“So are you going to look into this? I insist on an autopsy.” Mrs. Crews rummaged through her purse, smiling wanly when he pushed the tissue box closer to her.
“Let me do some digging. If it looks like an autopsy is warranted, I’ll order it. At this point, that’s the best I can promise you.”
Nodding, she wiped her nose and took another tissue. “Don’t let this sit on your desk. I have to bury my mother.” Her voice cracked at the end.
“I won’t. I’ve got your number. I’ll call you.” He rose to his feet and extended his hand. “Again, I’m very sorry for your loss.” He watched her walk away, her shoulders drooped as she took small, hesitant steps. After she was out of earshot, he went over to Deputy Miles Carmody. “Go over to Cherry Vale and ask some questions about Mrs. Heller. Find out who was on shift when she died.”
“The old lady? Is there something suspicious with her death?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Her daughter’s adamant that there’s foul play. I said we’d look into it.”
Miles jumped up from his chair and tucked his shirt into his pants. “I’m on it.”
“Let me know what you find out when you get back. I’ll be here for a while.” Wexler went back to his office.
The truth was he had nowhere else to be. He’d never married after his divorce ten years before. It wasn’t that he lacked female attention; plenty of women in the county found the forty-six-year-old, six-foot sheriff handsome even though his blond hair was thinning at the sides. Being a cop was what broke up his marriage, and he couldn’t go through that again. Maybe when he retired he’d find a permanent companion. His daughter’s two kids kept him entertained, and he and his son still went fishing when Wexler could get away. Since both of his kids were out of town for a few weeks, he’d been passing his nights at the office.
There was something about the way Terri Crews insisted that her mother had been killed that made him send Miles to Cherry Vale. If nothing turned up, at least it would appease his mind, and hopefully Mrs. Crews’s.
He took a sip of his cold coffee and pulled out a stack of paperwork that needed to be turned in to the city council. He could always count on the county to fill his time. Picking up a calculator, he began plugging in figures.
Chapter Nine
Hailey had walkedpast Helen’s room several times hoping to see Goldie, but he was never there during the times she went to visit her aunt. Glancing at the clock in her car, she realized she had some time to kill before she met with customers for their upcoming wedding. Without thinking, she turned down Saguro Street and snapped up a parking space a few storefronts away from Get Inked.
Gripping the steering wheel, she tried to talk herself out of going inside the shop, but it didn’t work. It seemed that whenever Goldie was involved, her reasoning couldn’t compete with her desire. Sighing, she locked her doors and headed toward the tattoo parlor.
When she walked in, the pervasive scent of medicinal soap mixed with the sweet aroma of weed hit her full-on. A blue-haired woman with tattoos on her arms and several facial piercings smiled at her.
“Welcome. Do you have an appointment?” she asked.
“No.” Hailey pulled on the strap of her purse.What the hell do I say? That I want to see Goldie? What if he’s working on someone? I shouldn’t have come.
“So you’re a walk-in?” The young woman tapped an open notebook with her finger. “You need to sign in.”
“Sign in?” She’d forgotten she’d signed the book the night she’d stumbled into the shop for her ink job; she thought she’d just given her phone number.Wait a sec. I wonder if Goldie saw my name. He called me the next day, but—
“Did you change your mind?” The receptionist’s high-pitched voice broke in on Hailey’s thoughts.
“I came here about three weeks ago. Is there any way I can see if I signed the book then?”
“Sure. Do you remember the date and time you were in here?”
After Hailey gave her name and the rest of the information, the woman said, “I found it. Here you are. You had a tattoo with Goldie.”
“How did you know the name of the tattoo artist?”
“His initials are there, meaning he signed off on it.”
He saw my name.Heat stole onto her face, but her embarrassment quickly turned to raw anger.That asshole! He’s been playing me all along. When he kissed me, heknewit was me. He didn’t even tell me! I’m sure he got a kick out of me making an ass of myself.
Hailey stumbled away from the reception desk. “I’ve changed my mind,” she mumbled. She spun around and bumped into a broad, muscled chest. Her hands splayed out over the skintight T-shirt. “I’m so sorry,” she said, then looked up. Goldie’s blue eyes sparkled and an amused smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
“You!” Her voice was cold and lashing. She punched his rock-solid belly.
“What the fuck?” His lips thinned, and the sparkle in his gaze turned ominous.
“You’ve known all along who I am. How could you do that?” She threw another punch at him. Grabbing her fist, he pulled her behind him. “Stop it! Let me go.”
