Rue and I walked to our cars together. “You sure you’re good with teaming up?”
He shrugged. “It isn’t about us. It’s about the innocent victims.”
I agreed completely. “I just hope once the information about seeing the trooper along the highway hits the airwaves, the phone lines at the state police headquarters light up like Christmas trees.”
Rue sighed. “You know what we need right now, besides food?”
I chuckled. “What’s that?”
“A stiff drink, and I can’t think of anything better than a glass of Scotch.”
“Really?”
“Yep. That and a greasy double cheeseburger and spicy fries.”
“Humph. The place that serves the best cheeseburgers and spicy fries is Sparky’s. Their burgers even come with extra grease.”
“Yum. Wanna have supper there?”
“Sure. Why not? I’ll be right behind you.”
“Nope. We both know what happened last time you were right behind me. Tonight, you’re taking the lead.”
We found parking a half block from Sparky’s. It was Thursday night and still somewhat early for the tourist crowds to hit the bars. They usually found restaurants first, enjoyed supper, and frequented the bars afterward, yet the real action didn’t begin until Friday night.
Tomorrow night would be a week since Valerie had gone missing at bar-closing time. To catch a killer of three in one week would be remarkable, but detectives usually felt even that length of time wasn’t quick enough. If the perp had been caught sooner, other innocent people wouldn’t have died. Most police officers felt that way no matter what the case or where it happened, but like everyone else, we were only human and did the best we could.
Rue and I walked in and found an empty bar table. For eating, that was more desirable than sitting at the bar. Plus having a conversation was easier when facing each other.
A waitress quickly approached us and took our food and drink order. Besides the Scotch, we both ordered large sodas to drink with our meal.
After she took our orders, I noticed the waitress talking to T. J. I assumed he’d asked her if we wanted our Scotch on the rocks or neat. We’d said neat, but maybe she didn’t know what that meant. T. J. walked over and confirmed our orders.
“Still working, huh?” I asked.
“Yeah, until eight. Better to get out of here before the crowd starts up, but of course, weekends are always the busiest. So neat on the Scotch?”
“Yep,” Rue said. “We did say that.”
“Yeah, but she’s new. Just making sure.”
“No problem,” I said.
T. J. began to walk away but turned back. “You guys talk to Donny yet?”
“Night shift is taking care of it.”
With a nod, he returned to the bar.
Rue and I discussed the case while we enjoyed a delicious supper and an even better Scotch. With all of our departments working together and sharing information, we were sure that the killer’s enterprise would soon be nipped in the bud.
We paid the check, said good night to the staff and customers we recognized, and walked to our cars.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow morning, and I sure hope Royce was able to get something set up,” I said.
Rue and I parted ways, each headed home and likely thinking about the case until we fell asleep. At least, I knew I would.