Adam strode into the Ironwood Junction PD and headed straight for the reception desk. Arline Newton looked up when he handed over a bag. “What’s this?”
As he headed toward his office, he said over his shoulder, “Crossroads Café had fresh eggnog donuts.”
She called out after him, “Aww, you remembered. If you’re trying to get on my good side, case closed.”
He chuckled as he breezed through the hallway. Arline was a “nogaholic” if there ever was one, although Adam couldn’t understand what she saw in that stuff. Sweet eggy cream. Ugh. Of course, he was fairly sure she preferred it with some rum, Kahlua, and bourbon.
Maybe he was fixating a little too much on the bourbon himself, because he collided with a dark blur that darted out in front of him. Great. Sergeant Mike Moody.
Moody growled at him. “Watch where you’re going, Dutton. Or am I supposed to scrape and bow before the Great Detective as he prances into a room?”
“Knock it off, Moody. Go get some coffee or something.”
Moody glared at Adam one more time, then scurried off toward the break room. Adam had intended to head there first thing and grab some of the station’s extra-dark brew, but he didn’t want to chance another showdown with Moody. Damn the man.
He was in such a bad mood after his encounter with the moody Moody, he almost ran into Sergeant Bill Naigle. “I’m two for two in the klutz department today, Bill. Sorry about that.”
“My fault. Saw you with Moody and had to make sure he hadn’t ripped off any of your skin with those bared teeth of his.”
“It’s getting worse every day.”
“What kind of bee’s up his ass? He owe you money or something?”
“Why would you say that?”
Naigle scowled. “Moody is always hitting me and everybody else up for money for this or that. When we eat out, he never pays his share of the bill. Says he forgot his wallet, or he had some medical thing and will settle after payday. But he never reimburses anyone.”
“Ugh. I didn’t know.”
“It’s getting bad enough people are starting to run the other way when they see him coming. Even Joe Brimm’s been thinking about ways he can get back at him for it.”
Adam’s eyes widened. “Mr. Mild Mannered nerdy forensics guy?”
“Joe said he knew several ways to slowly poison Moody, and no one would ever know.”
“Jeez, remind me not to get on Joe’s bad side.”
“Or Sergeant Gray’s.”
“What, did Moody stiff Charlene, too? The most notoriously cheerful officer in the known universe?”
“Yep. Borrowed a couple hundred and never repaid her. Think she went to the library to get a book of wizard spells.”
Adam shook his head, and Naigle clapped him on the shoulder. “And you watch out for Moody, too, Adam. Everyone’s been talking about how he’s got it in for you. You know we’ve got your back, right?”
“Yeah, Bill. And thanks.”
Adam had just sunk down in the chair at his desk when the in-house phone chirped. Cherry Steele, Chief Quinn’s administrative assistant, was unreasonably calm as she said, “Good morning, Adam. The chief wants you in his office in five.”
“Thanks, Cherry.”
He sighed, but before he could muse any further on the less-than-stellar start to the day, Jinks popped by with a cup of java he recognized as being from Miralee’s Market. Even better than the Crossroads coffee. “Here you go, stud. Figured you could use it.”
Adam hopped up and immediately took a swig of the dark, smoky brew. “Thanks, Jinks. Would be better with Kahlua—or maybe bourbon—but other than that, it’s perfect.”
“You must have got the same invitation to the lion’s den I did. We should walk down to the chief’s office together. United front and all.” She scanned his face. “Late night orgy? Or did you have some hemlock pancakes for breakfast?”
“Sergeant Moody.”
“Ah.” Jinks nodded in sympathy. “Then, I really should have put some Kahlua in there.”
Chief Quinn waited as the two detectives poured into his office and sat in their usual chairs in front of his desk. And as usual, Adam had to squirm around in the chair to get comfortable. Maybe it was those casters that never worked right. Or the vinyl the color of dried blood that made him slip around.
Quinn gazed at their coffee cups with a wistful expression. “God, I could use one of those right now.”
“Still going decaf, sir?” Adam remembered the month after the chief’s doctor had told him to cut it out. The staff now referred to it as the “Dark Ages.”
“Have you ever tasted that stuff? Swill doesn’t begin to describe it. If everyone had to drink decaf, coffee would disappear off the planet.”
Jinks added helpfully, “There’s carob or grain-based drinks. Ayurvedic roasts, rooibos.”
The chief raised an eyebrow and didn’t say anything.
Jinks smiled. “Hot chocolate, then.”
“My doc says even that has too much caffeine. I still have some every now and then. But if you tell him I said so, I’ll say it’s all lies.”
Quinn thumped a stack of papers on his desk. “Fire Chief Vinson and I are putting out a joint statement about the fire at Vintage Vibes. With a note about the tip line, if anyone has more information.”
Jinks asked, “Did Vinson find any link between the fires here and the one in Woodstock? Arson at both?”
The chief shook his head. “Not yet. Could be coincidence the two happen to be antiques stores.”
Adam piped up. “Props to the Medical Examiner, by the way. She stayed up late working on a prelim ID of the body and discovered our victim had two titanium dental implants. As did Jared Lake.”
“How did you know that?”
“I made a call to his sister this morning to double-check.”
