Dirty bite, p.10
Dirty Bite, page 10
“Doc says around three in the morning, and that coincides with the answers Jake got from knocking on doors.” Kate stood, gathering the wet towels. “Did you really get a spray tan for this girl?”
Bryce stood too, picking up their coffee cups. “I lost a bet, okay?”
Kate took her cup from Bryce. “Why didn’t you just say that?”
“The bet was that I couldn’t go again after just fifteen minutes.” He couldn’t even look at her as he said it.
“Like get it up?” Kate asked, trying not to laugh.
“Yes. And the worst part, other than not being able to get it up, is that she never even saw that I followed through on losing the bet. I was supposed to meet her mom this weekend. She’d have seen me then.”
Kate didn’t feel remotely bad for Bryce. Stupid bet. “Oh, well, it’ll fade. It doesn’t look bad on you, but you don’t have time to keep that up, and keep it looking natural. And I’ll tell her mom you said hi. I’m stopping by later this morning to give her the news.”
“I’d hate that part of your job.”
“You’d hate almost every part of my job.” Kate walked beside Bryce, back to the morgue. “I’m not going in. And I know he just wanted you out of there while he did the vaginal exam. So, let me know what he found, and if you can think of anything that might help us find her killer.”
“You might find my DNA on her. We had sex on Thursday. I’d hope she showered between then and Saturday, but you never know.”
“Thanks. You know you’ll be a suspect, right?” Kate said.
“I know. And I’m okay with it. I didn’t kill her. I’m sure McC will be able to provide, with great detail, how I reacted when I saw her.”
“I don’t think you have it in you. At least not anymore. When you were a junkie, I wouldn’t have overlooked you. Let me know what you find.”
“I’ll keep you posted. But if I was the cop, I’d look at the drug dealer first. I mean, Rudy is a slimeball, but apparently could keep a hard on for over an hour. She loved that about him. She didn’t love him, though.”
“She just told you all this? Out of nowhere, you two just discussed her sex life?”
“It wasn’t out of nowhere. Her being promiscuous sort of turned me on, to be honest. We’d lie on the bed and talk after sex, then do it again. Though after hearing about Rudy, I felt a bit inadequate.”
“Oh, honey, believe me, it’s not about the time, it’s about what he did with the time. I’ve had guys who could go for thirty minutes or more, but I got nothing out of it. And I’ve had guys who came almost right away, but they made sure I was satisfied first. And the next time around, they lasted longer, and holy orgasm.”
“This really isn’t a conversation I should be having with my sister.” Bryce stood outside the door to the morgue.
“Foster sister, and since when are you such a prude?” Kate stood on her toes and kissed her brother on the cheek. “We’re a fine pair, aren’t we?”
Kate went back to her car and drove by the station to see if Zane’s car was there. It wasn’t. So she drove to his house.
Chapter Thirteen
Lying in bed, Zane knew he’d made a huge mistake. This couldn’t happen again. Before sitting up, he reached over and gently pushed Kate’s shoulder.
Kate groaned, but didn’t budge.
“I’m going to take a shower. We need to go talk to Allie Miller’s parents in an hour, so I suggest you get up.” Zane, still naked from the early morning with Kate, walked to the bathroom, rubbing the stubble on his bald head.
Turning on the water, he stuck his hand under the stream, knowing it would have to be a quick shower for Kate to have any hot water. Normally, he brushed his teeth and shaved in the shower, but he stepped into the steaming water and only washed his head and body.
By the time he finished brushing his teeth, and had just put shaving cream on his head, Kate walked into the room. He hadn’t remembered her being so fit when they were married, but she looked like she could bench press him. His gaze shifted to the scar on her abdomen, then he quickly looked away, knowing she’d be self-conscious about it.
“Can I pee?” She moved past him and sat on the toilet before he responded.
He walked out of the bathroom muttering, “This is why I like living alone.”
She hollered from the bathroom, “You didn’t seem to like it so much when I left you.”
