Murder in the River City(32)

“What about the other guy? Hunt?”

“Know nothing about him. I can find out.” Manny eyed him. “You want me to dig deeper on the firm? Pro bono, for an old friend.”

“Thanks.”



#



Fifteen minutes later, Sam walked into Dooley’s, gratefully escaping the Sacramento heat. He loved his hometown, but it was days like this that made him want to become a cop in a place like Maine or Idaho. He paused inside the door, relishing the cool, artificial air. He took off his dark sunglasses and hooked them on his belt loop. Shauna was across the room, her back to him. He loved the way her never-ending legs were exposed through her filmy skirt as she shifted this way and that, wiping tables and stacking dishes. He remembered Manny’s advice:

Tell her you love her.

Manny had met Shauna, but he didn’t know her like Sam did. He’d blown it big time, and he was blowing it again. Maybe. He wished he knew if she had truly forgiven him. He wished he knew if he could take everything back and start new. Fresh. But with their history, he didn’t see how that was possible.

A movement to his left caught his eye, and he turned to see Mike Murphy gesturing to him from one of the tall bar tables next to the window.

He slid onto the stool across from Mike. “Was Shauna okay last night?” he asked.

“You know Shauna,” Mike said. “She won’t slow down. But she’s fine. I made sure of it before I left this morning. And she nearly decked me when I woke her up every two hours to make sure her concussion wasn’t giving her problems. She thinks I lied about her injuries so I could torment her.” Mike sipped his beer. “So, what’s going on?”

“We filled you in yesterday.”

“Shauna said Mack’s murder is connected to the girl pulled from the riverbank the other day.”

“That was my case. John and I are now working them together.”

“Callie Wood. Shauna told me. Was Mack into something he shouldn’t have been?”

“I don’t know,” Sam admitted. “A lot of leads right now.” He glanced at Shauna, trying to read her. She was the same as always. Chatting with customers, moving non-stop. But she seemed more aware of her surroundings, and every time someone walked into the bar, she looked at them, a small frown on her face. He didn’t want Shauna to go through the rest of her life fearful.

“You’re worried about her,” Mike said.

“Aren’t you?”

“Of course. But you have your cop face on.”

“I don’t have a cop face.”

“You have a lot on your plate, coming back after two years, picking up in a new division, but—” Mike glanced over at Shauna again.

“I’ll watch out for her,” Sam said. “John said in passing that her ex-boyfriend was giving her some problems.”

“Austin Davis?” Mike snorted. “He doesn’t mean anything to her. I wouldn’t even call him an ex-boyfriend. She went out with him a few times, that’s it.”

“Would she have told you if something was wrong?”

“Dooley never liked him, and she’s not seeing him anymore. I don’t know anything else about it. Ask her.”

Sam shook his head. “I’m not the one to talk to her about her love life. John thought it was odd enough to mention, but if you don’t think there’s anything she can’t handle…”

“Shauna’s fine. At least, she will be when you catch the guys who killed Mack. I’m more concerned about Jason Butler.”

At the mention of Butler, Sam burned. “He’s living in San Francisco,” Sam said. “I checked with his parole officer when I found out he was released early.” Non-violent crime, the parole board said. Time off for good behavior, they said. Jason Butler was a slimeball to the nth degree. Insurance fraud was just the tip of the iceberg. As far as Sam was concerned, he deserved life. But he’d plead out and paid restitution to all his victims. His family was loaded. He bought his way out with money and a couple years of his life.

The only consolation was Shauna had seen his true colors and kicked him to the curb. But she hadn’t been happy with Sam at the time. And Sam knew she’d visited him in prison.

Maybe he’d been a wee bit militant about the bastard who’d planned on marrying her.

“He’s in town,” Mike said.

“Visiting his parents?”

“I don’t know. Dad said he was at the office today talking to Shauna. I wanted to talk to her about it, but she’s been swamped all afternoon.”

“He went to see her?” Sam said. He thought he was calm, but Mike gave him an odd look.