Quinn frowned. “Did the prelim autopsy also verify your hunch, Adam?”
“The guy was dead before the fire. Head bashed in, no smoke in the lung tissue.”
Quinn replied, “All things considered, certainly seems like a match. And murder. Has Lake’s sister been able to reach him?”
“Not since the fire.”
“There’s also that, too. Poor Mr. Lake.”
Adam nodded. “The little research I did on Lake makes it seem like he’s clean. No rap sheet, complaints, not even traffic fines.”
Jinks said, “Could be a simple burglary. Lake surprised the perp, got conked, and our burglar set the fire to destroy any evidence.”
Quinn leaned forward in his chair. “Bent Vinson seems to think the fire was set in a methodical manner with an accelerant.”
Adam replied, “And therefore premeditation.”
“Exactly.”
Adam sighed. “I hate to bring this up so soon into the investigation, but my ‘little research’ last night found that Lake was a member of the Northeastern Antiquities League. Not terribly surprising. But it does raise more questions about any ties to the Forsythes, Ivon Kozak, Redbeard, and company.”
Quinn got up briefly to pour himself a cup of an amber liquid from an aluminum dispenser. “Herbal tea,” he said with a grimace. “Was Lake an active NAL member?”
“Not lately. But had been so earlier in his career. About ten years ago.”
Quinn tasted the tea and shuddered. “Sounds like you have a long list of work to do. And Jinks, help as you can when you’re not working that pharmacy robbery case. Farm some of that grunt work over to Bill Naigle.”
Even as his words of dismissal made Adam and Jinks stand up, Quinn added, “Adam, could you stay for a minute?”
Jinks gave a sympathetic look before she left.
Quinn didn’t waste any time with the reason for his request. “I’m getting more irritated—make that furious—each day with Mayor Lehmann for trying to push Moody on me as a detective. And push you out in the process.”
“Your golfing games with the mayor must get a little awkward, sir.”
“Good thing I’ve run out of excuses because the mayor has stopped asking. No more golf games.”
Adam felt a moment of sympathy for the chief. Quinn was in a bind and in the middle, even more than Adam.
Quinn tried another taste of the tea and scowled. “Damn the man. If I make Moody a detective, I’ll have to find the extra money to pay for that position. Money I’d love to have, but just not for Moody. And where’s this magical money going to come from? Otherwise, I’d have to demote you or Jinks, something I’m fighting.”
Adam nodded but kept silent.
“I’m still hoping Lehmann will be ousted in the next election. But the polls show he’s in the lead. Hell, maybe that egotist will finally run for governor like he’s been threatening to do for so long.”
“But he’ll have even more power, won’t he, sir?”
“Yes, but with a whole state to worry about, he won’t have time to concern himself with one town and one PD. Except his cousin. Hell, maybe he’ll even give Moody a state job. Far from here.”
The chief paused to choke down some more of the tea and then looked at Adam over the rim of his cup. “Seen Zelda lately?”
Adam sighed inwardly, keeping his face blank. He’d been trying not to think of the odd relationship he had with his ex-wife, who was now warming the mayor’s bed. And he definitely wasn’t going to tell the chief about Zelda’s offer to have an affair with him while her husband was out of town.
He replied simply, “Not lately, no.”
“Good. Try to keep it that way.”
The chief waved him off, and Adam hurried back to his office where Jinks was waiting, with her brown-booted feet up on his desk. “Not too bad, I hope?”
Adam patted his body. “Everything’s still intact. And as for that ‘lot of work to do’ the chief mentioned, I’m thinking we should talk to Jared Lake’s sister first. Then Lucas Barratt, the victim’s assistant.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Adam tossed his now-empty coffee cup into the trash. “How are Felicia and the kids?”
Jinks crossed her arms over her chest. “That whole Christmas commercialism thing really gets to me.”
“They gave you two a long toy list this year, I take it?”
“What’s a WiFi coding robot, anyway? I mean, whatever happened to basketballs and Barbie dolls? But if by long, you mean a list that stretches from here to the North Pole and back, then yep.” She hopped up. “Decided on your Christmas plans? My offer still stands for you to join us for dinner.”
“Thanks, but I’ll have to check with Harlan.”
“He’s welcome, too. You could also invite Beverly.”
Adam shook his head. He had no idea where that relationship stood. What would she say if he asked? Would she even hang around in town long enough to observe the holidays?
If there was one, and only one, thing he’d learned about Beverly Laborde, it was you could hardly learn anything about her at all. Not until she chose to let you into her world. What would he find there, if he did? Maybe he’d like it, maybe he wouldn’t, or maybe it would still be too hazy to see anything.
Enough of that. Adam heaved a big sigh. It was time for one of his least-favorite parts of being a cop, talking to a family member of someone who was in all likelihood just murdered. But there was no way around it. And with any luck, the victim’s sister would be a strong first link in the chain to finding the killer. One link, one lead at a time.
He didn’t want to think about the broken chains, the unsolved cases. He’d only had one before, and he’d told himself afterward that he’d be damned if he ever had another one. He looked over at Jinks, who was giving him a curious look but just said, “So, let’s get this shit-show on the road.”