An Unusual Occupation Read online

  “Doubtful,” Richard scoffed. The woman was so small that when Richard saw the body bag, his heart had jumped because he thought it was a kid’s body.

  “Who cleaned up the glass?” Richard asked.

  “What glass?” The investigator said, truly confused.

  “If she broke the glass, where is it?” Richard asked. The investigator’s eyes darted around the house. He rushed outside. That made sense: if she broke the window, the glass should be under the window outside the house. The investigator came back with a baffled look on his face.

  What in the world did missing glass mean?

  “I think someone was here when it happened,” Richard said. His voice trailed as he said it. Accidents with other people involved could be murder, and no higher power would ever permit that. Not in the long run.

  5

  A Really Fat Dog

  September 24, 2006

  I got a call from David Taylor’s mother today. She asked me a lot of questions, which reminded me that it’s a lot more difficult to trust people than it used to be. I used to introduce myself to someone and be instantly invited to dinner and for a discussion about the news. Still, I have a knack with people. People in general take to me pretty quickly, even by today’s standards, and that’s without my special abilities.

  Before I knew it, I was invited to dinner. Apparently, David’s mom wanted to show her appreciation for her son’s newfound interest in math.

  I run all of my classes the same. I’m well liked, and I guess I’m a bit underhanded giving candy for correct answers; I’m less worried about money than I am about doing something with the time that I’m here, especially for David. I’m meant to help him.

  Bob stood in front of a pleasant, one-story, ranch-style home. The red-brick walls of the house complimented the well-kept grass. Several desert-theme statues were spread around the green lawn, which was topped off with a row of rather nice-looking rose bushes.

  A motor home sat at the far side of the parking lot. Bob had suspected as much, since he saw one parked in front of almost every house in the neighborhood. He moved over to the white door and rang the doorbell.

  It took a few moments for anything to happen. Bob heard the barking of a dog first. From the sound of it, he imagined he might be attacked if he wasn’t careful. When the door opened, Bob was actually surprised. He didn’t find a large, beast-like dog ready to eat his leg behind the white door. Instead, he found an incredibly fat cocker spaniel. It looked like a large stuffed animal that someone could win at a fair had simply come to life. The dog seemed very excited about anything involving the door.

  Bob turned his attention to David, who answered the door. He wore the same necklace and outfit he always did. The designs and logos might change, but Bob wondered if the boy had any other clothes beyond t-shirts and shorts. David gently shooed the dog away from the door.

  “That’s Drew,” David explained. “He thinks he’s a guard dog.”

  Bob thought it was critical to gain the trust of David’s family. Everyone in his line of work had the ability to put people at ease. He was also pretty sure he was one of a select few who used that talent. Bob figured people only knew him for a short time, so they should be comfortable around him.

  David held the door open, and Bob wiped his feet and walked in. The house was like most others Bob had seen. It was clean enough. He didn’t see any stains on the carpet or dust on the tables. Bob was happy to see the home looked, and even felt, warm. He saw pictures on the wall of a happy, smiling family. Some of the objects on the table looked as if they were handmade. He didn’t think they were great works of art, but they were obviously made with love.

  Bob hated houses that seemed cold when he entered them. He believed a cold house had a lot of the same things, but there was no sense of attachment in those houses.

  He felt that the sense of warmth separated a house from a home. Two other men were in the living room, one much older than the other; they were obviously David’s father and grandfather. They had the same blue eyes and thin, black hair. Well, Bob observed, what hair remained on the oldest of the three male Taylors.

  David’s mom, Cheryl, offered Bob a chair and a drink, which he accepted happily.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you,” Cheryl said as she sat next to her husband, Mike.

  “I’m going to decide that’s a compliment,” Bob said with a smile.

  “Have you been teaching long?” asked Mike.

  “Off and on for longer than I’d care to admit,” Bob replied before taking a sip of water.

  “You look so young,” Cheryl said.

