Dying Wishes: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Shelby Nichols Adventure Book 14)

by Colleen Helme

  “Oh, you’ve helped a lot, and I think Coco’s had a great time.” We looked at the dogs. They were plopped down next to each other in the grass, and both of them were panting from their play.

  “I’d better give them some water before you go.” Lance turned on the hose and filled a bucket with water. As they drank, he turned to me. “It was good to meet you. Like I said before, if you need to leave Coco with someone, give me a call.”

  “I will, thanks.” Coco finished drinking and came to my side. “Did you have a good time?” He woofed yup. I laughed and patted his head. He barked stay. I shook my head. “Nope, sorry bud, but we’ve got to go home.” Coco barked come back. I chuckled. “Sure we can come back sometime. I think Scout would like that, right Scout?” Scout barked yup. “Okay, I guess it’s a date.”

  I smiled at Lance, and his gaze narrowed. He was thinking what the hell? It was like I was talking to the dogs, and they were talking back. He’d only seen something like that once before. No wonder Coco had picked me. I had a real affinity with animals.

  Oops.

  His gaze narrowed. “Have you ever considered search-and-rescue? You seem to have a knack with animals, and you’ve got a great dog for it. You’d have to get the training, but Coco’s certified and everything.”

  “Huh… I hadn’t thought of that, but it might be worth looking into. I don’t have his vest or anything like that. Do you think Austin has them?”

  “If he kept them, I’m sure he’d give them to you if you asked. But all the paperwork should be filed with our team. I’ll look into it and let you know.”

  “Okay… sure.”

  He smiled, thinking that it would be nice for Coco to do what he’d been trained for. The dog was too young and too good at what he did to retire. Plus, I had a real knack with animals. I’d be a real asset for the team, and he hoped I’d agree. “Great. I’ll give you a call.”

  I nodded and started toward my car, with Coco at my heels. Lance watched us go, and I sent him a wave before shutting my door. As I drove away, I let out a sigh. What had just happened? Sure it would be nice for Coco to do the whole search-and-rescue thing, but did I need one more thing on my plate? Not really.

  But it would be nice to help find missing children, right? Maybe it was something Josh would be interested in? Of course, he was probably too young, but it wouldn’t hurt to check. Still, I wasn’t going to cross it off, I mean… it couldn’t take that much time to help with a search once in a while.

  I made it home with time to spare, and decided to make a sandwich. Before I got started, my phone rang, and I quickly answered. “Hey Shelby, this is Bates. We’re bringing in a couple of gang members for questioning in the case we spoke about. Can you come down to the precinct?”

  “Uh… sure. Give me about twenty minutes.”

  “Great. See you then.”

  With my appointment an hour away, it would be cutting it close, but talking to a few gang members shouldn’t take too long. I told my kids I had to go in early, and, instead of a sandwich, I grabbed a granola bar and a soda, and headed out.

  I made it to the precinct right on time and found Bates waiting for me outside the interrogation room. He motioned me over and filled me in. “We have two known gang members here, but we’ll interview them one at a time. I think we can get this one to talk, so we’re starting with him.”

  “Okay.” At my nod, Bates opened the door and led the way inside. The kid sitting at the table looked like he was Josh’s age, and it unsettled me that he was so young. Was interrogating him without his parents even legal? The kid wore a graphic t-shirt and shiny gym shorts. His hair was cut short, and his dark eyes held defiance, as well as a healthy dose of fear.

  Bates sat down, and motioned to the chair beside him. After I took my seat, he began the questioning.

  “So Elijah…. You know why you’re here?”

  “I didn’t do nothin.’ You got nothin’ on me.”

  “We know that, stupid. You’re not in trouble, but you will be if you don’t tell us what we want to know. Got it?”

  Elijah stared daggers at Bates before glancing down at the desk. “Whatever, man.”

  “Look at me,” Bates demanded. He didn’t speak again until the boy met his gaze. “This is serious. A known drug dealer got popped yesterday, and we think you know something about it. Like I said, you’re not in trouble. We’re just looking for information about who killed him.”

