Tallow Jones: Wizard Detective
Book One of the Tallow Novels
By Trevor H. Cooley
Copyright 2017 by Trevor H. Cooley
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Resemblances to real people, alive or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover art © Andrew Tell
Books by Trevor H. Cooley
Noose Jumpers:
Book One: Noose Jumpers
Book Two: (Upcoming)
The Bowl of Souls Series:
The Moonrat Saga
Book One: EYE of the MOONRAT
Book 1.5: HILT’S PRIDE
Book Two: MESSENGER of the DARK PROPHET
Book Three: HUNT of the BANDHAM
Book Four: THE WAR of STARDEON
Book Five: MOTHER of the MOONRAT
The Jharro Grove Saga
Book One: TARAH WOODBLADE
Book Two: PROTECTOR of the GROVE
Book Three: THE OGRE APPRENTICE
Book Four: THE TROLL KING
Book Five: THE PRIESTESS of WAR
Book Six: BEHEMOTH (2017)
The Dark Prophet Saga
Book One: Sir Edge (Upcoming)
The Tallow Novels
Tallow Jones: Wizard Detective
Dedication
For Jeannette once again and always: The love of my life. My best friend. My editor. My eternal companion.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: A Toothy Grin
Chapter 2: Mist and Light
Chapter 3: Uncle Tallow
Chapter 4: Asher’s Room
Chapter 5: That Aarin Girl
Chapter 6: A Squeaky Chair
Chapter 7: Mr. Niceman
Chapter 8: The Loading Dock
Chapter 9: Evidence
Chapter 10: Dumpster Diving
Chapter 11: Peanut Butter and Pickles
Chapter 12: 945 Edgewood Drive
Chapter 13: Tangled Cases
Chapter 14: Ross
Chapter 15: The Chief
Chapter 16: Arrangements
Chapter 17: Untangling Cases
Chapter 18: Reginald
Chapter 19: Tallow's Tale
Chapter 20: Apples and Accusations
Chapter 21: Erl
Chapter 22: The Farmhouse
Chapter 23: Asher
Chapter 24: Contaminating a Crime Scene
Chapter 25: A Crown of Magic
Chapter 26: Warehouse G
Chapter 27: Surprises
Chapter 28: Going Forward
Chapter 1: A Toothy Grin
“That’s my son!” said Douglas Jones, nearly dropping his binoculars.
“Huh? What?” Detective Bob Ross mumbled from under the newspaper that he had placed over his face as he napped in the passenger seat. Sleeping while on stakeout was frowned upon, but everyone did it from time to time.
“It’s Asher!” Douglas leaned far over the steering wheel, his chest pressing so hard against it he nearly honked the horn. “Crap! He just walked in the building.”
“He walked into the travel agency?” Detective Ross sat up, fully alert for the first time in the last hour. He was a big burly black man. Not obese, but substantive. He looked like the type of person that would emerge the last man standing from a bar brawl and he could put on that persona when the situation merited.
The two plainclothes officers were parked on the second floor of a parking garage just up the street from the building they were watching. The parking garage was mostly empty and their position gave them a perfect view of the place. It had the added benefit of keeping them in the shadows and out of the oppressive Atlanta sun.
Ross took the binoculars from his partner’s hands and raised them to his eyes. “Isn’t this a school day?”
“What do you think? It’s Thursday.” Douglas’ hands were now gripping the curly brown hair on either side of his head, his face reddening with anger. “Their lunch time was over an hour ago. Sh- . . . Crap! Crap! Crap!”
Detective Ross had a half grin on his face. “You sure it was him? I don’t see anything.”
Douglas’ eight-year-old daughter had called him out about his language a few days prior and Douglas had promised her he would stop swearing. As she had pointed out, if the kids couldn’t do it he shouldn’t be able to do it either.
The guys at the precinct had a bet going on about how long it would be before Douglas broke his promise. So far he had stuck to it, but if anything was going to break his composure, it would be his son skipping school and heading into a dangerous part of the city.
“I’m dam-.” He gritted his teeth. “Darn sure it’s him. I told him not to wear that stupid shirt before I left this morning.”
Asher had a yellow novelty shirt that read, Doctor Who Am I? It pictured Jackie Chan jump-kicking his way out of the open door of the trademark Doctor Who police box, trailing a long striped scarf behind him. Asher had ordered it online and was endlessly amused by the looks of bewilderment on the faces of people that were not fans of both obscure Jackie Chan films and Doctor Who. He insisted on wearing it once or twice a week, much to his father’s irritation.
Ross snorted. “Okay, but what would Asher be doing in this part of town? And at a place like this?”
Douglas tore the binoculars back from his partner and peered back at the building. Every city had its bad parts of town and Atlanta, Georgia had more than most. Gang violence and theft had plagued this particular area for years. It wasn’t so dangerous during the day, but it wasn’t a place you would walk alone at night.
The establishment they were staking out was a low-end travel agency. It was the only open business in two blocks, but what made it suspicious wasn’t just how out of place it was. The building it occupied was overly large for their needs. It had once been an office park and there were room for ten or more businesses, but this travel agency leased the whole place.
