Corpse Whisperer

Chapter 8: Conflict Of Course

“I didn't interrogate her."

“I know you Zachary Holten. You have no soft touch when it comes to your job. Let her be. In fact, I'm going to leave her to her unpacking now that I've fed her."

Dolores brushed past him. Grace stood and opened a box as if he weren't there. “We're not done, you know."

“I wasn't charged with anything," Grace said, still not looking at him.

“That doesn't mean you didn't do something wrong."

Her eyes flashed at him. “I haven't. And if you harass me I will file a complaint."

He nodded. She doth protest way too much.

***

“I don't trust her.

Dolores chuckled. She spooned stew onto a plate then put it into her microwave to heat. “You don't get a say. Not anymore."

She leaned against the cracked counter that desperately need replacing. Now that he knew a child would grow up in this place, he looked at it with new eyes. The house remained shabby. He'd have to do some renovation before the baby came.

“Right. Not since I walked out. I've heard this before. And I'm supposed to argue that you forced me out by sleeping with my partner. Yada, yada. I'm not being baited into an argument. Dolores."

He folded his frame to sit on the old chair in her old kitchen. Some of the appliances were still in Harvest Gold. Once they were flush with cash and could have bought new ones, but his pride hadn't let her spend her money.

Now she didn't have it anymore. It had gone up her nose.

“So what shall we talk about?" Dolores asked, pulling a beer out of the refrigerator.

His favorite brand, he noticed. After opening the slim green bottle, he took a swig before answering. “She's hiding something."

“Aren't we all."

He let that remark go. Dolores' secrets weren't his concern anymore. “Something big."

“Stop. I'm not kicking her out."

“I should have some say since you're carrying my child."

She stiffened for a moment. “Yes, I am, but you don't get a say. Not on this issue. She's all alone and I'm not getting rid of her."

“She isn't a stray kitten."

“I think she is."

Frustration ate at the edges of his sanity. Something about Grace Harmony exuded danger. She held herself as if she had no idea the depth of her beauty. That alone could make him wary, but his ex-cop instincts told him he'd have to look deeper.

“Just be careful."

The microwave dinged. “For once, Zach, trust me."

He laughed. He would never trust any woman again and Dolores knew that. She'd been the one to break his trust.

“Trust is a funny word coming from you."

She shrugged. “One can hope."

***

Grace lay in her new bed in her new apartment and couldn't sleep. Her curt conversation with Zach still had her blood boiling. Dolores had turned her queries about him into a trip down memory lane.

She hadn't found out their relationship. He was key somehow. She didn't feel it in her bones, but, as a suspect, he made the most sense.

Shrugging off the sheet, she climbed out of bed. The moon shone in making the room seem to be lit by some surreal daytime. One of her windows looked down on the neighbor's property. No one stirred.

She crossed to the window facing her landlord's house. No lights. A movement caught her eye. A man stood at the end of the driveway. She stepped back since she didn't have on a stitch of clothing.

When she looked again, he'd moved down the driveway as if he owned the place. He didn't look like Zach, but she didn't really know him well enough to say.

With a speed she didn't know she possessed, Grace jumped into her discarded clothing. She flew out the door before she could change her mind. Halfway down the steps, she realized she had no weapon. Instead of turning around, her anger at Zach moved her faster.

The man disappeared before she reached the driveway. Tiptoeing, she circled the house. A dog three doors down barked. Then she heard a car start then drive away.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she caught her breath. “I left my door open," she said to the nighttime.

No place to hide in her apartment, so she went back in confident that the intruder disappeared. At least adrenaline had exhausted her enough to sleep.

She fell into slumber, fully clothed.

***

Too early in the morning for his tastes, Zach walked around, coffee cup in hand, and surveyed the remains of an apartment. The appliances were black. The acrid smell of smoke wrinkled his nose. He should be used to it by now, but the scent meant death to him. Not in this case.

“Madame Zola was right."

The firefighters ignored him. He usually talked to himself during an arson investigation. Despite not being here in an official capacity, the detectives from the Centre County Prosecutor's office let him on scene. Most knew that he'd been the best.

Detective Ed Bauer, his best friend, had called him in.

“The same," Ed said.

Zach nodded. This fire looked the same as the last case he'd had before being asked to resign from the Prosecutor's Office. The one that had been his downfall.

“Luckily the tenant moved out. The place was empty. I don't have her name, yet.

Zach nodded. He'd talk to that person when the time came, but he doubted she would know anything. “I saw her."

“Who?"

“Celia Johnson. She came to my office and predicted that an apartment building would burn. She insisted it was a copycat."

“Either we have a copycat on our hands or we arrested the wrong man a year ago," Ed said. His grin appeared more as a grimace than a look of pleasure.

“Thanks for calling. What exactly do you want?"

“A PI can do things a cop can't. Keep you ear to the ground."

“And what will I get in return?" Zach sipped his coffee, the liquid now lukewarm.

“I'll feed you as much info as I can, unofficially."

“Right."

A mere bone. No one would ever let him back in the door at the prosecutor's office. No PD would have him. Besides, he'd lived in Jersey his whole life. Why would he move now?

Lors' baby tied him here for good.

Ed slapped him on the back. “You know how it is. Ted Hodgins keeps things close. He'd have my balls if he knew you were here."

Zach jerked his head toward the other detectives. “Will they rat you out?"

“Nah. They're good kids."

Zach sighed. As much as he hated leaving the department, he couldn't see himself going back. He had more freedom and no boss breathing down his neck. Even if he tracked down cheating husbands, he still had the occasional arson case to keep his skills sharp.

He held out his hand to his friend. “I'll do it. Just don't risk your job."

“Thanks, buddy. And I won't do anything stupid."

“Yes, you will, but I'm not concerned with that. Just don't lose your job."

Ed walked him back to his car.

“Dolores is pregnant."