water and featured fresh seafood as well as other local favorites with a strong influence of southern cooking. That usually meant everything was sauteed in butter or fried.
As soon as she entered the front door he couldn’t help but smile. She was still dressed for work but radiated warmth that affected everyone she came in contact with. Even the snooty hostess smiled and pointed to where Stallings was waiting.
He stood as she approached like you would for any woman. Those were the manners his mother had drilled into him as a child. But it was awkward as she came closer because he wasn’t sure if he should offer a hand or a hug.
Grace solved the awkward dilemma by embracing him warmly, then kissing him on the cheek. Stallings held her chair and sat across from her with a stupid grin still on his face.
They chatted for almost a half an hour, learning more about each other’s families and the sadness they’d felt as their marriages disintegrated. Grace was the one in her relationship who had taken decisive action and cut her husband loose. That gave Stallings a different perspective from which to view his own situation.
He finally explained what had happened when Lieutenant Hester had found the photograph of Jeanie with Zach Halston and how he was now in a dilemma about what to do next.
Grace calmly looked at him and said, “Do you tell the sheriff’s office everything you do while off duty?”
“No, of course not.”
“It sounds like you just added another task to your busy personal life. Don’t forget you’ve got two kids at home.”
It was pretty simple and direct advice. He liked it. “I have a strong drive to find Jeanie, really it’s an obsession. And I know it’s hard on my relationship with Lauren and Charlie.”
Grace gave him a smile. “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” She paused a moment and added, “Luke, chapter fifteen.”
“What you’re saying is I’m not unique in my issue.”
“I’m saying any man would do it, but I’m cautioning you to not forget you’ve got kids who need you.”
Stallings mumbled, “And a wife.”
Grace said clearly, “Who better start to appreciate you.”
Tony Mazzetti had been talking for a few minutes about all the possibilities related to the deaths of the fraternity members when he realized he didn’t know if he was trying to convince Patty or himself that the deaths could be accidents.
Patty gave him a suspicious look and said, “You sure you’re not just protecting your clearance rate?”
Mazzetti gave her a look back and said, “We’re not sleeping together anymore. I don’t have to take any shit.”
Patty smiled and said, “Like you ever did. I was just wondering and asking questions. You don’t have to be an ass about it.”
Mazzetti decided to let the whole matter slide. It was awkward enough working with his former girlfriend; he didn’t need to fan the flames. He changed the subject completely. “So what did Stall do to get you assigned to me?”
Patty shrugged. “Just got reassigned. I can’t read the sergeant’s mind.”
Mazzetti laughed. “Must’ve something pretty big to have the LT do anything to her buddy.”
“You sound jealous.”
“Wish I had a rabbi up the chain. No telling where I’d be now.”
“You’d want to do something other than homicide?”
The question took Mazzetti by surprise, and his honest answer surprised him even more. “I guess not.” He looked off in space and added, “Thanks, you made me appreciate what I have.” When he looked up into her pretty face, he also realized what he had lost.
TWENTY-EIGHT
John Stallings tried to slip into the office like a ninja. He did not feel like speaking to anyone about his troubles. He wanted a couple of files to cover him in case someone asked what he was doing. Grace had set his head straight and he figured six o’clock was late enough to be off duty. Stallings knew exactly where he was headed. But of course even though it was late, Sergeant Zuni was still in her office.
As he walked past he knew she’d look up and see him, so he took the offensive. He stopped in her doorway and looked in.
Sergeant Zuni looked up from the report she was reading and simply said, “I didn’t know.”
“I didn’t mean to put you in an awkward position.”
“Instead you made me look like a moron.”
“Sorry.”
Sergeant Zuni stood up and stepped around her desk. “I’m not a machine. I know what it is to have personal issues. You can talk to me off the record now and then.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Zach Halston is important to you for personal reasons, but he’s also important to our investigation.”
Stallings waited for her to finish, but she just stood there until he said, “Yes?”
Sergeant Zuni cleared her throat. “Lieutenant Hester won’t check too closely when you’re out on the street. She knows you’re a hard worker and I don’t have to justify what you’re doing to anyone.” She looked down at two older missing persons files in his hand. “I like that you’re smart enough to keep up a facade.”
This new sergeant was more complicated than anyone he had ever worked for. And Stallings was starting to like it.
Duval County Assistant Medical Examiner Lisa Kurtz was feeling pretty good about herself as she rushed up the stairs to the second floor of the Police Memorial Building. She had a report from the lab and a photograph that showed she could come up with forensic clues with the best of them. Her instincts about the stain on Connor Tate’s shirt had proved to be right on the money. A chemical spectrum analysis of the stain showed it to contain a number of chemicals including ecstasy, strong depressants typically found in sleep aids, and painkillers, in this case a generic form of hydrocodone. In addition, she had a magnified photograph clearly showing a chunk of a ground-up blue Ambien pill.
Lisa waved hello to the secretary, then was brought up short as she opened the door marked CRIME/PERSONS and nearly ran into Patty Levine. The two women had a passing acquaintance and each knew they had one big thing in common: Tony Mazzetti.
Lisa wasn’t sure what to say or do so she just smiled and nodded hello.
Patty, always so calm and collected, was able to get out a “Hey, Lisa, what’s up?”
Lisa wanted to show the detective the report and what she had discovered, but knew that Tony was the one who needed to see it. She signaled Patty to follow her over to Mazzetti’s desk.
Lisa could see the surprise on Tony Mazzetti’s face when he looked up to see his current girlfriend and his most recent ex-girlfriend standing before him. His eyes cut back and forth between Lisa and Patty for a moment until Lisa pushed through the awkward moment.
She plopped the lab report and the photograph down on his desk, saying, “Connor Tate drank a potentially lethal concoction of drugs. I had the lab do an analysis of the stain on his shirt.”
Mazzetti focused on Lisa. “I know. That’s what killed him. Your office did the autopsy, remember?”
Lisa ignored this sarcastic jab and said, “Why drink an odd mixture of sleeping pills and painkillers when you pop them in plain sight of everyone? I think someone fed him the mixture secretly so it would react with all the alcohol in his system.”
“Even if it wasn’t an accident he could’ve been trying to commit suicide.”
“I looked at the crime scene photographs and noticed there were no glasses around the bed where the body
