All in the Family
A Novel
By
Roseanne Dowell
ISBN: 978-1-77145-135-2
PUBLISHED BY:
Books We Love Ltd.
Chestermere, Alberta
Canada
http://bookswelove.net
Copyright 2013 by Roseanne Dowell
Cover Art Copyright 2013 by Michelle Lee
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
* * *
Special thanks to my niece, Stacy Henry for providing me with an idea for a scene involving her dog and allowing me to use her family’s names.
Thanks also to Gail Branan for brainstorming with me.
Chapter 1
“Hi, Mom, I’m waiting for the movers now.” Callie took a final look around. “Ah, they’re here now. I’ll call you when I get close.” This was it. Moving day! Callie opened the door for the movers.
“Ms Johnson? I’m Fred Malloy, this here’s Dave Benson. Are you all set?”
“Yes, come in.”
Fred looked around, made a few comments to his partner, and started loading the truck. Wasn’t long and she stood alone in an empty apartment. Who would’ve thought? Her, Callie Johnson, Symtheville’s next Chief of Police. When Mayor Hendricks called and said Chief Jim Landry was retiring was she interested, Callie darn near fell off her chair. Was she interested? Who wouldn’t be? Just the fact of coming back to her home town made it worthwhile. She’d been waiting several years for an opportunity.
Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if her grandmother had something to do with it, being a judge and all. Not that it mattered. Callie wasn’t about to refuse. Nope, this was a chance of a lifetime. You’d have to be a fool to refuse.
After locking the doors and dropping the keys at the rental office, she hurried to her car, anxious to get on the road. This was it. She was on her way.
***
Mama always used to say, “This too shall pass.”
But not this time, Mama – this time Jessica Roberts was in a heck of a mess. She paced the small jail cell, waiting for the chief. How could anyone even think she killed Jake Warren? She was a Judge for cripe sake. Not like she could kill anyone anyway. “Hey, don’t I get a phone call?”
Nothing, no answer as usual. Damn rookie cop was gonna pay for this. How dare he ignore her? A night in the cell made her itchy, like a million bugs crawled all over her. She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled out a handful of gray hair. The rate her hair fell out, she’d be bald by time she was sixty-six. When this was all over she’d have to see what the problem was. But that was the least of her worries. All she wanted now was a hot shower and a warm bed. And where the hell was Jim Landry anyway?
What kind of police chief goes fishing in the middle of the week? Jessica rubbed her wrists where Officer Sanders handcuffed her. Handcuffed, how humiliating. Worse part, he seemed to take pleasure in making sure they were real snug too. Real smart ass, that one. Didn’t he know who she was?
Oh he knew all right, that’s why he took such pleasure. Pay back because she reproached him in her court room when he testified in that hit and run case. Too smart for his own good. Cocky attitude and all.
Jessica fingered the button in her pocket. It was a clue, and she shouldn’t have picked it up from the crime scene, but it was in her hand when Sanders came along. She barely had enough time to drop it in her pocket when he grabbed her arms and slapped the cuffs on her.
Darn, she wished she knew what Jake had wanted. So secretive calling the way he had and asking her to meet him in that alley. Good lord, no better than thugs. What was it he said, something about police corruption and he couldn’t talk to Landry about it. What in the hell did that mean? Landry was the most honest cop she knew - Wouldn’t cheat a store clerk out of a penny.
“Jess, what the hell’s going on?” Landry’s voice boomed through the jail.
“About time you got here. How should I know what’s going on? Someone killed Jake Warren, and that punk out there seems to think it was me.”
“Hmm.” Chief Landry rubbed his unshaven chin. “Well everyone in town knows you and Jake didn’t see eye to eye.”
“Jim Landry, you can’t believe for one minute that I had anything to do with his murder.” Jessica glared at the Chief. “No, we didn’t see eye to eye, but you can’t possibly believe I killed him. Good Lord, Jim you know me better than that.” Of all the nerve, even as a joke that wasn’t funny. “Come on open the door - get me out of here.”
“Well now, I’d like to do that, Jess, but see, you’ve been booked, and we got to follow procedure. You know the proper channels.” He unlocked the door and motioned to her. “Come on, we’ll talk in my office.”
Procedure, my eye. Proper channels. She knew damned good and well Jim could let her go if he wanted to. She didn’t like this. Not one little bit. She followed him into his office, relieved to at least be out of the cell, for the moment anyhow. He handed her a cup of hot coffee. She sipped it, relishing the aroma while it warmed her. Never knew coffee to taste so good.
“Okay, Jess, what the hell’s going on here? What were you doing in that alley? Sanders said he found you bent over Jake’s body.”
“I wish I knew. Jake called me all secretive. Said he had something to show me, and it had to do with police corruption. I suggested he call you, but he said he needed a little more proof before he talked to you.” She didn’t have the heart to tell Jim that Jake didn’t trust him. She didn’t understand the whole thing herself. What made Jake single her out anyway?
While she and Jake didn’t exactly hate each other, there was certainly no love lost between them. She didn’t approve of some of Jake’s methods in the court room for starters, and she certainly didn’t agree with his lifestyle outside the court room.
