CHAPTER FIFTEEN

 

Al’s Bar was not far from the Bluffs Bay police and fire departments. As such, it was a popular hangout for cops and firefighters, as well as others who were involved in civic functions. But on this day it was nearly empty, at least by the standards Dennis Cramer had become used to. That was fine with him. He wasn’t much in the mood for company. Not unless it was a tall mug of beer.

He had second thoughts about that when he spotted a familiar face. Robert Leighton was sitting at a table all by his lonesome, seemingly deep in thought. While he didn’t exactly hang in the same circles as the renowned criminal defense attorney, they were somewhat acquainted since Leighton’s wife, Ashley, worked for Cramer on the force. He’d chatted briefly with him a few times at police functions.

“Mind if I join you?” Cramer asked.

Robert looked up over the rim of his drink. Recognizing him, he said colorlessly, “Why the hell not?”

Cramer ordered a beer from a waitress and wondered what type of small talk he should engage in with the attorney.

Robert spoke first. “Heard about the latest murder...”

Cramer assumed that Ashley had told him. “Yeah, looks like The Woods killer left his mark again.”

“Too bad for the victim and her family,” Robert muttered. “And just about as bad for everyone else trying to survive this nightmare till the bastard is captured.”

“No one wants that as much as I do,” Cramer emphasized. “My people, including your wife, have no plans to let up in our pursuit of this animal.”

He got a reaction from the attorney when his wife was mentioned.

“So I have to get used to Ashley working all hours of the day and night?” Robert asked brusquely.

The waitress brought his beer and left.

Cramer was well familiar with the strain on a marriage when one partner was a cop. It must have been doubly difficult when the other was a lawyer who defended assholes like the one they were trying to catch.

“Well, we’ve got a rotating system set up, so no one has to work twenty-four hours straight,” he said. “But I won’t lie to you. As long as the city’s being terrorized by this killer, everyone on the force will be working their asses off.”

Robert tasted his drink. “Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of.”

“It’s what cops do. We know that when we get into the field.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Robert muttered resignedly. “I never wanted Ashley to be a cop. But it was her choice, her dream... So I guess I’ll just have to live with it and hope she doesn’t die from it someday.”

“Your wife’s a strong, determined woman,” Cramer told him. “I wouldn’t be too worried about her.”

Robert peered at him. “Hey, as long as there’s someone out there murdering women in this city, I’ll be worried.”

“Point taken.”

Cramer tasted his beer and thought about his wife, who was just as vulnerable as any other woman in The Woods. He wished he could be there to protect his wife and daughter at all costs, but it wasn’t possible.

They would need plenty of good old-fashioned detective work to get the bastard at the end of the day. But sometimes that day seemed too far away for his comfort.

Cramer ordered another round for himself and the attorney.