  Bates opened the file folder he’d been holding and shoved an eight-by-ten photo in front of Elijah. It showed Tommy lying in a pool of blood, with his eyes wide open in death. Elijah stiffened, but from the dead man’s crumpled form, he didn’t recognize him as part of his gang. Still, the blood and purple shade of the man’s skin, sent shivers up his spine.

  “You know that guy?” Bates asked. Elijah shook his head. “Maybe you don’t recognize him with all the bullet holes. Here’s another photo.” Bates shoved a mugshot in front of Elijah. “His name’s Tommy Demarco. Now do you recognize him?”

  Elijah sat back, barely glancing at the photo and trying to act cool. “I don’t know who he is. He doesn’t run with my crib.”

  “Maybe not, but you still get drugs from him.” Bates tapped his finger on the bloody photo. “He goes by Slasher.”

  Recognition leapt into Elijah’s eyes. He tried to hide it, but it was too late. “Yeah… maybe I’ve heard of him, but I don’t know who killed him. I wasn’t even there when it happened.”

  He was thinking that Slasher was slangin’ keys and smack, so he had a free pass in their hood. Only, that night, Slasher wasn’t selling to any of them.

  I didn’t understand what that meant, but I did pick up that the boy had been there and heard the shots. He’d also seen a car drive away.

  Bates glanced my way, so I took over the questioning. “Even if you didn’t see who killed him, you were still there. You heard the shots and took off. But wasn’t there something else you were interested in? Why don’t you tell the detective what it was, so you can get out of here?”

  The kid’s brows jerked up. Damn. How did I know? “Uh… I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

  “Oh come on… tell us about the car.” He swore in his mind, and I winced. “It won’t hurt to tell us something we already know. And… it would help you a lot… but only if you want to leave.”

  If we already knew, he didn’t see the harm in admitting it. “It was a f-in’ BMW. Who drives a BMW into our hood?”

  “That’s a good question,” I agreed. “Did you see the driver?”

  “No… after the shots, we took a break.” But he did see a guy run to the gray BMW. From his fresh face and fancy clothes, he was probably one of those rich kids from the upper east side. The kid had jumped in and peeled out like the devil was chasing him. That kid probably popped Slasher, but, even if he wasn’t a homeboy, Elijah wasn’t dropping dimes on anyone. He wasn’t a snitch.

  I figured that meant that he wasn’t going to tell us that part. Good thing I picked it up anyway. Now I had to decide if I should tell Bates. I glanced his way and nodded. “I think we’re done here.”

  “You sure?”

  Since he didn’t think it could be that easy, I had some convincing to do. “Let’s chat outside.”

  “Oh… right.”

  He followed me into the hall and shut the door. “He’s telling the truth. Whoever killed Tommy came from outside his gang. It wasn’t one of them.”

  “That’s what I thought.” He hadn’t thought that at first, but he could see it now because of the car.

  “The BMW, right?” Oops. Luckily, Bates just thought we were thinking along the same lines.

  “Yeah. A BMW means it was someone with money. I’ll have the techs do a sweep of the traffic cameras in the area and see if we can pick up a BMW at that time of night. If we can get a license plate, we’ll have our killer.” He was thinking it looked more and more like a hit, but tying it to the mob was going to take a miracle…
or me.

  “Sounds good.” I glanced up, catching sight of a man watching me and Bates. He’d come from the observation room and must have listened to our interview of the kid. He studied me with interest, and I picked up that he’d been eavesdropping on our conversation. He noticed me staring and quickly disappeared back into the observation room.

  “Who’s that?” I asked. Bates glanced up, but the guy had already slid back into the room. “The guy in the observation room. He must have watched the interview.”

  “Oh right,” Bates said. “He’s in the gang unit and just wanted to observe. We’d better get back in there.”

  “I can’t. I’ve got an appointment right now, but let me know if you find something with the car, okay?”

  “Yeah… sure.” Bates was already thinking about the lead, and eager to find the car. If it belonged to someone in the mob, this was his lucky day.

