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Grime Wave (Grime Fighter Mystery Series) (Volume 2)

By Marji Laine

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“I didn’t giggle.” Dani Foster shouldered her purse while her friend fussed with the key in the office door.

“Yes, you did.” Carla retracted the bolt and let Dani inside first. “Sounded just like a teenager heading for prom.”

Stuff and nonsense. She made for the bathroom. “I only said my hair could use a little help after being stuck in the helmet all day.” She pushed open the door. “Don’t you want to primp?”

Carla let out a trill of laughter. Now that was a giggle. “I married my man. Don’t have to impress him anymore.” She laughed again and headed for the entrance next to a marble-topped counter in front of a stone facade. “I’ll get my phone and meet you back here.”

Her phone. The excuse to come by her office, but it was more likely Carla’s attempt to calm Dani’s nerves about this first official date with Jay. She stared at the mirror and fluffed her hair.

It had taken long enough to get to this point. February was a brutal month for suicides. Her dad had taught her that. If Jay’s schedule had been anything like hers, he’d barely had time for a shower.

She applied a little lipstick and brushed on gloss over it. Too much. Made her look like an adolescent in addition to simply sounding like one. A paper towel dispensed with the gloss. She touched up the color and surveyed herself. Not too bad. Her makeup had held. No stray mascara. Her long hair still had some curl to the bangs, waves and body throughout.

Tucking a stray strand behind her ear, she spritzed some perfume, shoved it and her lipstick back inside her purse, then pulled open the door. “I’m ready as I’ll ever be.” A curl of anticipation crawled through her insides. Nerves. Good grief. Now she felt like a kid.

“Carla, did you find your phone?” She paused at the opening and listened for a response. Nothing.

“We don’t want to be too late.” A lousy way to start any date, but especially a first one, especially after over a month of trying to fit it in.

She walked down a makeshift hallway with a wall on her left and a cubicle matrix on her right. “Are you still back here?” She glanced into the first cube. One bare desk and the other cluttered with photos and children’s art along with notepads, empty file folders, and an I Love My Mama coffee mug.
The silence of the empty room flinched when a noisy heater kicked on. The back of Dani’s neck prickled. “Carla?” Her voice took on a soft, squeaky texture. Where was that woman?

The last time Dani had worried about a friend, her roommate Tasha had been kidnapped. But such couldn’t be the case this time. Dani had only been in the bathroom ten minutes, max.

A muffled sound came from behind her, farther into the maze. Hard to say if it was a cry or an answer. Dani moved in that direction and started to call again, but halted. Being a detective’s daughter brought the caution out in her. Why advertise where she was? Especially if there was a reason for the knot tightening around her middle.

She peeked into the next cube on her right but saw no one and took another step. Wait a minute. She poked her head back around the opening.

A tiny rivulet of reddish-brown seeped under the gap of the false wall opposite her. Blood?

“Carla!” With both hands, she pushed against the edge of the wall and propelled herself around the corner to where the liquid had to originate.
Her friend knelt, rather bowed, barely inside the entrance. Dani gasped and dropped to her knees behind her. “Are you hurt?” Her back and head didn’t show signs of blood. “Where are you hurt? How?” Images from her horror half a year ago—half a life ago—flooded her mind. Her stomach recoiled at the vision and her muscles stiffened for a second.

But that had been a hopeless situation last fall. Well before her arrival in Dallas. And it had nothing to do with her friend.

Carla was still breathing. Still upright. Dani braced her friend’s shoulder with one hand and felt for a pulse on her neck.

Then she saw the source of the blood. A man lay on his side, his back against the partition.

“Albert Theisen.” Carla’s voice sounded oddly detached.

Dani glanced at the nameplate on the desk to her left. She leaned toward it. Surely there was something to put pressure on the wound. Scattered file folders covered the surface. The top drawer hung open, revealing nothing except black pens, a roll of TUMS, and a bright orange toothpick. No help at all.

“I couldn’t get the bleeding to stop.” Carla raised her reddened hands. Large blotches stained the cream-colored wool of her suit jacket from cuffs to elbows.

Dani looked back at the man. Deep crimson coated the front of what appeared to be a light yellow shirt. His tie hung over his shoulder, probably flung there when the man fell.

“Come away.” She gave a slight tug on her friend’s shoulders. They didn’t need to be in a position to ruin any evidence.

Carla stood abruptly, causing Dani to teeter and fall onto her behind.

“I should phone the police.” Carla started to reach toward the desk.

Dani held up her hand. “No, don’t touch anything. We can use my cell phone.”

She pushed to her feet and leaned back down over the man’s face. His eyes closed, he might have been sleeping, if not for the morbid decoration on his shirt front. She checked for a pulse at the flaccid neck of the very dead man. Nothing except cooling skin, as she expected.

She shoved her friend along the walkway and back into the reception area. Pulling her phone from her shoulder bag, she helped Carla into an armchair then dialed 9-1-1. While she answered the operator’s questions, she kept a hand on her friend’s shoulder in case she became unsteady.