  “Thanks, but if I told you how old I am, I’m sure you wouldn’t believe me.”

  “You can’t be all that old,” Mike said.

  “To kids like David here, I might as well be more than 300 years old.”

  “Talk to me in ten years,” Nick, David’s grandfather, said.

  Bob looked carefully at the oldest Taylor. Nick’s beer belly and nearly bald head couldn’t effectively hide the strong frame he must have held in his younger days.

  “I might take you up on that,” Bob said in response to Nick’s subtle joke.

  “Why aren’t you a regular teacher?” Cheryl asked.

  “I enjoy far too many things,” Bob said.

  “Doesn’t seem like you have a lot of job security,” Nick said.

  “Oh, I always have work,” Bob said honestly enough. “I move around far too much to have much of a life. In my line of work, those you serve are the priority. I very much love my job as it is.”

  Nick smiled at Bob and asked if he enjoyed substitute teaching that much.

  “My job is more important than most give me credit for,” Bob said. “I help people find their way, which brings me to my offer to help tutor David.”

  “We couldn’t possibly afford a private tutor,” Cheryl said.

  “I never said anything about payment,” Bob replied. “I can stop by for an hour or so once or twice a week until David finds his feet.”

  “You offer to tutor all of your students?” Mike asked. There was only a small hint of suspicion in the question.

  “Sure, why not?” Bob answered. “I have my own lesson plans set up well in advance, so I’m well prepared when called upon.”

  “Then how do you have any free time?”

  “Student apathy.”

  Nick chuckled. Bob instantly liked him. Apparently, Nick shared Bob’s sense of humor.

  “I’m not sure if I’m comfortable letting you tutor our son without any form of payment,” Cheryl said.

  “Do you like to cook?” Bob asked.

  “I like it OK,” she answered.

  “I’m a sucker for chocolate-chip cookies and meatloaf,” Bob confessed.

  “That’s an odd combination.”

  “I’m unusual in a lot of ways.”

  “Like what other ways?”

  “Well, I think breakfast is entirely underrated.”

  “It’s called the most important meal of the day,” Cheryl said in polite argument.

  “Then why do most people assume they should only have it once a day?”

  “I see your point.”

  They got lost in conversation. Bob explained his faith in David. The boy didn’t have a problem understanding math; he just didn’t have the basics some kids needed. David liked to know the answers to why things mattered, which got in the way of some teachers and their “that’s just the way it is” answers.

  David brought up how much Bob read, and Bob admitted he had a book in the car, ready in case.

  “In case what?” Mike asked.

  “You never know,” Bob answered. “But I’ll never be bored.”

  Bob noticed the fat cocker spaniel snort. It wasn’t a sneeze, but it sounded like one. The golden-furred dog sat directly in front of the freezer in the kitchen.

  “It’s seven o’clock,” David explained.

  “You can tell that by the dog?”

 
; “Yeah.”

  “Did he eat a watch?”

  “No, but he eats ice cream every night at seven,” David said as Nick stood up.

  “I’m coming,” Nick said to the dog as he walked to the freezer.

  Bob was shocked at the late hour and tried to say good-bye, but Cheryl wouldn’t have it.

  “Not until you’ve had some ice cream yourself,” she ordered.

  Bob had never felt so connected to a family. David tried to run off to his room with a plate of ice cream, but his grandfather stopped him before he could get away. This family sat together. They ate and discussed each other’s days in no particular order or fashion.

  Drew seemed faster than his girth could allow when he rushed to gobble up his ice cream. The dog seemed to be having trouble licking the chocolate-chip ice cream off the paper plate.

  The dog looked at Nick with genuine puppy-dog eyes and tried again. Finally, Nick looked at Drew and said, “OK, Drew, bring it here.”

  Bob was absolutely amazed to see Drew push the plate with his snout over to Nick. Nick held the plate still so the dog could enjoy his scoop of ice cream.

