

“Come on in, Raven,” Chief Sawyer said. “Stevenson was just catching me up. Great job on the video evidence. Already got things in motion with canvassing those neighborhoods.”

She stayed by the door and leaned against the frame.

“Tell me something, Chief,” she said. “Did Breaker really quit?”

Chief Sawyer folded his arms above his head and sighed.

Stevenson started to say something, but the chief said, “Let it go, Stevenson. It’ll get you nowhere plus a migraine. Raven and me go way back. We family. Ain’t that right, Raven?”

“I asked you a question,” Raven said.

“You know I saved her life,” he said, looking at Stevenson. “Or that’s what she thinks, anyway. I was really just doing my job. But she credits me for the fact that she’s walking around on this earth. Her old man was about to cut her heart out, but I stopped him. Took her under my wing, introduced her to Oral Justice, got her help. You ever say thank you, Burns?”

“I believe I’ve said thank you plenty of times.”

“Come on in here and sit down.”

Raven walked into the office and took a seat next to Stevenson.

“Breaker was burned out,” the chief answered. “You saw him. He was off his game. You know how you can tell when Breaker’s about to lose it?”

Raven didn’t think for a moment about answering him, not with so much bitterness and mockery in his voice.

“His shoes get shinier, and his ties straighter. Everybody knows that when he starts wearing three-piece suits and the gold watch chain he needs a vacation.”

There was an uncomfortable note in Stevenson’s laughter.

“Careful, Stevenson,” Raven said in quiet warning. “It bites.”

The laughter stopped abruptly. She let the silence in the room play. Then she said, “Did you get rid of Breaker because he was following the Ronnie True angle?”

“How did you find out about True?”

“He died. Rita did the autopsy. You know what she found?”

“Not interested in what she found. Breaker was wasting his time. When I strongly urged him to follow the evidence, he decided BLPD wasn’t for him.”

“Did you also strongly urge him to keep True and Toulouse out of it?” Raven asked.

“He was wasting time.”

“Wasting time or making Judge Toulouse uncomfortable?”

“That was a coincidence, Raven,” the chief said. “Breaker was chasing unicorns when he should’ve been looking for horses.”

“I see,” Raven said.

“What do you want, anyway? You’re not here just to bust my balls.”

“I need a favor.”

“What’s that?”

“I need to find out what case True helped Toulouse on.”

“Look it up,” the chief said. “It’s public knowledge.”

“Breaker’s notes say the case is sealed.”

“Why do you need that information?”

“To solve this case. Find Noe, and to find out who’s killing those boys. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“None of this True stuff is germane to your case. Besides, we already have a suspect for Clyde’s murder and Noe’s disappearance. That would be your brother, if you don’t know it by now. I’ve got Goldie following that up.”

“Cameron didn’t do this.”

“You don’t know that,” the chief said. “Or perhaps you do and that’s the reason you want to ride out on wild goose chases.”

“Then just tell me what the Toulouse case was about. Save me some time.”

“No,” he said. “You forget. I don’t work for you. You work for me. Is there anything else?”

“There is.”

She waited until he was forced to break the silence. “Well?” he said.

“Did Breaker decide that BLPD wasn’t for him, or that the entire town of Byrd’s Landing wasn’t for him?”

“I’ll let you figure that one out for yourself,” he said, a challenge in his eyes.