The knees of her friend’s light blue slacks had streaks in the same rusty color as her jacket. Only her heavily appliqued blouse seemed to have escaped the mess, although with such a vibrant design, no one would be able to tell. Tears rimmed the bottom lids of Carla’s large, dark eyes. Her flawless creamed-coffee skin no longer held her usual model-like quality as it had taken on a pallor across her high cheekbones and an ashy look to the hollows beneath them.

“Let’s get you cleaned up a little.” Dani led Carla to the bathroom and helped her out of her jacket.

Carla washed her hands clean, but the redness in her eyes didn’t quite disappear. “He was one of the associates. Trying to rebuild his life after an ugly divorce.”

Dani handed her a paper towel and opened the door. Returning to the entry, Carla once again sat on the couch, her eyes fixed on a large mosaic vase on a glass end table across from her.

Dani squatted next to her. “Were you friends?”

She nodded. “He was a nice man. Had a couple of boys, his wife’s kids.”

“Does she live in town?” A messy divorce sure offered a prime motive.

“I heard she was heading for Los Angeles, but I don’t think she’s left yet.”

“So his wife was married before?”

Carla blew her nose. “Not sure, but after almost four years, Albert found out that she and the kids’ father were still seeing each other.”

“That’s terrible. Poor guy.”

She straightened and pierced Dani with a wide-eyed look. “Could she have done this? His wife?”

Dani stood. “Yeah, that was my thought. But if she’s with another guy ...”
“She failed to get any money, though. Albert was a good salesman and a smart investor.”

“Loaded?” That made a good motive.

Carla nodded. “And the wife didn’t get a penny. Albert was even meeting with his attorney next week.”

“Cutting her out of his will?”

“And setting up a trust for the two kids. He really cared about those boys.”

“Good man.”

“Though I never saw anything that hinted of reciprocation. No Father’s Day cards or birthday stuff.” She sniffed and crossed one leg over the other. “He didn’t deserve this.”

Seeing a tear fall, Dani rushed to the ladies’ room and collected a small wad of toilet paper. She handed it to Carla and dialed her phone. “I’m calling Tyrone.”

She choked on a sob. “Tell him I’m all right. I don’t want him to worry.”

Dani hesitated. Maybe calling Jay would be a better choice? They would likely be waiting at the theater by now. He would be the more level-headed of the two. She punched his contact link.

He answered before it even had a chance to ring. “Where are you?” Tension played through his low voice.

“Ingersol, Lynman, and Kash, remember? Carla had to stop and get her phone.” A siren wailed on his end. “Where are you?”

“Coming your way.” He said something off the speaker.

“You’re coming here?”

“I got the call. You two are both okay?”

“Yes. One of Carla’s co-workers….”

“Say no more. You’ll need to give an official statement.”

Official… what? “I called you because I need to talk to a friend.”

“I can’t play that role. Not now. I don’t want to even hear what you have to say until after you speak to a detective.”

She huffed. “Are you telling me I should’ve called someone else?” Tyrone would’ve been a better choice after all.

“I told you. I’m on this case. I have to follow protocol. That means you give your report to someone else, first. I can’t discuss it. I don’t want to influence you in any way.”

“Insufferable.” Oops. She hadn’t meant to say that aloud. “Fine.” Hopefully she followed up quickly enough.

“Dani, please understand.”

His compassionate tone gave her an instant stab of guilt. “It’s okay.” She rang off. What a self-absorbed whiner she was. God, please bless Jay as he drives.

She knelt next to Carla. “Tyrone’s on his way. Jay got the call.”

“I bet Ty is a basket case. Both of them.” She sniffed. “Jay really likes you, you know.”

“Mm-hmm. That’s why we’ve spent so much time together.” It was supposed to sound like a joke, but her words came out more doubtful than she’d intended.
“Ty says he comes to all of the scenes y’all work for him.”

“He always did that. To make sure he hadn’t missed anything important.”

“But now he comes and talks to y’all in person. He doesn’t have to do that. And he hasn’t really had the time.” She dabbed at her eyes with the wad of tissue. “He’s taking every opportunity to spend time with you, sugar. Even if it’s only a half hour every few days.”

She had seen him more often since their excitement back in January. She’d even begun to look for him at the job sites. “Well, they’re better off now, knowing we’re fine.”

Carla lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “Fine is relative.” She held out the disintegrated ball of tissue. “Could I get some more?”

“Sure.” Moving felt good, especially with a helpful purpose. She stood and headed for the bathroom.

“Honey, what did you get all over yourself?”

Dani halted as Carla reached to give her hip a swat. Half-turning toward the windows, Dani arched and stared in the tinted reflection of the glass at her backside. Her navy slacks were covered with something whitish. She brushed her rump.

“Where in the world did you find dust?” Carla rubbed her fingers together. “Face powder?”

“I’m glad it isn’t paint.” Dani knocked off another layer.

Carla examined her own derriere in the glass. “Where did it come from?” She pounded the cloth cushion on the couch a few times with the flat of her hand before sitting back down.

Before Dani could answer, whirling red and blue lights tracked across the front of the room. Two cruisers pulled in with Jay’s gray-black Charger close behind.

She darted a look at Carla. “You going to be all right?”

The woman nodded then lifted her pointer finger and gestured for her to turn around.

Dani pivoted once more. “All the dust gone now?”

Her friend nodded. “If only all of this mess could be cleaned up so easily.”

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