  “The vet isn’t going to be happy with Drew’s weight,” Cheryl said. She looked like she loved that dog every bit as much as Nick did. She also seemed to enjoy teasing Nick about his relationship with Drew.

  Bob thought for a few moments that if he were to describe Drew’s interaction with the family, people would think Drew was David’s younger brother. Drew looked jealous when the family was eating and his plate was empty.

  Drew was overprotective of Nick especially. Cheryl went to kiss Nick’s cheek as she picked up his plate, and Drew somehow found the energy to jump into Nick’s lap.

  After little more than a few hours had blown by, Bob realized that Drew was the centerpiece of the family.

  Nick patted Drew’s backside and the dog leapt down. When he landed, the dog yelped and limped a few yards away from Nick. The house went from a pleasant bustle to a dead silence within an instant.

  David was the first one to make it to Drew. “You OK, boy?”

  “He might have sprained an ankle,” Mike said.

  Bob walked over to check on the animal. Nick watched, and Bob could tell the oldest Taylor was worried. Bob knelt beside David and started to pet the dog, certain he could help the dog and Take its pain away.

  As soon as Bob touched him, Drew’s whimpering stopped. After a few seconds, the dog got up, waddled over to Nick, and lay down at his master’s feet. Bob tried to pretend nothing unusual had happened.

  “I suppose you’re going to tell me you’re a vet, too?” Nick asked.

  “I just have ways with animals,” Bob said through a sheepish grin. “Besides, I’m sure you’re right. He probably just hurt his ankle.”

  6

  Promises

  Sergeant Richard Hertly sat at his desk with his two new favorite cases. The first case was a car accident where a man named Tom Stampson had died, and the only person close enough to do anything about it had inexplicably abandoned the scene before anyone else could see. The other case was the fire where Magdalen Wallron had died of smoke inhalation. Richard knew someone had broken the window of the home, but again, nobody saw anything worthwhile. He wasn’t sure why his instincts told him the cases were related, but he felt it in his bones.

  He just had to sit in his office until he could piece it together. Even if Linda isn’t talking to me, he reminded himself. He had to pull his thoughts away from his angry wife for a moment and focus on the work on his desk. They had fought the night before about his work, how little he shared his work with her, and why he avoided talking about it with her. Don’t think about the fight, he chided himself.

  With her mad at him, all he had was his work, which was why he was still in his office when he usually rushed home to see Linda. He’d gotten his own office a few years ago, thanks to some unknown miracle. Well, it was his and Kyle’s, but he didn’t think of Detective Kyle LeShea as another person as much as he thought of his partner as an extension of himself.

  They’d worked together for fifteen years, and after the first thirty seconds, Richard had known he’d found a friend for life. If only Linda could understand.

  Linda was another miracle in his life. Here he was, just on the wrong side of handsome and a few pounds overweight, and his beautiful Linda had stumbled into love with him. With him!

  However, Kyle got the bulk of Richard’s time. It’s not that Richard didn’t wish he could have more time with Linda. The fact of the matter was that Richard was a cop, and cops saw bad things. I don’t want her to see this side of my life, he thought to himself. He saw blood and death, and it was all wrong. He didn’t want Linda to have anything to do with that. Regardless, just like everything else in his life, Linda was pulling just a little too far away from him.

  “So go see her,” a chuckling voice said. Richard looked up. Kyle was a ladies’ man, which is one reason Linda did not approve of him. He was handsome enough, as far as Richard was willing to guess. Despite his need for a little special attention from the fairer sex, he was a good cop who it seemed had learned to read Richard’s mind somewhere during the last fifteen years.

  “Dead people,” Richard replied with mock reprove. He waved a hand over the photos on his desk to prove his point.

  “I see ‘em, too.”

  “I’m not joking,” Richard said. His chuckle ruined the attempt at severity.

  “Neither am I—about going to see her, not about me seeing dead people,” Kyle quipped. “Except for the ones on your desk.” He pointed at the photos with a fake grimace that almost stole a guffaw from Richard.