“Well, I’ve learned a few things since you left me.” He used the mirror on the closet to look into while he shaved. He didn’t even need a mirror, but it seemed imperative when he wasn’t shaving in the shower.
“Yes, you have,” Kate said. “And I liked them.”
“Not funny, Kate. And this can’t happen again. Especially while we are investigating a murder together.”
“You can always put me with Peebles. He said I’d be lead on this anyway.” He heard Kate flush the toilet and turn on the water to wash her hands.
“I’ll grab you a towel, but let me wash off my head before you jump in the shower. I don’t want to scald you.”
Kate walked out of the bathroom and up behind Zane. “Wanna go again?”
He did. Oh, boy, he did. But he knew better. And they had to get on the road. “No. Get in the shower.”
He felt Kate flinch, but he wasn’t going to give in.
Kate grabbed her own towel. “What if we started over? You know, like just dating again?”
Zane’s heart skipped. He didn’t have an answer. He wanted to be married again, to her. But he didn’t want to go through a divorce again. Even though their divorce had been amicable, it crushed his soul. It crushed him to see her every day at work. To see how well she’d handled the breakup and moved on. He’d never told anyone, not even Kate, how badly he’d hurt. Though he knew it showed.
For a time, he didn’t even bother to shave, his face, or his head, and he’d stopped caring about anything except the dog Kate had given him.
As if on cue, Wally, his red merle Australian Shepherd pushed open the bedroom door with his nose and walked into the room.
“Good morning, buddy.”
Wally turned his butt to Zane and gave him what Zane called his “red carpet, over the shoulder” look. Zane scrubbed him at the base of his tail which was exactly what Wally wanted. Then Wally walked back out of the bedroom, and a few seconds later, Zane heard the doggy door open and close. God, he loved that dog. And if this went nowhere, which was exactly where he planned for it to go, he’d still have his boy for at least six or seven more years, minimum.
Kate finished her shower in record time, as far as he remembered it. And when she reappeared in the bedroom, she was still drying herself off. She hadn’t taken the time to shampoo her hair, he noticed. That accounted for the quickness. Shampooing and conditioning that mop took time and effort. He rubbed his head. He’d take bald any day.
“You didn’t answer my question,” she said as she unzipped her duffle bag.
Zane took the opportunity to get back in the bathroom and wipe the shaving cream off his head. “I don’t think we need to talk about this now. This morning was a nice surprise, but I wouldn’t put any stock in it. We’ve had one-night stands before. They never lead anywhere.”
He saw Kate stop her movements for a moment, then continue.
They finished getting dressed in silence. Wally must have sensed the tension because he didn’t come back into the room. But when they walked out together, he’d spread his toys all over the living room.
Kate threw her head back and laughed. “He still plays this game?”
Zane nodded. “But we don’t have time. I’ll make coffee, grab a couple of breakfast bars and we can head out.”
Zane walked into the kitchen. He heard Kate say, “Wally, put the chicken away.”
He didn’t have to see it to know Wally walked around to all his toys until he found the chicken, then he picked it up, “killed” it, and put it back in his toybox. He listened to them play as he filled two travel mugs with coffee and grabbed a couple packages of breakfast bars from the cookie jar on the counter.
“You drive,” he said as he walked to and out of the front door.
Kate let Yeira out of her crate in the back of the car and filled her water and food bowls. After Yeira jumped back in the car, Kate opened her door and got in the driver’s seat. Before starting the car, she said, “I’m not kidding, you know. I really want to try dating.”
“Not me, you don’t. You just needed someone to fuck, and I was handy. I’m always handy for a good romp. That’s all this was. Now drop it.” He handed her a travel mug.
Kate started the car, then popped the lid on her coffee and drank. “Thanks. And this isn’t the end of this, you’ll see.”
Yeah, well, if she wanted this to work out, she had a lot of work to do. He wasn’t going to be the one busting his ass to keep them together this time. He’d already done that once, and it hadn’t been worth the effort. On the plus side, they did love each other. “You know I still love you, and I always will, but that doesn’t mean we can fix this broken mess you made.”