“I don’t know why he’s there. Drugs?” Douglas said with a wince.
The police had received tips about heavy van traffic pulling up to the loading docks at the fenced-in rear lot of the property at all times of the day and night. Douglas was certain it was a drug front, but they needed more evidence before they could do anything about it.
“Asher? Naw, he’s a good kid.” said Ross.
Douglas shot a worried glance at his partner. They had both been cops far too long to rely on that. “They’re all good kids. Isn’t that what every parent says?”
Asher was seventeen, a high school senior. This was a prime time for him to be making stupid mistakes and Douglas knew that he wasn’t around enough to catch all the signs. He was already starting to envision a double life for the kid. Weed hidden in the vents in his room. Maybe ecstasy or meth . . .
“Just don’t jump to conclusions,” Ross cautioned. “Find out what’s going on first.”
Douglas let out a slow breath. “Right. Asher is a good kid. Grades are good. No anger issues. It’s probably just a . . .” He gave his partner a helpless look. “Seriously, what else could it be?”
“You know, if you let the kid have a cell phone you could just call him,” Ross reminded him.
“Well, that’s not an option,” he said.
Douglas had refused to let Asher have a cell for many reasons. One was that it seemed crazy to him that teenagers should have their own cell phones. His generation got along fine without them and these new smart phones were basically just pocket video game device
s in his opinion. He also didn’t like the fact that it would double his phone bill.
Detective Ross gave him a sympathetic grimace. “So what are you going to do?”
Douglas pushed his door open. “What can I do? I’ve got to go in.”
“You want me to come with you?” Ross offered.
Douglas shook his head. “No. It’s bad enough that I’m going. If both of us go it could blow our cover. I’ll be fine on my own and since I’m not about to flash my badge no one will think cop. While I’m there all anyone’s going to see is a pissed off dad. Believe me, there will be no acting involved.”
“Alright,” said Ross. “But if you don’t come out soon, I’m calling back-up.”
“Don’t worry, Bob. I’ll be back in a few minutes, even if I have to drag Asher by his ears,” Douglas promised.
He trotted down the stairwell to the bottom floor of the parking garage. By the time he moved onto the street sweat was already dripping down Douglas’ back. It was only mid-May and already ninety degrees. He had lived in Atlanta for ten years and still was not used to the combination of heat and humidity. It would be hovering in the mid 60’s back in Idaho right now. The thought didn’t help his attitude.
There were only three cars in the fenced-in rear lot and a single car parked in the lot outside the building. It struck Douglas once again how odd it was that a place like this could stay in business. The only thing he had been able to think of was that they relied on internet sales.
Above the front door was a bulbous plastic sign that said in faded brown and orange letters, “S&C Travel”. The silhouette of an airplane flew under the outdated logo. He rethought his earlier hypothesis. This was not the logo of a company that used the internet.
Douglas pulled the front door open and was greeted by a rush of air conditioning followed by the scent of cheap industrial cleaner. He stepped into a short hallway bracketed by wood paneling and a worn orange carpet leftover from the early eighties. This place had probably been considered fairly posh when it was built. Now it sat as a sad example of age and bad taste. The hallway opened into a small lobby area with a reception desk in the corner.
There was Asher, standing at the desk talking at a vacant-eyed receptionist. Douglas’ anger rose just looking at him.
Asher and his father couldn’t look more different. Where Douglas was of medium height and had a thick muscular build, Asher was tall and lanky. While Douglas had a wide face and curly dark brown hair, Asher had a long narrow face with the dirty blond mop of straight hair that came from his mother’s side of the family. The only things Asher had received from his father’s side were his wide nose and hawkish eyes.
Asher wore the familiar yellow shirt with its obscure geek culture reference, faded blue jeans, and one of those old men’s hats that had come in vogue again lately. Asher called it a trilby. He had an easy smile on his face. That was because he hadn’t seen his father yet.
Douglas got a good look at the receptionist for the first time. The woman wasn’t speaking, but was flashing Asher a wide smile. She was mildly attractive, but her mouth was filled with overly large white teeth and there was a hungry look in her eyes that made Douglas’ stomach turn.
Douglas pushed the feeling away, turning his attention back to his truant son. He watched Asher laugh and flirt with this woman that was at least twenty years his senior and his anger rose another notch.
He walked up to his son and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Are you planning a trip I should know about?”
Asher froze and his face went white for a moment at the sound of his father’s voice. He gulped and turned, his smile withering on his lips. “Uh hey, Dad! I uh . . .”
“You what?” Douglas said. “Thought you should skip fifth period English?”
Asher cleared his throat. “Um actually, Dad, fifth period is math, not English, and I’m acing that class, so-.”
“So?” Asher’s tendency to correct his father grated on Douglas at the best of times, but right now it inflamed him even further. “So you thought it would be a good idea to head downtown and do what? Look up rates for Caribbean cruises?”
Asher let out a nervous laugh. “Good one, Dad. Uh, actually I just came in to use the bathroom.”
