“Let’s call it a day. You’ve been a lot of help, and if you remember anything else, let me know. You need to go home for the night. I know you’re tired.”
“You look tired, too. I hope you can go home and get some sleep.”
“I need to talk to Stella but then I’ll clock out.”
They gave each other a quick hug before leaving the interrogation room. Mattie found Stella in her office getting ready to leave. She brought her up to speed, telling her about the boyfriend named Jim, the chiropractor named Scott, and the rather ominous bit about Roger Howard.
Stella slipped on her coat. Looking thoughtful, she said, “This gives us more to consider. I have to observe that autopsy at eight in the morning. Can you follow up and try to locate the chiropractor? Maybe he’ll know something about Adrienne’s personal life and lead you to more information, maybe something about the ex-boyfriend or the brother.”
“Will do.”
“I have something else that will make your day,” Stella said. “The lab lifted a thumb print off the stamp on that letter. Not a real clear one, but it wasn’t too smudged.”
“That’s great news.”
“We’re running it through IAFIS now.”
The Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System could find a match if the subject was already in the system. If a print was distorted, it often came back with several similar prints that a technician would then compare with the original. So even though this system didn’t always get a hit, it promised the possibility of some movement in the case.
“You’re right. Day made,” Mattie said.
Stella smiled in a grim way. “It’s late and I’m going home now. I hope to be here tomorrow by eleven.”
“I’ll see you then. Maybe I’ll have some leads in Willow Springs by the time you get back.”
After saying good-bye, Mattie went to the staff office to get Robo. As he stood up and stretched, he yawned until his throat squeaked, making her yawn with him. Dead on her feet, she clocked out and headed home.
Chapter 18
Mattie had settled into bed with a book, thinking she would distract herself from the events of the past few days and relax, when her cell phone rang. Caller ID told her it was an unfamiliar number, even an unfamiliar area code. She answered it.
“This is Deputy Cobb.”
“That sounds pretty damn official.” It was a man’s voice, also unfamiliar. “Last time we talked, it was just plain old Mattie Lu.”
Her heart stumbled and then kicked into overdrive. “Who is this?”
“Your big brother. Weren’t you expecting me to call?”
His voice was so deep, grown up. “Willie—hey. I’ve been hoping you’d call for weeks. You surprised me.”
“Sorry about that. Took a while to get up the nerve.” He cleared his throat. “I was glad to hear you were willing to talk.”
A lump in her own throat kept her from responding. She nodded, holding the phone clamped to her ear.
“How are you?” Her brother’s voice was rough and throaty, like a two-pack-a-day smoker.
“I’m good. How are you, Willie?”
“I’m okay. Better than I was a few months ago.”
“Were you sick?”
“We can talk about that later. I want to know about you. What’s your life like? Teresa says you’re a deputy in the sheriff’s department.”
“Yeah. Seven years. You live in Los Angeles?”
“Yeah, in Hollywood actually. I’m a mechanic in a garage near Sunset Boulevard.”
“Wow, sounds fancy.”
Willie gave a little laugh. “There’s lots of places in Hollywood that aren’t all that fancy. But it’s good enough for me.”
“Do you like your job?”
“It’s steady work and it occupies my days, sometimes my nights. I need it that way. So you stayed in Timber Creek? I can’t hardly believe that.”
It felt like a hand was tightening around Mattie’s throat, choking her. “Yeah, well . . .”
“How are you doing, Mattie Lu? You’re not married?”
“No.”
“Got someone special?”
“No. How about you?”
“I met a girl a few months ago. We’re pretty serious. She’s changing my life.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.” That little laugh again. “She must see something in me. She’s helping me put things back together.”
That meant things must’ve fallen apart before. “Have you had a bad time of it?”
“You might say so. How’s everything with you?”
Mattie focused hard on not choking up. “Pretty good. I like my work. I’m doing K-9 now, that’s something new.”
“Do you have one of those big, badass dogs?”
Mattie looked at Robo lying patiently on his own bed watching her. His ears pricked and his mouth opened slightly in a pant. She’d learned that his mouth seemed to be the barometer for his stress level. He must be picking up on her anxiety at the moment. “Robo’s a pussycat most of the time. Unless I tell him to be otherwise.”
Robo cocked his head at her when he heard his name.
“Otherwise, he’s a badass.”
“You got that right.” Mattie smiled, her lips close to the phone.
“Seems strange, my little sis ordering around bad guys, siccing a real police dog on ’em.”
“It’s mostly patrol and narcotics detection, some public-relations work. Here in Timber Creek, there’s very little action like you see on that Cops TV show.”
“I guess it’s really not so hard to imagine you as a cop after all.”
An awkward silence followed. Was he thinking about that night, about her phone call, the one she made that broke up their family? To divert the subject, she asked, “What’s your girlfriend’s name?”
“Tamara.”
“What does she do?”
“Well, here’s the deal. She works in the kitchen of a drug rehab center. That’s where we met.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah . . . Oh?” Willie seemed to be teasing her. “I was there by court order. My last chance to clean up my act.”
“I hope it’s working for you.”
“Seems to be. Every day’s a struggle. I’m working the twelve steps.”
Now it all became clear. His twelve-step program dictated contacting his sister. He had to make amends or at least try. She told herself it was silly to feel disappointed; no matter what made him call, she’d take it.
“Yeah, she has a kid, a four-year-old boy,” Willie said. “She says I’ve got to be a good role model for him, though God knows my own was a real fuck-up. So I just ask myself, what would my old man do? Then I do the opposite.”
“That would make for a pretty good start.”
“Do you ever see the old man?” Willie asked.
“No one told you?”
“What?”
“He died while he was in prison. One of the other inmates killed him.”
The line went silent. “I can’t say I’m sorry,” he said after a long pause.
She didn’t know how to respond.
“Hell, Mattie—what makes you stay in Timber Creek? It can’t have anything but bad memories.”
Mattie placed her hand on the base of her throat. Finally, she managed to speak. “I stayed here so you or Mom could find me—if you wanted to.”
There was a long silence while Willie seemed to be wrestling with his response. When he spoke, he sounded sort of choked up, too. “Have you heard from Mom?”
“No. Have you?”
“Naw. She wouldn’t have any idea where I am.”