Castleton Police Department

  Operations Room

  Several hours later

  Detective Mackey glances up as Chief O'Leary, Detective Samuels, and Deputy Chastain enter the room. From the set of the three men's faces; the body hauled to the morgue must indeed have been a mess. The Chief's eyes appear to flash with anger, his jaw clenching and unclenching rhythmically. Deputy Chastain offers James a polite chin cant before looking away. Detective Samuels, the newest addition to Castleton's investigative team, stares straight ahead. The trio disappear into O'Leary's office and Paul shuts the door.

  Sergeant Emerson makes her way over to James' desk. She peers over one shoulder furtively.

  "If Morris is here...I'm guessing, it can't be good."

  "What part of this whole mess was ever good, Emerson?" James hears himself snap.

  Sergeant Emerson immediately clamps her mouth shut. She recoils from the harshness of Detective Mackey's rebuke. James shakes his head sadly. He pats Emerson's left hand, which rests on the edge of his desk.

  "I'm sorry, Phyllis. That was uncalled for. I shouldn't have lashed out like that. I'm...I can't believe this is happening to me. Especially, now. I told the Chief what happened. I didn't leave anything out. That young woman fell through that canopy. I promise you, Emerson...I never laid a hand on her. Or, Officer Melbourne. On my life, I didn't. I tried to help her."

  "I believe you, Mackey. But, I'm not the Chief of Police. Or the DA. Up til now, all anyone had to go off of was Melbourne's patrol camera. Which doesn't show much. Not from the angle her cruiser was parked. And then, there's your word. Finding the girl's body changes everything. We now have confirmation there was a body. But again, how she ended up in that river is just your word. Without a way to test ballistics...I don't know, James. Mitch's theories start to sound a bit more plausible. To some. The Chief is doing the best he can with what he's got. Do you have a lawyer, James? A good one? I can ask around, if you'd like? The fact that Pamela used to date DA Delgado helps a lot. I know people. You're still rather new to these parts. Right now, you need to start coming up with witnesses and an airtight defense. You can't wait for the department to make a move on this, James. You need to act now."

  Taking note of Phyllis' manic energy, Detective Mackey is almost too impressed to be upset at his circumstances. Who knew, getting Phyllis worked up was actually a good thing?

  "I may know someone who can help," Mackey replies, one eyebrow hitched. "Never had much need to keep an attorney on retainer. I've never been suspected of anything this...Well, heinous...Before. Forgive my asking, but....Why are you so worked up, Phyllis? What do you stand to gain from all of this? I could be lying. Every suspect, since the beginning of time, has proclaimed their innocence. Why defend me like this?"

  "Because I like you, Detective Mackey," Phyllis responds, without a hint of irony or remorse in her voice. "You're a good man. And I respect you. I thought we'd been over this before?"

  "Maybe. The last couple of days have been such a blur. Besides, maybe I wanted to hear you say it again?" Mackey half-heartedly jokes.

  "Well, there. I said it," Phyllis exclaims through a sly smile. "And I'm not ashamed that I said it, either. Madison is lucky to have found a man who loves her the way you do. My Pamela... She's been so unlucky in love. Kinda like her mother. Haha. Makes you truly appreciate love when you see it in the wild. I'll call around, okay? See what sort of names I can conjure up. You do what you can do on your end, James. We need to be ready."

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Phyllis strolls away without another word said. Detective Mackey watches Sergeant Emerson exit the operations room with a deeply creased brow, her words echoing in his head. If Phyllis believes Madison is the lucky one, she is quite mistaken. Not since Samantha has James felt so warm and loved. Madison's love has more than eclipsed the deep sense of loss James has carried since Samantha's untimely death from cancer. This awful case has the potential to ruin everything he holds dear to his heart. And he'll be damned if he lets that happen.

  Flipping through his Rolodex, James goes over the situation in his mind. He glances at the clock situated on the opposite wall.

  -

  -

  Less than twenty minutes later

  Chief O'Leary opens the door to his office and leans out. He manages to catch Detective Mackey's eye, and beckons James over with a stern expression. Mackey inhales sharply, hoping for the best--but knowing to expect the worst. The weary detective climbs to his feet and strides towards the Chief's office.

  Once inside, Mackey glances around the room. Detective Samuels is seated in a chair to the right of the Chief's desk--staring in James' direction. The young man's face is flushed and his eyes are narrowed with either indecision or suspicion. Exactly which emotion, Mackey is unable to tell.

  Deputy Chastain turns in his chair, moisture evident in the pools of his dark eyes. The young deputy is close to tears. Definitely not a good sign.

  "Sit down, Mackey!" Chief O' Leary says, pointing to a solitary metal chair in front of his desk.

  Mackey takes his seat, a dim smile tugging at his lips. So that's what the folded up chairs in O'Leary's coat closet are for. Uncomfortable meetings behind closed doors. Why hadn't he thought of that before. Chief O'Leary crosses to his side of the desk and sits down. He folds his hands together on the desktop, examining Detective Mackey.

  "Son...I'm gonna be real plain. I think I owe that much to you...After what you've done for this department over the last couple of years. You've served this department well. But now, I'm gonna lay out the facts. As we now see them."

  Mackey's heart clenches in his chest and he tightens his jaw. On the Chief's left, Morris clears his throat and looks away. Mackey briefly glances in Deputy Chastain's direction. Oh no. Not Morris too.

  "It would seem, Detective Mackey...That it's not just Mitch's word anymore. We now have witnesses. Witnesses who claim they saw you and Officer Melbourne talking in her car three nights before what went down at the construction site," Chief O'Leary continues, sizing up Mackey's reaction to the news with only his eyes. "We've also just visited a nightclub called the Undying Rage. Ever heard of it, Mackey?"

  "Um. Maybe," James says, trying hard to remember why the name sounds familiar. "I can't say I've ever been there. Why is that important, Chief? Should I know it?"

  "I'd say so. You've got a running tab there. I've seen it," Paul retorts angrily. "The owner is making copies of the video footage from the past couple of weeks for my review. I'm starting to wonder what I'll find."

  "A tab?" Mackey exclaims, placing one hand on the edge of O'Leary's desk. "Like a bar tab? I've never even set foot in the place, Chief? How the hell would I have a bar tab?"

  "Mack, come on," Morris says in a low voice, barely able to keep eye contact with Detective Mackey. "There are witnesses who saw you there. At least two women...Uh...Say you bought them drinks the night Evelyn went missing. Another witness saw you talking to her in the alley."

  Mackey's head swivels in Deputy Chastain's direction, his eyes flashing.

  "Who the hell is Evelyn?" Mackey barks.

  "Evelyn...Is the poor young woman who fell from that abandoned building," O'Leary blurts out. "The not so Jane Doe we pulled from the bay today. Poor girl's face and head looked like she'd been through an industrial meat grinder. Bertram surmises Evelyn was snagged and pulled along behind a boat before floating back to shore. However, the ID in the young woman's dress pocket identifies her as Evelyn Reardon. We're still running the usual tests, but everything tracks. Evelyn Reardon just so happens to be Mayor Gunther's youngest daughter. The daughter he so desperately wanted no one to know about. Simon went to a lot of trouble to hide Evelyn's true paternity from the public too. Tough luck for him. Now everyone's gonna know. Funny world...Isn't it?"

  Detective Mackey peers around the room. Nothing about this situation seems funny in the least.