done this conversation, Jack. It never would have worked between the two of us. But you’re still my best friend.” She walked over and slipped her arm around his waist. He put an arm around her shoulder. He squeezed gently, mindful of the bum scars on her back and shoulders that still pained her. “I know,” he said.
She gave him a final squeeze and stepped away. For a moment it left an empty feeling at his side. “I’ll finish the paperwork on Olivera,” she said.
“You still want to split the fee with Oscar?”
“Yeah.”
“What split?”
Keller considered. “Fifty-fifty. I found the guy, he did the takedown. Plus, he needs the money.”
She smiled. “You’re a pretty good guy yourself, Keller.” She picked up a file off the counter and handed it to him. “I’ve got another one for you, anyway.”
He flipped the file open. At the top was a picture of a young blonde woman. It was not a flattering picture; mug shots rarely were. The woman’s eyes were puffy and bloodshot under an unruly thatch of short blonde hair. Her prominent jaw was thrust defiantly forward toward the camera. He pulled the picture out and set it aside.
“Laurel Marks,” Angela said. “Missed her court date two days ago.”
Keller found the release order, written on flimsy blue paper. He saw the amount of bail and whistled. “Seventy-five grand? What the hell’d she do?”
“ADW,” Angela said. “She was working as a waitress at the Omelet House on Market Street. Went for one of her co-workers with a carving knife one morning.”
“Not a morning person, I guess. Still, seventy-five K is a lot. She doesn’t have the kind of priors that would lead to that much bond.”
“Not as an adult. But I talked to the magistrate. She’s got a pretty bad juvie record. The magistrates know her by sight, and so did Judge Banning. The magistrate was trying to get a message across.”
“You’re playing in the big leagues now, kid,” Keller said.
“Right. And when she drew Judge Banning for her arraignment…” She grimaced. “I don’t think Banning’s reduced a bond since he went on the bench.”
Keller looked up. “What kind of record?” “Drugs, mostly. But some assaults. Little girl’s got a temper, it seems.”
“Kids don’t usually learn that kind of anger on their own,” Keller said. “Any Social Services involved?”
Angela nodded. “The magistrate said there was. He didn’t know any details.”
“Well, not likely that Social Services is going to give us anything. Any family in the area?”
“Both parents are local.”
“They the ones who put up the cash?”
Angela shook her head. “No. Some guy. Said he was a friend of hers.”
Keller arched an eyebrow. “Huh. Must’ve been some friend to put up ten percent of seventy-five grand.” He flipped the file open again and read the name on the bail bond application. “Roy Randle.”
“Yeah,” Angela said. “Older guy, maybe early forties.”
Keller frowned. “You think maybe he’s pimping her?”
“I doubt it,” Angela said. “Not many pimps would shell out seventy-five hundred to get a girl out of jail.”
“Unless he was trying to keep her quiet.” Keller’s frown deepened. “This one’s got a weird vibe to it.”
Angela nodded. She looked unhappy. “I know. But I’ll be straight with you, Jack. Things are kind of stretched right now. If I have to give up seventy-five thousand dollars …”
“I know,” said Keller. “I’ll find her.”
“But Jack, please be careful,” she said. “You’re right. This one feels weird.”
Keller looked back at the picture. He felt the beginnings of the hunter’s rush he always felt when he got a jumper, the steadily rising drumbeat of adrenaline in his veins that grew and grew as he got closer to the takedown. He almost didn’t hear Angela when she said, “So, you seeing Marie this weekend?”
He tore his eyes away. “We’re trying to get together, yeah. Still trying to iron out the details.”
“How’s she doing, anyway?”
Keller shook his head, then sighed. “I don’t know,” he said. “She says she doesn’t want to talk about what happened.”
“That’s not good, Jack. She killed a man.” She said the last sentence quietly, in a near-whisper, even though they were alone. “She’s got to deal with that.”
He shrugged. “She did what she had to do.”
“And the fact that it had to be done makes it easier, Jack?” Angela said. “You know better than that.”
“I know,” he said. His voice was tight with frustration. “But she won’t talk. And I don’t know what to do.”
Angela put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I’m prying.”
“No,” he said. He sat down. “You’re right. I’m not mad at you. I’m just—” He threw his hands up. She stood behind the chair, rested her chin on top of his head, and hugged him from behind. “Poor Jack,” she said. “Still trying to save everybody.” They stayed like that for a moment before Angela sighed and pulled away. “Stay with it, Jack,” she said softly. “You two—” Her voice caught, then she steadied it. “You two are good for each other.” She looked out the front window toward the street.
“No regrets?” Keller said after a moment.
She laughed sadly. “Oh, plenty of those, Keller,” she said. “But nothing I can’t handle.”
There was a small crowd gathered at the front doorway of the service station as Marie pulled in. Cars were parked randomly around the concrete slab. Marie picked up the radio. “County, thirty-five is 10-23.”
The reply came back immediately. “10-4,” the dispatcher acknowledged. “Thirty-five, be advised, EMS is en route.” The dispatcher pronounced it “in root.”
“10-4, County, I hear them,” she replied. She reached into the glove box and pulled out a box of rubber surgical gloves, tucking a pair into her pocket as she got out.
Marie felt her pulse quicken as she jogged over to the small knot of people. There were three men and a woman, clustered in the doorway. “Move aside, please,” she said. They looked up at her, faces still blank with shock. No one spoke. No one moved, either. Only when she pushed forward did they give ground, reluctantly, as if they were trying to protect her from what they had already seen.
She saw the body
