Bledsoe gave a sick smile. “You’ve got to be shittin’ me.”
“You got three speeding tickets, two going excess of eighty-five.”
“This is so bogus.”
“Then there are all the parking violations. What’s the problem, Marshall? Have trouble reading signs?”
Something in Bledsoe’s eyes told Barnes that Decker had hit a nerve.
Decker said, “The grand total for your ass to stay out of jail is five thousand, six hundred and twenty bucks.”
Bledsoe glared at Decker, muttering to himself. “Fucking asshole kike!”
Decker’s leg shot out again and Bledsoe buckled under his own weight and went down. He looked up from the floor, spittle running down a corner of his mouth. “I’ll have your badge for this.”
Decker laughed. “Great. I could use a vacation.”
15
After Bledsoe was duly escorted out of the interview room, Barnes shut the door and lowered his voice. “Little rough, don’t you think?”
Decker faced Barnes, eye to eye. “Let him sue. I meant what I said.”
Barnes dropped the issue. Why piss off someone who was helping him out? Besides, he’d been in similar situations.
Decker said, “If Bledsoe gets jail time and his alibis don’t check out, I’ll give you a call and you and your partner can take a shot at him again.” Tight smile. He brushed back the ginger mustache. Bristly hairs spread and fell back into place. “It’d probably be better if I wasn’t around. Marshall wasn’t my most sterling interview.”
“Seemed fine to me, Lieutenant. Thanks for the help.”
Decker stretched. His hands reached the ceiling. “Look, I caused him some grief and I’m not sorry about that. I know he’s caused mischief down here. But I’m thinking that alibi had too much detail for you guys and if he’s right about the time frame, it’s going to be tough tying him in directly.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Barnes concurred.
“Cody’s restaurant is about twenty minutes from here,” Decker said. “Marge will give you directions.”
“Thanks. We’ll track down Kris the waitress and see what she says. Even if she alibis him, we’ll check the airports to make sure he didn’t take a quick hop north.”
As they left the room, Decker said, “I would’ve liked to see it work out better for you. Murder trumps everything and that guy should be put away.”
Barnes said, “He was a long shot, Lieutenant. Egging’s a far cry from blowing someone’s head off.” He took out his card and handed it to Decker. “If we can ever reciprocate, just let me know.”
“Will do. And have Marge Dunn give you her card…just in case you need anything else.”
“I’ll do that,” said Barnes. “Just in case.”
Kris, the thirty-year-old blond waitress with a large chest and a face Barnes thought more okay than ugly, remembered both Bledsoes. How could she forget them? He was a surly jerk and Mom was foulmouthed.
“They left like a dollar tip on a twenty-dollar tab and acted like I was lucky to get that.”
“Do you remember what time they left?” Amanda asked her.
Kris twirled a strand of too-yellow hair. “Late, like ten. Like I remember thinking that if I could, you know, finish off with these assho…these people, like I’d be done for the evening. I was more gone than there, you know?”
“Thanks for helping us out,” Barnes said.
“Sure. Is he, like, in trouble?”
Barnes shrugged.
“He must be in trouble. Like why else would the police be asking about him? Doesn’t surprise me. He had a strange look.”
“Strange, how?”
Kris bobbed her head up and down. “You know…looking over his shoulder a lot.”
“Really?” Barnes asked.
“Sort of.” Again, she bobbed her head up and down. “Kind of. Or maybe he was just hungry and wanted his food faster than we could give it to him.”
Amanda said, “You should be a detective yourself.”
“Thanks.” Kris smiled a mouth of white, straight teeth. “I watch a lot of Law & Order, especially SVU. Christopher Meloni is hot.”
As soon as the plane took off, Amanda closed her eyes and fell asleep. The state of bliss lasted approximately fifteen minutes, until turbulence woke her up with a start. A flight attendant was urging everybody to return to their seats and buckle up. Amanda looked to her left, at Barnes gripping the armrests with white knuckles. The plane rocked in a sea of wind, and Barnes turned green around the gills.
She said, “Turbulence isn’t dangerous.”
“So they say.”
“It’s true. You should feel it in a small jet. Cork in a bathtub effect. You get used to it.”
Barnes stared at her. “Well, thank God, I don’t ever foresee me having that problem.”
“Hey, how many times have I offered to give you a ride somewhere gratis?”
“I hate flying.”
“You get all the catering you want.”
Will’s big hand clamped on his gut.
Uh-oh, wrong thing to say.
She kept her mouth shut and the turbulence faded.
“Really,” she said. “Hitch a ride with us one of these days.”
“Too rich for my blood,” said Barnes.
Amanda didn’t answer.
He said, “Don’t be sore, pard.”
“The hell I won’t. Being pissed is a God-given right even for rich folk.” She wagged a finger at him. “And it’s rather poor judgment of you to alienate me, especially after making a date with that tall drink of water. You might need a lift to LA.”
Barnes reddened. “We didn’t make a date- ”
“You exchanged numbers, William. What do you call that?”
“Just being polite- ”
Amanda laughed. Will’s blush was hilarious. From green to pink; today her partner was a Christmas tree.
She said, “She seemed nice if my opinion means anything. And she certainly understands the biz.”
“It’s nothing, Amanda. Just being courteous.”
“You’re not going to call her?”