Jake’s flamboyant ways irritated her. Always in the society pages of the newspaper, always with a different beautiful girl on his arm. Society’s most eligible bachelor. Ha! Guys like Jake never made a commitment to anyone. To think she almost fixed her granddaughter up with him. Good thing Callie had enough brains to see through him.
“Okay let’s start from the beginning. Just exactly what did Jake say in this phone call?” Jim’s question broke her thoughts.
“Not much, he just asked if I’d meet him at eight o’clock in the alley. When I asked why, he said he wanted to show me something, and he didn’t want anyone to see us together.” Jessica scratched her head and pulled out another handful of hair. Damn, she hated this.
“I wasn’t too happy at the idea of meeting him in the alley, I can tell you that. But I was curious, so I went. When I got there Jake was laying at the bottom of the steps. I only just bent over to see if he was alive when that punk officer came on the scene. He pulled his gun and slapped some handcuffs on me before I had a chance to say anything.” Jess fingered the button. Should she tell Jim? He’d be furious with her. “Damn idiot never did listen. You really ought to train your officers better.” Still, she held the button in her pocket. Maybe it didn’t mean anything. “You can’t really mean to charge me for this?”
Jim laughed. “No, Jess, I’m not going to charge you for this. I’m not stupid enough to think you had anything to do with it. Besides I saw Jake’s body. He has a black eye and bruised, skinned knuckles. He fought with his killer. Even now you hardly have a hair out of place.”
“I see.”
“Besides, little thing like you’d be no match for him. I’d sure like to know what he wanted to show you though. We didn’t find anything with his body, so either he didn’t have it with him, or the killer took it.” He rubbed his chin.
“Well I can’t help you there, sorry.” Jess set her cup on the counter next to the coffee pot. “Can I go now? I really need a shower.”
“Yeah, you can go, but if you remember anything you let me know, ya hear?”
Jessica put her hand in her pocket, pulled out the button, looked at it, and handed it to Jim. “I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I found this lying next to Jake’s hand. I picked it up just before that yo-yo out there slapped the cuffs on me.”
Jim took the button from her. “Damn it, Jess. You know better than that. That’s evidence, and now you contaminated it.” He turned the button over in his hand. “Go on, get outta here now.”
Something about it looked familiar to Jess, what was it? It wasn’t Jake’s button. Had he pulled it off his killer in the struggle? “Yeah, yeah I hear.” Jessica couldn’t get out of the police station fast enough. The very idea of being arrested and spending even one hour, let alone one night in jail infuriated her.
What had that young punk been thinking anyway? All she wanted to do right now was get home and get into the shower and scrub herself clean. Her hair itched so bad she thought she’d scream – probably nothing more than her imagination about the feeling of bugs. Jim ran a clean, sanitary police station, but still. The thought of all the derelicts and drunks that spent their nights in jail made her skin crawl – not to mention all the hardened criminals she’d sentenced to long terms in prison. She shuddered at the idea of doing time. She hurried to her car, got in, and pulled away – grateful she hadn’t run into anyone. What she didn’t need right now was the town gossip. Not that it mattered-news of her arrest was probably all over town anyway. Couldn’t keep anything quiet in this town.
***
One of the things Callie hated most about living in Manchester was the six hour drive to Symtheville. Made for visits home rare. A twenty-four hour round trip didn’t offer much visiting time when you only had a weekend off every three or four weeks. She was lucky to get home once a year during vacations. Even that left little time to visit. Took most of the day to get there, and another for the return trip left only a few days to visit. Hardly seemed worthwhile.
Not to mention, she hated the hustle and bustle of big city life. She had to admit it sounded good to start with. All the activity, restaurants and night life. Oh yeah, it sounded adventurous in the beginning. Didn’t take long to realize after a twelve hour shift, you didn’t feel like going out to dinner, let alone out on the town. She was looking forward to the quiet, relaxing life she’d left behind.
No more crazy days. No more traffic jams, rush hour or violent crimes. Most of the crimes in Symtheville consisted of someone losing a checkbook, a bird flying around the lodge, an occasional drunk driver, or someone shooting at deer with a pellet gun. That’s the kind of shootings she wanted to investigate. There’s nothing worse than looking at a dead body riddled with bullet holes, especially a child’s.
She’d had enough of the big city life and looked forward to going home. Home where everyone knew each other. Sure, small towns had their disadvantages. Everyone knew everyone’s business, too. Rumors spread like wildfire. You couldn’t turn around without someone knowing about it. But that was also part of the benefit and charm. If someone needed help, there was a huge support group. Like one big family, and Callie couldn’t wait to get back and start her new job.
Oh, she wasn’t fool enough to think there wouldn’t be times she’d probably regret coming back, but the good outweighed the bad. Her family was there for one thing, and she’d missed them terribly. Missed all the holidays, picnics and family get-togethers most of all. Her family used any excuse for a party; it didn’t have to be an occasion, especially in the summer. She missed all those cookouts and family dinners. Yep, it was good to be going home.
***
After her shower, Jessica made an omelet and sat down to reflect, yet again, on Jake’s phone call and played back the conversation in her mind.
