[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

space of the department. Four desks faced each other here, and Zach knew they were shared,
used by one officer for every shift. A fifth desk guarded the door to the sheriff s private office
and was manned by his secretary. Off to one side of the bullpen was the locker room, and to the
other, the sheriff s small private office, an interrogation room, and a slightly larger office for the
four senior deputies. At the back of the bullpen were four desks facing forward, one
conspicuously bare. Behind detectives row, another set of security doors led to booking, the
lock up, the lab and all the other inner workings of a small-town sheriff s department.
Betty Wilkins, a striking African-American in her fifties, was the widow of a deputy and
had been Walt s secretary for at least twenty-five years. She smiled at Zach and ushered him to
the vacant detective s desk, a battered old steel model that had probably been dragged out of the
basement and cleaned up. The area had clearly been rearranged to accommodate a fourth
workspace.
He raised one eyebrow at Betty.  How d you know?
She shrugged and grinned.  Wasn t any room in the supervisors office. Figured even if
you started off as Ralph s shadow, you d learn more sitting out here until he retired.
 I figure anything worth knowing, I can learn from asking you, he teased. He dropped
his stack of paperwork onto the empty desk.
Betty shook her head, her eyes rolling at his blatant flattery.  Office supplies are in that
cupboard. Coffee, such as it is, is still in the break room, over there. You empty the pot, you
make the next one. No exceptions. Everybody puts a few bucks in the coffee can next to the pot
to buy supplies. No exceptions there, either, unless you don t drink any, ever. After you fill out
those forms, I ll get you your badge and you can shadow Detective Jennings for a couple days.
Any other questions?
 No, that should get me started. Thanks. When she left, Zach walked over to the only
other person in detective s row and held out his hand. The tall, slim brunette wore a no-nonsense
navy pantsuit and her chestnut-brown hair was swept into a tidy bun.  Detective Jennings, I m
Zach Shannon. And despite what you might have heard, I m just the new floating detective.
Betty says you ll be showing me the ropes.
Her hazel eyes looked him over carefully as she stood and shook his hand. If she resented
being saddled with the boss son, her carefully schooled expression didn t show it.  I remember
you, Shannon. You were the quarterback the year I was a freshman cheerleader. Good to meet
you again.
He thought back.  Mary, isn t it? Or Maria? Damn, I ve been away too long. My
memory s going.
 Marla, she replied.  But you get points for close. How about we get you a cup of coffee
then I ll catch you up on the ongoing cases.
He followed her into the break room, which someone had painted a pale yellow, instead
of the bilious green he remembered. Other than that, it was the same a rickety table,
mismatched chairs, an ancient fridge and microwave and the smell of strong coffee permeating
the air.
Zach accepted a  Maguire County mug without too many chips in it, and mentally
added his own mug to the list of things to bring in tomorrow. Then he trailed behind the
detective, sipping the tar-like substance that seemed to pass for coffee wherever cops of any kind
could be found.  Ah, just like Sarge used to make.
Jennings snorted.  I ll bet. Okay, here s the deal. We don t get a lot of actual detective
work, so we do a couple other things to fill the time. We back up the uniforms, and we handle
some of the supervisor s overflow. Basically, we re where all the shit rolls down to. But at least
we don t have to wear brown polyester while we re doing it.
 Dress code require suit and tie for males or just jacket? He followed her over to her
desk and sat down in the visitor s chair.
 Just jacket this is Texas, after all. Cowboy boots count as dress shoes if they re shined.
Jeans are good if they re pressed and not too faded. Jennings quirked one lip briefly upward. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]