  He hardly noticed me walking away, but I needed to send a text to Ramos and alert him to the BMW, adding the extra tidbit that it was gray. I didn’t know who drove what in Uncle Joey’s organization, and I had to let him know, just in case. I was probably bending all kinds of rules, or maybe even breaking the law, but I was in too deep to stop now.

  I skirted the detectives’ desks and took the elevator to the third floor. On the way, I sent the information to Ramos, hoping my phone records never got subpoenaed, or I’d be a goner. Maybe I should get a burner phone for stuff like this?

  Just thinking about that sent a wave of guilt over me. Crap. Had I just taken the first step on the long road to hell? Was this what it meant to be Uncle Joey’s successor, and that I’d chosen the dark side once and for all?

  Bob’s door stood open, and he sat at his desk, working on his computer. Seeing me, he stood with a smile. “Shelby. Come on in. I’ve been looking forward to our chat. How are you doing?”

  “I’m good.” I closed the door and took a seat in front of his desk. I took a cleansing breath and tried to clear my mind. I sure didn’t want Bob to pick up on the guilt I carried.

  “Good. I sent a report of our last visit to Leslie Gilman.” At my widened eyes, he continued, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing personal. I just told her you’d been cleared to get back to work. She wanted me to ask if you’d like to take the course on gun safety.”

  “Oh yeah… I guess.”

  “Good. It’s two days a week for three weeks, or you can go once a week for six. Whatever works best for you.”

  “Okay… probably once a week would be best.” Did I really have to commit to this right now? It was just one more thing on my plate, and it could be enough to push me over the edge. Wasn’t coming here supposed to relieve my stress?

  Bob turned to his computer and pulled up the schedule. “What night works best? It looks like we’ve got an opening on Wednesday or Friday.”

  “Uh… put me down for Wednesday.”

  “Okay. You’re all set for Wednesdays at seven. Do you know where the shooting range is?”

  “No.”

  He explained that it was in the building adjacent to this one, in the basement, and I put it in my phone calendar. With that done, he sat back in his chair and looked me over. “So… did you get a start on a barf journal?”

  Oops. I’d forgotten all about that. “No. But I got a pad of paper and a pencil.” That wasn’t exactly true, but I was sure I could find one in the office at home.

  “Well… I guess that’s a start. What about the meditation app? Did you try that out?”

  Oops. “Uh… I got the app, but I haven’t tried it out yet. I guess I had so much on my mind last night that I totally forgot.”

  He nodded, but couldn’t hide his disappointment, thinking that, with so much on my mind; it would have been helpful to use it. Didn’t I want to feel less stressed? “Okay… is there anything you want to talk to me about?”

  “Uh… yeah, sure. A couple of things… but… actually, I can’t think of what they are right now. I guess I should have written them down. Just… let me think for a minute.” Damn. I was the worst patient ever.

  “It’s okay, Shelby. Let’s just talk about what’s going on in your life right now. Is there anything stressing you out?”

  I would have laughed, but I was sure he’d think I was crazy, and want me committed. “Uh… sure, I guess. I mean… right now you made me sign up for that class, and that’s just one more thing on my plate, you know?”

  “So you’ve got a lot going on?”

  “Uh… yeah.” Oops. That came out a little sarcastically.

  “Okay. Let’s start with that. Out of all those things, what is causing you the most stress?”

  Crap. I couldn’t exactly tell him I’d just given a mob boss some inside information. Nor could I tell him that Uncle Joey had asked me to be his successor. What about the cases I was working on? I could probably talk about all of them, as long as I left out the drug and mob part. Or maybe I should start with Willow and how I felt about her usurping my place.

  On the positive side, getting a dog had actually helped my stress, but now I had to solve Mack’s murder. I guess all of it combined could make me a little stressed out… but, if I were honest, it was mostly because of Uncle Joey, and I couldn’t talk about that, right?

  “I have an uncle who wants me to be… the… uh… executor of his estate. I don’t know why that would freak me out so much, but I guess that’s the main thing.” Damn. Did I really say that out loud? At least I’d kept it simple. I rushed on to cover it up.

