The office closed at 5:00, but he might be able to catch her before she left for home. He dialed the number and waited, but there was no answer. When it went to voice mail, he left his message.
“Mrs. Riley, this is Seth Dawtry with the Memphis PD. I need some information on a cold case we’re investigating. Judge Dan Lattimer entered the DNA of a young woman he called Hope in the database some time ago. I need to know if there has ever been a hit or anyone who contacted you about it.” He rattled off his phone number. “Please call me at this number to let me know. Thank you.”
He disconnected the call and stuck his cell phone back in his pocket. Then he settled back in his seat, but he couldn’t get comfortable. He squirmed this way and that, trying to relax, but it was no use.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen, and it was going to be bad.
* * *
Callie’s gaze drifted over the shelter’s dining room where the homeless men and women sat, hoping their name would be called for a bed, and tears welled up in her eyes. Even though she’d only met Herman once, she could feel his absence tonight.
Callie moved among those eating and poured coffee for those who still had cups. She emptied the last of the pot into the cup of a stoop-shouldered man with matted gray hair. He looked up at her with a toothless smile, and her heart melted. Herman’s face flashed in her mind, and she blinked back tears. She returned the man’s smile and headed back to the kitchen for a refill.
Just as she stepped from the room, she heard the front door open and glanced over her shoulder. Assistant District Attorney Abby Dalton walked into the room, wrinkled up her nose and strode down the hallway toward Dorothy Tipton’s office.
Callie set the coffeepot on the kitchen counter and smiled at Peggy, who had just taken a tray of rolls out of the oven. “I have to go the ladies’ room, Peggy. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Peggy frowned. “Well, don’t be gone long. I’m short-staffed tonight, and I’m getting ready to draw the names for beds.” She rolled her eyes. “You’d think Dorothy would help me when somebody’s out. But no, her ladyship can’t be bothered to do any of the real work around here.”
Callie’s eyebrows arched at the snide tone of Peggy’s words, but she suddenly realized she had never seen Mrs. Tipton do any physical work in the shelter, either. “I won’t be gone long.”
Callie walked from the kitchen and hurried down the hallway that led to Dorothy’s office. She stopped outside the closed door and was about to lean closer to see if she could hear anything from the other side when she glanced over her shoulder and saw the homeless man she’d poured coffee for a few minutes earlier standing at the entrance to the hallway and staring at her from the dining room. She smiled at him and continued to the ladies’ room.
When she came back out, she looked toward the dining room, but the man no longer stood there. She debated whether or not to stop and try to hear what was being said inside the office and had almost convinced herself to move on when a sharp “No!” rang out from inside.
She stopped and inched closer to the door. Loud voices penetrated the thin, wooden panels, and Callie strained to hear what was being said on the other side.
“I’m through, I tell you. I’m not making any more deals with you and your friends. From now on, you’re on your own.” Callie recognized the nasal sound of Abby Dalton’s voice.
“You listen to me,” Dorothy’s voice boomed, “you’ll do what you’re told. There are a lot of guys you’ve sent to prison who would just love the opportunity to shut you up for good.”