  “Something just doesn’t seem right,” Richard said. His mind was spinning as a coat fell over him. It took Richard just one second longer than he would have liked to get his own coat off his head. Kyle didn’t laugh at him. Kyle never laughed at him, but he did smirk.

  “Yeah, death sucks,” Kyle said. He didn’t wear the same business-casual jacket and tie that most detectives, like Richard, wore. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a leather coat. He’d seen too many cop movies from the ‘80s, and his wardrobe was the primary evidence. Handsome as he was, Kyle was no movie star.

  “Especially when it could have been prevented,” Richard scoffed. He put his jacket on and wondered how Kyle had already convinced him to go home.

  “Pay up,” Kyle said.

  “For what?” Richard asked. He pulled a silver dollar out of his pocket. They bet that silver dollar over everything. Only, Richard didn’t remember making any bets recently.

  “You may as well pay now.”

  “I still don’t remember making any bets.”

  “We bet ... oh, must have been last year, when you had this same argument with your wife. I said you may as well let her in on what’s happening on the job, and you said—”

  “I’d never be forced into doing that,” Richard said as he remembered the conversation. He flipped the silver dollar at Kyle. Kyle caught it and kissed it before plopping it into his pocket.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Kyle said as he slid the crime-scene photos neatly into a large, yellow envelope. “I’ll go re-question the witnesses. No matter how average a guy is, he’s got the usual stats: hair, eyes, height, weight, favorite porno.”

  “You be sure to write that last one down if you find it.” Richard laughed.

  “No need, I probably already have it, and as long as you go home now, you probably will still have Linda. And I’ll prove these cases aren’t related.”

  “Is that a bet?” Richard asked.

  “I already have the coin.”

  “So that’s a yes.”

  “I’m doing you a favor to put your mind at ease. Even you can’t take two random statements from two separate crime scenes and make one bad guy come out of them.”

  “Agreed; the bet’s on.”

  “Whatever,” Kyle said.

  “Do me just one other favor?” Richard asked.


  Kyle went to his desk, one of two in the office. There wasn’t much room for anything else. Richard felt as if he’d have to crawl into the office one day. Everything seemed to get smaller every morning—but as long as there was room for Linda’s photo, he’d be happy.

  Richard snapped out of his lovesick trance when he heard Kyle open one of his desk drawers. He pulled out a set of videotapes and waved them at his partner.

  “The only thing I hate more than knowing what you’re gonna ask for before you do it, is knowing I’m going to do it,” Kyle said.

  Not a good cop, a great cop. “The footage from the highway camera,” Richard said with a smile. He’d been meaning to look at the film to see if he could catch the mystery man who had fled the scene.

  “Yeah,” Kyle said. “So I’ll do some digging, and you go do some begging.”

  Richard had actually been about to ask Linda about having children when Kyle called about the Wallron fire. Linda had been asking about it for a year now, and someone chose that moment to die. Again, he had waited just a little too long to ask about parenthood.

  Linda hadn’t answered her cell phone for a day. When he had gotten home that night, the only thing that was waiting for him was a note saying she’d gone to her friend’s house. She didn’t even offer that friend’s name.

  “I’m not even sure where she—” Richard began. Kyle interrupted him by waving a yellow sticky note at him.

  “She’s at your sister’s,” he told his partner.

  “How’d ... ” Richard paused as the truth dawned on him. “You bugged her phone!”

  “No, I bugged your sister’s.”

  Richard made a mental note to figure out if his partner was kidding or not. Sometimes they knew each other so well that it got to a point that they could fool one another just trying to figure each other out.

  “This is not OK,” Richard said as he walked out the door.

  “Hey, she already hates me,” Kyle called as Richard walked out.

  Richard smiled. He knew Kyle would grab the videotapes and head to the evidence room to make good on his promise. The smile faded. Richard wasn’t at all convinced he could keep his own promise of winning Linda back.