CHAPTER 19
I stopped by The Missing O on the way and got not only an apple fritter, but also a four-man police escort, headed up by Bruce, to the station. “It hasn’t been that long,” I pointed out. “I’m pretty sure I can still find my own way in.”
Bruce grinned and put his hand on top of my head, pushing me into a slump. I was ushered past Morrison’s office in a little herd of grinning cops.
“You’re going to get in trouble.” The other three peeled off, leaving me walking down the hall toward Missing Persons with Bruce.
“My car really needs a tune-up.” Bruce shrugged. I laughed. “You could set up your own cottage industry, Joanie. Become the department’s personal mechanic. It’d beat foot patrol.”
“In exchange for meals?” I asked, amused. “I still need to pay rent, Bruce.”
“Well, you don’t have to take it out in trade. You could, y’know. Charge.”
“Right, except for you, ‘cuz Elise makes awesome tamales, and except for Billy, because he and Melinda bring me clothes shopping, and except for—”
“All right, all right.” Bruce laughed, waving a hand. “I get your point.”
“And then the guys who aren’t taking it out in trade get jealous,” I went on, feeling ridiculously cheerful, “and next thing I know the Better Business Bureau busts me—”
“Very alliterate,” Bruce interrupted approvingly.
“Thanks. And then I’m on the wrong side of your bars here and not only do your cars break down horribly, but I get all gray and long in the tooth and none of you will sneak me doughnuts in the morning. It’d be a terrible tragedy, Bruce, I’m telling you.”
He laughed. “You forgot fat. If we’re sneaking you all those doughnuts, you’d not only get long in the tooth and gray, but fat. We don’t exactly have exercise equipment in the cells.”
“I said you
Bruce pulled the Missing Persons’ office door open and leaned heavily on the knob, looking at me. “You’re in a good mood this morning.”
“What you mean is, I’m remarkably chipper for someone who got switched to a job she never wanted and then suspended, and who’s been running all over hell and breakfast getting herself involved in murder cases, right?” I leaned in the door frame and lifted my eyebrows at him.
He pursed his lips. “Obviously that’s not how I would have put it, but yeah, that’s about what I mean. Morrison was already in when I got here this morning. Came out to tell me not to let you in, then went back into his office. He’s wearing the same clothes he was yesterday.”
I clucked my tongue to mask a sudden seizure of guilt. “I told him he should still be letting his mother dress him. Why’d you sneak me by him if he said not to let me in?”
Bruce held up three fingers in a Scout’s oath. “I never saw her, Captain. She must’ve come by while I was in the bathroom.” He blinked, wide-eyed and innocent.
I laughed. “The other guys gonna say the same thing?”
“What other guys?”
“You’re a doll, Bruce. If Elise weren’t scary, I’d give you a kiss for being such a good guy.”
Bruce held up a hand at a fraction over five feet and raised his eyebrows. “Elise? This Elise? Little Elise?”
“Little is hardly synonymous with sweet-tempered. She’d beat me up.”
“Nah. You could just put a hand on her forehead and lean away. She wouldn’t be able to touch you.” Bruce fell silent for a moment, then cleared his throat. “You don’t, ah. Have to repeat that.”
I giggled. “If I ever need to blackmail you, I’ll use that.”
“You would, too.” Bruce smiled, then sobered. “Really, Joanie. You doing okay?”
“Aside from the murder, mayhem, inexplicable activities and new job description, I’m perfectly fine.” I saw the worry in his eyes and smiled. “I’m all right,” I said a little more gently. “A little giddy on caffeine and too little sleep this morning, and I’ve got an awful lot to do today.”
Bruce nodded. “Still coming over for dinner tomorrow?”
Oh, God. I’d forgotten. “Yeah, but call me before you leave work, or I’ll probably sleep through it. It’s gonna be a late night.” I just couldn’t fathom being lucky enough to wrap this whole mess up by noon. It was a nice thought, though.
“All right.” Bruce tilted his head at the main office. “You might want to pull a fire alarm instead of risking Morrison on your way back out. He really doesn’t want you to be here.”
“I know. But there’s stuff I need to do.” I ducked into the Missing Persons’ office.
Even Morrison’s desk wasn’t quite the picture of efficient chaos that the MPO was. Every spare inch was covered in photographs and drawings, sometimes years’ worth. Active cases were out on desks, and heavy dark gray steel cabinets lined most of the walls, so overstuffed they looked like caricatures.
For some reason, I found the MPO to be the most depressing branch of the department. It had a desperation to it, especially in the walls of missing children, that none of the other departments had, not even homicide. It wasn’t that homicide was lacking the desperation, but it was filled with other things, too. Anger, betrayal, passion. Missing Persons was bleak.
I stood in the doorway and realized that I could feel that desolation far more deeply than I ever had before. This was a good place for the new me to go if I ever decided I needed just a little push over the edge toward suicide.
“You coming or going, Joanne? Either way, make up your mind. You’re letting a draft in.” The woman who appeared from around the corner was dark-haired and attractive in a no-nonsense way.
“Hi, Jen. I was looking for you.”
“You’re not supposed to be here.” She came forward to shake my hand. Jennifer Gonzalez always shook hands when someone came into a room. For the first time I wondered if it gave her a sense about the person she couldn’t get from just looking at him.
“You psychic, Jen?” I asked. Her eyebrows rose.
“Don’t have to be psychic to know you got suspended. It’s all anybody’s been talking about since yesterday morning.”
“Well, it’s good to know I don’t even have to be here to destroy productivity. Morrison must be so pleased.”
“Morrison’s pretty shook up, especially with the high school yesterday. Give him a break, maybe.” Jen hitched one hip up onto a desk. “Whatcha got for me?”
“A semi-missing person.” I hesitated. “My life’s gotten a little weird this week, Jen…”
She pointed two fingers at my right cheek. “So I’ve heard. They’re taking bets on whether you’ve been assigned to visit the shrink yet.”
“Heh. Not yet.”
“Good, that’s where I put my money. All right, so who’s missing? I’ll trust it’s not you, missing your mind.” Jen’s eyes sparkled, just a hint of laughter. I smiled lopsidedly.
“I’m pretty sure I am, but I’m not looking for it right now.” I unfolded the enlargement I’d made of the missing Rider and handed it to her.
“This is a painting, Joanne.”
“That stunning grasp of the obvious is why they pay you the big bucks, right?” I leaned against another desk. “The kid on the gold horse is the one who’s missing.” I held my breath for a few seconds. “The problem is, I’m not sure if he’s real.”
“Well, he’s a she. Not that it’ll help if she isn’t real, but at least you’ll be looking in the right half of the population.” Jen handed the printout back to me, her eyebrows lifted in amused challenge.
I stared at her, then took the paper to stare at it. “How can you tell it’s a she?”
“Why do you think it’s a he? Look.” Jen leaned over the page and traced the line of the kid’s shoulders, then a fold in the fabric of his shirt. “It’s a teenager. The collarbone and shoulder are awfully delicate, even for a skinny