“Judge Roberts, it’s Jake Warner. I have a dilemma and I’d like your help. Can you meet me tonight at eight o’clock in the alley behind Orson’s Deli? It’s private there, and I don’t want anyone to see us? I have something I want you to see.”
When she asked him what it was all about and why so secretive, he told her it involved police corruption, and he didn’t know how high up the ladder it went.
She probably should have told Jim Landry about the whole phone call, but something stopped her. Surely, Jim wasn’t involved in anything illegal. Jim was like a choir boy. Whatever it was didn’t involve the top brass, of that she was sure.
She needed to get into Jake’s office, to check things out. Heck, she was a judge, she could write her own search warrant, although she’d never heard of anything like that before. Of course judges didn’t usually investigate crimes.
Only one thing to do. She picked up the phone and called Jake’s secretary. Lily had grown up with Jessica’s granddaughter, they were like sisters. Lily would let her in the office.
“Lily,” Jess said when the other woman answered. “Sweetie, I need a big favor.”
“Sure, Jess, anything.” Jess could tell Lily had been crying. Everyone knew Lily was in love with Jake. Everyone but Jake, that is. Although maybe he knew, too. Not that it could ever develop into anything. Lily wasn’t Jake’s type, not pretty enough or rich enough for Jake’s tastes. Jessica never could convince Lily that Jake was a ladies’ man. According to Lily, Jake just needed the right woman. Ha, to Jake all women were the right women and the more the merrier. And they got younger every year.
“I need to get into Jake’s office, but I don’t want the police or anyone to know it. Can you meet me tomorrow and let me in?”
“I…I guess, but why all the secrecy?”
“I’ll explain tomorrow, okay.” She hung up without waiting for Lily to say goodbye.
***
Jessica slipped into the back door of Jake’s building. Poor Lily looked a mess. Eyes, red from crying, hair mussed as if she’d forgotten to comb it. No doubt she had, knowing Lily. Jessica had never seen her so upset. The poor girl’s nose was so red she could play Rudolph in the annual Christmas play. Jessica hugged her, which only seemed to make the poor thing cry more.
Finally, she pulled away. Enough was enough. She’d never get anything done at this rate.
Lily unlocked the door to Jake’s office. “What exactly are you looking for?” She wiped her eyes with a tissue.
Jessica looked around the office. Neat as a pin. Not a thing out of place. Nothing on the desk top, not even a pen. “Who cleans Jake’s office?”
“He does. He won’t let anyone near it unless he’s in there. He even does his own dusting and vacuuming”
Jessica nodded. Didn’t surprise her. Jake’s appearance was the same way. Meticulous. She doubted if she’d find anything here, but she had to look. She tried to pull the desk drawer open, but it was locked. “Keys?”
“Only Jake had them. Like I said no one came into this office unless Jake was here.”
Jessica took a nail file out of her purse and slid it along the top edge of the drawer. It opened with ease. She pulled open the drawer and shook her head. Nothing, only a few pens, pencils, a brochure from a drug rehab and a holy card. Strange thing to find in Jake’s desk. He wasn’t the religious type. Nothing of value there. Jessica closed the drawer and stood. Whatever Jake wanted to show her, she wouldn’t find it here. Nope, whatever it was, either Jake had it with him, and the killer took it, or it was nearby, and he meant to show it to her. “Of course!” She snapped her fingers. “I’ve got it.”
“Got what?” Lily, still teary eyed, sniffed and blew her nose.
“I think I know who killed Jake. Thanks.” Jessica hugged Lily and hurried out of th
e office.
She screeched her car to a stop in front of the police station, threw it in gear, and slammed the door almost before it quit running. She raced into the station. “Where’s Jim?”
Officer Sanders stood up and glared at her. “He’s not here. What can I do for you?”
Sarcastic little bastard. Who did he think he was? “I can see that. I asked where he was.” She looked Sanders up and down while she spoke. Dumb punk thought he was something special just because he wore a badge.
“Well now, can’t say for sure where he is.” Officer Sanders leaned against the desk, crossed his leg and grinned at her.
Nothing she’d like more than to knock that silly smirk off his face.
Chapter 2
Callie was early, but that suited her just fine. Anxious to get started, she opened the door and ran smack into her grandmother, Judge Jessica Roberts. “Gram, what are you doing here?”
“Callie, I thought you weren’t supposed to be here until tomorrow.”
“I wasn’t, but I couldn’t wait. Where’s Chief Landry?”
“That’s what I want to know.” Gram looked at the officer leaning against his desk.
Before he had a chance to answer, Chief Landry walked in. “Well now, what a surprise. Callie, I didn’t expect you until tomorrow. You ready to go to work?”
“Ready and able.”
“Good. Jess, what brings you here?”
“I know who did it. I know who killed Jake.” Her grandmother never took her eyes off Officer Sanders while she spoke. “And I know why. I know what Jake wanted to show me in that alley.” Sanders squirmed while she talked.
“Look at his hands, Jim.” Jessica nodded towards Sanders. “All swollen and scraped. Were you in a fight recently, Sanders?”
All In The Family Page 1