Kate put the car in reverse and slammed on the brakes. “I made?”
“Like I said, drop it. We’re not going to fight right before going to tell a mom her daughter is dead.” Zane shoved almost the whole breakfast bar in his mouth to keep himself from saying anything more.
The sun had risen, and it was almost eight o’clock by the time they arrived at the home of Tanya Miller.
“I hate this job,” Kate said.
“Me too.”
They got out of the car and took deep breaths in unison. The door opened before they even got to the front walk.
“Good morning, Mrs. Miller?” Zane said.
She stopped dead in her tracks. “Why didn’t the nursing home just call me?”
“Excuse me?” Kate said.
“My dad. I knew this running away thing was too much. And of course, he did it the one day I was out of town.” She looked more mad than upset.
“Mrs. Miller, we aren’t here because of the nursing…” Zane started to say.
“Clive Hunter?” Kate interrupted.
Mrs. Miller looked confused. “Yes, that’s my dad. Why else would you be here?”
“Tanya Miller, I’m Corporal Kate Darby, with the Peculiar Police.” Instead of shaking hands, she held out her business card.
“What’s going on?” Tanya wrapped her arms around her front, even though it wasn’t cold.
“Would you rather talk inside?” Zane asked.
“No, now what the hell are you doing on my front porch on a Sunday morning?” Tanya snapped.
“Last night a body was found behind the Longhorn Motel on Shell Drive. Mrs. Miller, I’m sorry, but the body is your daughter, Allie Miller.”
Tanya laughed. “No, that’s not possible. Allie’s coming over for lunch today. I’m meeting her new boyfriend.”
Zane flinched. All the plans they’d never get to fulfill.
“Ma’am, this is a crazy coincidence, but Allie’s new boyfriend is my brother. And my brother is a forensic nurse at the hospital. I saw him working on Allie’s body this morning.”
“Liar, your name is Darby, his name is Trident, Bryce Trident. Why are you doing this to me?” She looked around. “Is David punking me?”
Zane stared at Kate. “Did you forget to tell me something this morning?”
Kate glared back. “Bryce is my foster brother. And I’m so sorry for your loss, but we think your daughter was killed sometime Saturday morning around three or four. There is also evidence of a drug overdose.”
If not for Kate’s consoling tone, Zane would have interrupted. She seemed set on giving the details without sugarcoating a word of it.
“Ma’am, are you sure you don’t want to go inside?” Zane asked.
Tanya turned around and walked into the house, leaving the door open. Zane looked at Kate, who walked in first.
Zane didn’t know what he expected, but the house looked barely lived in, and yet he felt like he’d seen it before. If he had to liken it to anything, he’d say it was like a model home. Looking around, he didn’t see any personal photos, and not a single appliance on the kitchen countertops. Maybe it had been a model home before the Miller family moved in. Even the vacuum marks on the beige carpet showed evenly spaced tracks. He chose to stand.
Tanya flopped down in an armchair, which was covered in a spring floral slipcover, and Kate sat down across from her on the matching loveseat.
No tears yet. Zane didn’t think she’d really processed what had happened. “I really thought this was going to be about my dad. That I could accept. Maybe even welcome.” She looked up. “I’m not being mean, he’s just old and fragile, and cantankerous. After his walkabout on Saturday, I thought maybe it had all been too much. He kept going on and on about being attacked by a bitch and her dog.”
Kate coughed, and Zane knew she was trying not to laugh. “I’d be that bitch, and my dog is in the car. My K9 partner and I were called out to find him.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to call you a bitch. And he probably didn’t, either. Even though he’s always been a misogynist. But now this.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure how to handle this. I want to scream and throw things, but that’s not going to do any good, is it?”
“Everyone handles grief differently, Mrs. Miller. But right now, we just have a few questions. Because we really don’t know what happened to your daughter,” Zane said.
Tanya jumped up. “Dear God, please tell me she wasn’t raped!”
Kate had been at the morgue, so Zane stood quietly and waited for her to answer.
