“I don’t know.”
“Call him, tell him he’s comin’ back.”
“It’s okay, Darryl’s on.”
“Honey, Darryl forgets what he’s doin’ in the middle of sharpening a pencil.” He heard her soft laughter and went on. “Do me a favor, call Morrie. Minute Jack and Jackie prepare to leave, his ass is there.”
“Okay.”
“Can you call Stavros? Tell him we’re not gonna make it.”
“Sure.”
“Sorry about Costa’s.”
“Beauty of Costa’s,” she told him, “it’s always a promise, even the minute you leave.”
Christ, he liked this new Feb.
“Later, baby.”
Her voice was a whisper when she said, “Later, Alec.”
That was another promise, one he liked better than the juiciest souvlaki and the sweetest baklava this side of the Mississippi.
He flipped his phone shut, tucked it in his back pocket, turned and called to Marty who was standing inside the front door. Marty jogged up to him.
“Do me a favor, go to your cruiser and call in a team. I want this place printed and combed.”
Marty stared at him and asked, “For a suicide?”
Colt sighed instead of curling his hands into fists. “Just do it, Marty.”
“Gotcha.”
Colt walked out the door and to Julie McCall. He’d spoken to her briefly before entering and again coming out and asking her to stay. She was shaken up and crying when he arrived. She was still shaken up but she’d reapplied her makeup since he’d last seen her.
“Ms. McCall, thanks for staying. I won’t take a lot more of your time.”
“I can’t believe it, I just can’t.”
He nodded and asked, “This seem like something Amy would do?”
She shook her head. “No. No way. She was shy but she seemed… I don’t know…” she searched for a word, “content, I guess.”
She wasn’t content the night she walked into J&J’s. She also hadn’t left a suicide note.
“You didn’t happen to see a note when you walked in?”
She shook her head again. “No, I just, you know, you talked to me about her and her bein’ no call-no show and all, I got worried. Then heard word about Marie Lowe and you talked about Mr. Lowe and well…” she trailed off then continued, “when she goes to visit her folks, I come and get her mail, turn lights on and off, that whole thing, so people won’t know she’s gone.”
Colt nodded and she kept talking.
“I had her key. Keep it on my ring. It’s hard to get them off so I didn’t bother. She goes to see her folks regular, even during holidays, like the Fourth of July if they make a long weekend. I came straight after work, knocked on the door but she didn’t answer. I thought, ‘What the hey?’ Right? I have a key, she won’t mind.”
Julie was right about one thing, Amy wouldn’t mind.
“Place felt weird, silent, her car outside, she had to be there. So I had a look. That’s when I found her and called you.”
Death had a feel he knew, the place would definitely feel weird.
“I don’t believe it,” Julie said again, eyeing him and looking like she was trying hard to call up tears.
“Go home, Ms. McCall,” he told her, “call a friend, don’t be alone tonight.”
“Maybe I could… we could…” she paused, “maybe later you’d want to meet for a drink? You know, toast to Amy?”
Was the woman seriously asking him out on a date after finding her friend had committed suicide?
It didn’t matter. He’d toasted to enough dead people recently, it wasn’t much fun then and it was with Feb. He sure as fuck wasn’t going to do it with Julie McCall.
“I got work, Ms. McCall.”
“Yeah, but… later?” she pushed.
“Ms. McCall –”
“It’s just that,” she was searching and what she found was so lame it made him want to roll his eyes just like Feb, “I’m sad.”
It was time to shut this down once and for all and even though it wasn’t exactly true, it also wasn’t false either so he said, “I appreciate this was difficult and I also appreciate the offer but, later, I’ll be with my girlfriend.”
Crash and burn, her eyes screamed it, he knew, he’d seen it enough times. He had no problem with a woman being forward, he just had a problem with the ones who wouldn’t take a hint.
Her eyes flitted away. “Yeah, okay.”
“Call a friend,” he advised, “don’t be alone tonight.”
“Yeah, a friend.”