Pernicious (14 page)

                                     
Chapter 6

         
Driving home, Tasha kept looking in the rearview mirror. She knew the overfilled glass of gin had put her close to the limit; perhaps above it. She worried a uniform fresh out of the Academy with a gung ho attitude would stop her.

         
“Officer, I only had one drink!”

         
How many times had she heard that? She sighed in relief when she stopped the car in front of her apartment.
Stepping inside, a wave of melancholy hit her.

         
Nothing sobers me up more than an empty apartment.

         
She dropped onto the couch and propped her feet on the coffee table.

         
If she hadn’t been so concerned about the drive home she would have stayed there and had some fun for a change. Yes, but then she would have been too intoxicated to even walk to the car, much less drive.

         
Craps! Listen to me. I’m so hard-up for friendship, I’m ready to jeopardize my job. The job I love, the job I’ve invested eleven years of my life, the job I’ve put first before family and friends.

         
She laughed mirthlessly, to stave off crying.

         
What else can I do? Work in a warehouse? Drive a truck? I’m stuck, stuck, stuck. I make the world a better place to live, don’t I? Yes, I do. Someone has to spend hours on end away from the family chasing bad guys.

         
She lifted her legs and brought them down hard on the table.
        

         
It’s just so lonely, so terribly lonely. Yeah, I’m a cop, and I’m human, too. Let’s be friends, okay? I’ll call you sometimes and we’ll trade stories about our children, cooking, our relationships, about anything but our jobs. We’ll go to lunch, cry on each other’s shoulder, do all the things that friends do. Is that too much to ask? A simple, uncomplicated friendship.
 

         
I could call Angie. How long since we talked? Five years? ‘Hey, girl, what have you been up to? I was just thinking about you, you know. I decided to give my favorite girlfriend a call. How’s Vic? He’s still in the joint? I’m sorry to hear that.

         
‘Neal? He’s doing fine. Same old Neal. You know we’re divorced now. He practically lives here, though. He watches Derrick when I’m at work. Girl, those two are tighter than two ticks on a puppy’s tail. You oughta see Derrick, he looks just like Neal, just like him. My sex life? PG-thirteen. Boring and uneventful! Once a month I let Neal make ugly face, you know, just to keep his mouth shut.

         
‘Angie, you know we’ve been friends since we were in junior high…best friends. Remember when everyone called us the dynamic duo? We kicked some butts back then, didn’t we? Yes, you’re right, that’s in the past.

         
‘Speaking of the past, I’d like to apologize. I promised you I would go to court with Vic and vouch for his character. I gave you my word, and I didn’t go. I’m sure that’s why we no longer call or visit each other. It’s not like you’re in another state, you know.

         
‘I drive by your house on my way to work every day, and I’ve tried to call you and your son says you’re too busy to come to the phone. Let me explain why I didn’t go to court that day. Vic was dirty, Angie.

         
‘They had him dead to rights. He sold to an undercover officer during a stakeout. When I told you I’d go to court with him I didn’t know all the facts. I work with these people every day and it’s impossible for me to believe they would frame Vic.

         
‘Remember we promised we wouldn’t let a man come between us? Let’s be friends again, okay? Because I sure miss you, and girl, you wouldn’t believe how lonely it gets around here.’

         
She couldn’t pretend any longer; she covered her face with both hands and started crying. She slipped onto the floor and a few minutes later she was sound asleep.

                                     
* * * * *

         
The phone rang.

         
Tasha woke up…Somehow the white stucco ceiling had been replaced with wood with a poorly varnished finish. Rays of sunlight beamed through the Venetian blinds onto the carpet.

         
She then realized she’d fallen asleep on the living room floor, under the coffee table. The phone continued ringing. When she sat up, her head throbbed and stomach churned. She lay back down.

         
Whoever was calling wasn’t giving up. She groaned and crawled to the phone on an end table.

         
“Hello.” She could smell her breath; it didn’t smell good.

         
“Tash,” Bob said. “I’m glad you picked up. Were you asleep?”

         
“No, Bob. I was just sitting here waiting on your call. What’s up?”