“Don’t lie to me, Asher,” Douglas warned. “Not now.”
Behind Asher the receptionist had stood from her chair and loomed over the desk, her arms hanging limply at her sides. She was taller than she had seemed at first glance, probably six feet tall. The woman’s wide grin was unchanging and her eyes darted between the two of them.
Asher glanced back at her. “All right, all right. Sheesh. Look, can we talk about this somewhere else?”
“You know what? I don’t care what your excuse is right now!” Douglas barked. “There is no excuse, just no excuse for you to be where you are standing right now. You are grounded from computers, videogames, and TV for the foreseeable future.”
Asher winced. This was the only punishment that held any weight in his world. He didn’t have friends that he hung out with that weren’t online and other than being an avid reader, he didn’t participate in activities that didn’t require a television or monitor.
“Uh, that’s kind of a vague time frame, Dad.”
Douglas’ face was now purple with rage. “That’s because right now I cannot conceive of a time when you won’t be grounded!”
“Fine. Whatever.” Asher rolled his eyes and with a sigh, walked toward the door.
Douglas paused a moment, his hands clenched at his sides. He had never struck his son in anger. Hadn’t even spanked him since he was six and yet he knew that if he reached out now he would strangle the teenager. Asher really knew how to push his buttons.
The receptionist had stood quietly during the exchange without changing expression. Douglas turned to apologize to her before he left. She cocked her head and her hideous smile grew larger still. Instead of an apology, Douglas gave her a polite nod and followed his son out the door. He could feel her eyes burning into his back as he walked.
The blazing heat outside shook all thoughts of the receptionist from his mind. “I can’t believe you would do something this stupid, Son.”
“How did you know I was in there?” Asher wondered. He lowered his voice. “You watching the place?”
Douglas shot him a silencing glare and motioned for Asher to follow as he stomped across the street. Asher shuffled along behind him, a scowl etched into his narrow face. They headed up to the second floor of the parking garage. Detective Ross was standing next to the car smoking a cigarette when they arrived.
The detective let out a laugh when he saw the look on Asher’s face. “Whoo kid, are you in trouble! Your dad almost swore twice when he saw you go in that building.”
“Really?” Asher’s expression perked up. “What are the current odds down at the station?”
“Ten to one he doesn’t make it through the week.” Ross said with a grin. “He didn’t lose it inside did he?”
“Shut up, both of you,” Douglas snapped. “Bob, can you call in and get a replacement for me? I need to get Asher back to school.” Department guidelines dictated that there were to be two officers on a stake out at all times.
“Dad, come on,” said Asher. “By the time we get there school will be almost over.”
“I said shut up!” Douglas barked. Asher sighed again and looked away.
Ross chuckled. “I already called Jacobs while you were in there. He should be here soon.”
“What are you guys watching the place for?” Asher asked, suddenly interested. “You think it’s a drug front?”
“You tell me,” Douglas said, his glare steely.
Asher’s eyes narrowed. “No way! You know I’m not into that stuff!” He reached up and pulled several hairs from his head and held them out. “Go ahead. Test my hair. Have me piss in a cup if you want. I’m no druggie.”
Douglas glanced over at his partner. Shaking his head, Ross took a small brown enve
lope from his jacket pocket and took the hairs from Asher’s hand. He put them in the envelope and tucked it back into his jacket. “You realize that being clean doesn’t mean you don’t sell.”
The teenager’s face drooped and his voice was empty as he said, “You think so little of me?” He pulled out his wallet and opened it to show them. “All I have is five bucks on me. Not drug deal money. Search my stuff all you want. I would never sell that stuff to anyone.”
“Hey I believe you, kid,” Ross said.
“Drugs or no, you’re not getting out of this easy,” said Douglas, sending his partner a sharp look. Ross shrugged and got back into the car.
The next few minutes were spent in awkward silence while Asher stared at the ground muttering to himself and Douglas stood wrapped in a haze of rage. Detective Ross waited with an eye on the travel agency until Jacobs showed up in an unmarked car to take Douglas’ place.
Douglas and Asher got into the car Jacobs had brought and headed towards the school. They drove in silence for a solid minute before either of them spoke.
“Look Dad, I know you’re mad and I know why you’re grounding me,” Asher said finally. “But I need the computer at least for homework.”
Douglas scoffed. “So now you care about school again? The thing I am wondering right now is how many times has this happened in the past that I haven’t heard about? Am I going to get a big surprise when your final report card comes? You are going to graduate aren’t you?”
“Come on, Dad! Of course I am,” said Asher earnestly. “I had all my credits done except for one as of last semester. I could fail all my classes but English and still graduate! I just took them for fun. I wouldn’t have missed math if it mattered. Sheesh, there’s only a couple weeks left of school. It’s all review right now anyway.”
He was right. Asher had tested out at genius level. School was a cakewalk for him and the only reason he hadn’t graduated early was because he hadn’t wanted to. What really worried his father was Asher’s lack of concern for his future. All the kid seemed to care about was following what ever interested him at the moment.
Tallow Jones: Wizard Detective (The Tallow Novels Book 1) Page 1