“We are still waiting for the results from the autopsy, Mrs. Miller, but we’ll let you know all of the test results as soon as we have them. Just be aware, your daughter was seeing several men, and there may be semen, but not a rape. We just finished processing a scene secondary to where your daughter was found, and we are hoping for more information soon.”
Tanya nodded. “I pray she wasn’t raped. I can’t even imagine. You know, I always worried about her leaving that bar so late at night. But she said they always walked to the back parking lot in pairs. Did she lie to me?”
“She was seen at the Whip N Spur earlier in the night, but I don’t know if she was working,” Zane said.
“Do you know anything about the other men, other than Bryce?” Kate asked.
“I’m the mom, which means I’m the last to know about anything,” Tanya sighed.
“Where is Mr. Miller?” Zane hated asking this question, because it nearly always opened a can of worms.
“Oh, he’s dead. Died in an accident two years ago. Horrible accident.” She didn’t seem too upset.
“I’m sorry,” Kate said.
“Don’t be. He was a bad man. He’s the reason my son is a junkie.” Her face hardened. “Also the reason my dad is in a nursing home.”
“Was your husband Robbie Miller?” Zane asked.
Tanya nodded. “That’s him. I’m sure you know exactly who he was.”
Zane knew him well. Robbie Miller, aka Doctor Robert Miller, had lost his medical license a few years back. The man was addicted to his own medicine. He’d been arrested for prescribing opioids under his patients’ names, then offering the patients cash to pick up the drugs at the pharmacy. Not only did the patients get the cash, he doled out a few pills, too. Once he lost his license, he lost everything. “The accident wasn’t really an accident; it was a heroin overdose.”
“Accident, overdose, same thing. I just thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ for getting me out of that marriage before he lost everything. He’d come to me, begging me to sell the duplex I own with my dad, and wanted me to second mortgage this house.” She looked Zane in the eyes. “And you know the worst part? I almost did it.” Shaking her head, she added, “I’d be on the streets right now if my daughter and my dad hadn’t talked me out of it. That’s when he pushed my dad down the stairs, causing him to break his hip.”
Kate gasped.
Tanya turned to Kate. “Right?” She pointed behind her. “Those steps. He was furious, and my dad, who’d been fragile both physically and mentally at the time, had been staying with me. He asked Robbie to leave the house or he’d call the police. Robbie shoved him down the stairs, looked at me and said, ‘This is all your fault,’ then stepped over my dad as he walked out of the house.”
“Did you call the cops?” Kate asked.
Zane remembered the call. “She did. Mr. Hunter was transported to the hospital, unconscious, and we had a BOLO for Mr. Miller.”
“They found him the next morning,” Tanya finished. “In an alley behind Madison’s.”
Zane saw Kate quit breathing. He touched her shoulder. “Not the same place. He was found on the other side, probably the area where Geo came and went that night.”
The coincidences in the case were surreal. They had been looking for Robbie, and he was found dead of an overdose the next day. Then Allie’s life ended the same way. Not only that, but the case Yeira had been called in on. What were the chances Mr. Hunter was Allie’s grandfather? And worst of all, Bryce was dating their victim? Holy shit, what a mess this was. Then again, Peculiar was a small town.
Tanya stood. “Sweet tea?”
Zane and Kate declined.
She sat back down. “Geo? Who’s that?”
“It’s a different case, ma’am,” Kate said. “Almost two years ago, I was shot and left for dead in the alley behind Madison’s.”
Tanya’s eyes went wide. “You’re that cop? Now I’m really sorry my dad called you a bitch. You’re one tough lady.”
“Thank you,” Kate said. “But we are here to talk about Allie.”
“If anyone, I’d have expected David to be dead, not my sweet Allie.” She smiled weakly. “My Allie was going to be a nurse. Even though her daddy was worthless, he at least instilled the love of medicine. But we don’t have much money, and well, she works…worked…bartending to pay the rent and save for school. Nursing school isn’t easy to get into.”