  “Then there’s this psychic person, her name’s Willow, and she’s kind of taken my spot here at the police department. I have to admit, I’m a little upset about that. I’m also consulting on three different cases for the police, so that might have something to do with it.”

  Bob narrowed his eyes. That was a lot. No wonder I seemed on edge. “Let’s go back to your uncle. What kind of relationship do you have with him?”

  “It’s pretty good. I mean… it’s been strained at times, but, for the most part, it’s good.”

  “Let’s talk about the strained times… what made it strained?”

  “Uh… well, he’s kind of bossy.” I cleared my throat to keep from laughing hysterically.

  His brows rose. “Bossy? How is he bossy?”

  I chuckled out loud this time. I’d sure stepped into that one. “Well… I should mention that I work for him occasionally… and he likes to boss people around, you know? And… he still does, but… it’s all good.”

  Bob nodded, picking up that there was more to this than I was saying. “Why do you think he asked you to be the executor of his estate?”

  “Because he trusts me.”

  My quick answer signaled that our relationship was on solid ground, which also told him a lot about my fears. “So what is it about being the executor of his estate that stresses you out?”

  “Uh… well, I guess that it means he won’t be around forever.”

  “So it’s his death you’re worried about?”

  That wasn’t quite it, but I decided to go with that explanation and nodded.

  “Okay. How old is he? Is he in good health?”

  “Uh… I think in his mid-to-late-sixties, and he seems healthy, I mean… he’s in really good shape.”

  Bob nodded. “It sounds to me like your perception of being the executor of his estate means that he’s going to die—which we know will happen eventually, but, in reality, he could live a good twenty more years. Does looking at it that way help?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. I think so. I guess I just need to remember that he’s not that old, so it should be fine.”

  Bob smiled, thinking that, for the most part, I was a positive person, and that would get me through a lot. “Good. Changing your perspective can help in all kinds of situations. Remember that death is part of life, but it also makes our lives more meaningful.” At my nod, he continued, “Now tell me about Willow and that whole situation.”

  “Sure. Uh… first of all, I don�
�t trust her. Dimples… uh… I mean Harris… is my partner, but now he’s working with her instead of me, so I think she’s after my job.”

  “I can see why that would bother you. Is there anything you can do about it?” He wondered if I’d considered changing my attitude, but I had other plans.

  “Well… to be honest, I think I’m better at consulting for the police than she could ever be. If I solve the case she’s working on, that should do the trick, and they’ll show her the door.”

  He chuckled, thinking that was not quite the answer he’d expected. I had a lot of spunk, and that was another good thing going for me. “I have no doubt you will.”

  He glanced at his notes. “Okay. I just have one more question. Overall, how do you think you’re doing? Have you had any more nightmares or jittery moments?”

  My brows rose. “You know what? Now that I think about it, I haven’t. I mean… I’ve been so busy with everything that I’ve hardly noticed. But… now that you mention it, I think the real key here is my dog. There’s something about petting him that is so soothing. Plus, I talk to him a lot, and he’s a great listener. It’s like he understands me, you know?” Oops, maybe I shouldn’t go too far down that road.

  Bob nodded, thinking that pet therapy was underrated and I was lucky to get a dog when I did. “That’s great.”

  Relieved he hadn’t picked up on anything unusual, I continued. “Yeah. He’s been trained in search-and-rescue, so I might take that up. It would be a nice break from everything else I’m doing.”

  Bob’s brows rose. He was thinking that my idea of a break was not the same as most people, but he could see what I meant. I had a lot going on in my life, and we hadn’t even touched on my psychic abilities like he’d hoped. But maybe talking about my family would shed some light on it.

  “So how are things at home?” He thought if work stressed me out, he hoped I had time to de-stress at home. If not, maybe I needed to talk about it. “I saw in your file that you have two teenagers at home. That could be a cause for stress, right?”

  I smiled. “Yeah, but they’re great… I mean they have their moments, but what teenager doesn’t?”