         
“I went down to Morrilton yesterday to check out the scene where Lester Perkins took a dive. To reach the spot where he allegedly fell I had to climb a chain-link fence. Beyond that is a guardrail, clearly marked, telling anyone who can read not to trespass. Then there’s this huge rock sticking out. It’s about six-foot long, not wide at all. It’s easy to see how someone could fall off.”

         
“So you think Lester’s death was an accident?”

         
“Nope. The rock has graffiti on it; Lester wasn’t the first to venture out on it. The thing that strikes me odd: Lester was on it at night. The park closes at seven, no security to speak of. I was scared shitless standing on it in broad daylight. Either Lester was suicidal or he was pushed.”

         
“In other words, we’ll have difficulty proving she murdered Lester Perkins.”

         
“You got it, sister.”

         
“We do have more than one pole in the water. Keshana Green is Perry’s daughter. What does that tell you?”

         
“She used her daughter to thwart the insurance company.”

         
“Exactly.”

         
“Where’s the daughter?”

         
“In Dawson. Have you ever been there?”

         
“Nope. Never heard of it.”

         
“Eventually we’ll have to go down there and talk to Keshana. She’s living with the grandmother--we might be able to glean something evidentiary out of one of em.”

         
“What time today are you going down there?”

         
“Bob, today is Sunday.”

         
“I know what day it is. Right now I’m getting ready for church.”

         
“Bob Kelvis, a man who keeps pornographic material in his desk, goes to church? I find that hard to believe.”

         
“Believe it. I’m a bachelor, remember. The church is an excellent place to meet women. I met my second wife at a revival. How you know what’s in my desk?”

         
“Figured you had to put em somewhere. Everyone knows when you’re reading the monthly statistic folder you’re covering
Playboy
,
Hustler
,
High Society
,
Penthouse
--”

         
“Enough! You’re in such a charming mood this morning, why not mosey down the dirt road and see what you can dig up from the locals. After church I’ll check with Arkansas Game and Fish and see if we can get someone to take us out to where Willie Davis took the plunge.”

         
“Okay, why not? I’m not doing anything here. Maybe we can start connecting the dots on this one. I had a dream of Perry the other night. We need to stick a fork in this one.”

         
“Don’t get your hopes up. Like I said, I’ve got a bad feeling about this one. When I get a premonition, Lord knows, anything can happen.”

         
“A strange mix, Bob. ESP and Christianity. ”

         
“Trust me, babe, we’ve got to keep our eyes and ears open on this one.”

         
Tasha took a hot shower and put on her western wear. Black slacks, black snake-skinned boots, a red-and-black sequin shirt and a black cowboy hat. She looked in the mirror, felt utterly ridiculous, and changed into blue jeans and a plain white shirt, but kept the snake-skinned boots. She was thankful for the excursion, not wanting to sit around all day staring at four walls.

         
Also thankful that Bob wasn’t riding along. Every road trip he would insist on stopping at every rib joint, catfish house, and chicken hut en route. What he couldn’t eat in one sitting, he’d wrap up and bring to the car. Not five minutes away, he would unwrap what he had and devour it as if he hadn’t eaten in days.

         
Today she traveled alone, enjoying the sunshine and light traffic. Driving relaxed her mind. She could reminisce about the good old days.

         
Neal was much thinner then, and so was she. They used to sit for hours on his parent’s porch, just swinging away. She doubted if that swing could hold both of them now. Neal acting silly, cracking corny jokes.
 
  

         
“Tasha, what you have when you got nuts on your corn?”
Corn nuts?
“What about nuts on your wall?”
Walnuts?
“Okay, how ‘bout nuts on your chin?”
Chin nuts?
“Noooo!”
         
She never quite understood that one, but he’d laugh himself sick every time.

         
Neal and she would take walks, hand-in-hand, admiring the trees, the clouds, the flowers, everything; so happy just being together. He was fascinated with her job, thought her being a policewoman was incredible. Naturally she wanted to impress him.

         
“Tasha, you beat up five guys single-handedly? Jesus! And you didn’t get a scratch? You’re something else!”

         
Neal’s brother told him she was exaggerating. No, she was flat out lying. Yet she would have said anything just to see that big smile spread across Neal’s face.

         
When she told him she’d signed him up for a ride-along, he went wild, jumping up and down like a five-year-old in line at the circus.