Thrill Kill

by Don Bruns

  ‘He works in Mexico,’ she was quoted as saying. ‘I see him infrequently and am seldom in contact with him. These accusations come as a total shock.’

  His leg was healing, but he was on four weeks’ leave. He needed an activity. One day off was more than he could normally stand. Distractions like the occasional phone call were welcome.

  ‘Q, they haven’t found Mercer. I know the US Marshall’s task force is following up a lot of leads, but no luck so far. What’s your thought? Is he still down there?’

  ‘I told you, they say it’s easy to get lost down here.’

  ‘Be safe, my friend.’

  ‘I have no choice. I’m off duty.’

  ‘I heard. Are you healing?’

  ‘Four weeks. I hope so.’

  ‘You got headlines up here. Big hero. Some of the guys think you went down there just to get press.’

  ‘Tell them they can go—’

  ‘Quentin. We find that asshole, we will close the case. We know he ran her down. And you have some tremendous support here, my friend. Believe that.’

  Solange stopped by the next afternoon, Fat Tuesday.

  ‘It’s the big day, Quentin.’

  He smiled, still lying on his bed with his thigh bandaged.

  ‘Tonight, they parade Bourbon Street, then clean up the slop and supposedly close down the bars.’

  ‘If I remember last year, that never happens.’

  ‘No. Nobody closes the bars in New Orleans. It’s one of our many endearing qualities.’

  ‘Any good news?’

  ‘Kathy is healing nicely. She’s back at work and done with Paul. Although,’ she added, ‘the son of a bitch has taken the story about her misfortune and yours and sold the story to The New Yorker. He finds a way to turn tragedy into a profit.’

  Archer brushed his hair back, swinging out of his bed. Grabbing a cane by his side, he struggled and stood up.

  ‘If you need something I can—’

  ‘No. I need to walk. Get some exercise.’

  ‘It’s still a little chilly outside.’

  ‘Tell me about Alexia.’

  Solange hesitated.

  ‘She had some stitches. I think she’s taking a short break from her job.’

  ‘She’ll be all right?’

  ‘Yes. Can I ask you a question? Personal?’

  ‘You can ask. Do I have to answer?’

  ‘No. Of course not.’

  ‘What’s the question?’

  ‘The girl, Alexia, I have this … feeling, and you don’t like it when I do that but I just had this sense that …’

  ‘I like her. She’s full of spunk, she’s cute, she calls it as she sees it.’

  ‘OK, that’s what I was going for.’

  ‘Solange, I don’t think I’m ready to seriously be attracted to someone right now. But, can I say this without being too forward? If I was, it wouldn’t be her.’

  ‘And how is that forward?’

  ‘You’re a smart girl, you’ll figure it out.’

  She stood up and offered her hand.

  ‘The senator, she’s clean on this trafficking thing?’

  ‘Detective Archer, you are helping put her husband behind bars. What do you think?’

  He hesitated. ‘I never want to believe anyone could be responsible for torturing other people. So in my heart, I don’t believe she had any involvement. That said, in my training as a law enforcement officer, I sincerely believe she and her husband were knee deep in this. We just haven’t been able to prove anything. I believe that her husband, Adrien, is not going to rat her out. It’s better to have a wife in the senate in Washington than in some federal prison.’

  ‘The press is giving her a clean slate.’

  ‘We don’t always get all the bad guys, but in this case, we got quite a few.’