His face scrunched at me. "I'm not getting on that damned thing. That's rehab waiting to happen.”
The bike could certainly be a death trap if you lost focus, or if another driver had their head up their ass.
"I hear you had a hot date this morning," Teagan said with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"I wouldn't call it a date," I said. "Just doing my part, putting a good face forward for the department.”
“I bet,” Teagan said in a doubtful tone.
“How’d it go?” JD asked.
“The parachute opened.”
“Obviously. Did you, uh, seal the deal?”
“Guys, I’m standing right here,” Teagan said. “I don’t need to hear all the tawdry details.”
I smiled. “We had a nice lunch. I kept it professional. After all, I was representing the department.”
Teagan rolled her eyes.
“Well, we need to represent the department and talk to Matt Malloy before this thing gets away from us,” Jack said.
He finished eating lunch, and we set out to find the angry man.
16
"Ican't believe you let that son-of-a-bitch walk!" Matt said when we caught up with him.
He stood in the doorway of his home on Seagrass Park. It was a modest one-story with a well-manicured lawn and a few palm trees standing guard. The yard was surrounded by a chain-link fence. This was a far cry from Palm Haven.
I told him, "The County and DCF did a full investigation.”
Matt was in his late 30s with short dark hair, parted in the middle, and a mustache. He had tan skin and the forearms of a man who worked with his hands. I figured him as some type of contractor or construction worker. His physique matched that of the shooter.
"He's a freak show!” Matt continued. “Dustin doesn't deserve to breathe free air. Hell, the son-of-a-bitch doesn't deserve to breathe at all.”
"Maybe you wanted to make sure he didn't.”
Matt's brow wrinkled. "What do you mean?”
"I mean, maybe you were mad enough to go up to the mall and shoot the bunny.”
"Oh, yeah. I heard about that.”
I stared at him for a moment.
"Dustin got fired. Why the hell would I go to the mall and shoot the guy who took his place?”
JD and I exchanged a look.
Matt continued. "I tell you one thing… I see that son-of-a-bitch, I'm going to give him a beatdown. I don't care if you throw me in jail.”
"You know a woman named Evelyn Ellington?"
His lips tightened, and he shook his head. "No. Can't say that I do."
"You own a gun?”
