He tipped his hat. “Good day to you, miss.”
I strode into the building and the door closed behind me with a whoosh of air. The station had a simple design, with a main counter in the front, hall down to the left and cubicles behind the counter where police officers sat.
Approaching the main counter, I spotted a young woman fresh out of college—bright-eyed with an eagerness to work—who sat with a phone stuck to her ear. “You owe me so big,” I whispered.
Kipp chuckled.
The receptionist hung up the telephone and looked at me. “What can I do for you?”
“Tell Betty you need to speak with Zach Foster,” Kipp said.
Before I could respond, the door next to the desk opened with a loud bang and startled me. Two cops came in with a drunk, elderly man who slurred and spit while he fought against the cuffs around his wrists.
I squished myself against the desk to get away from him. He reeked of day-old booze and urine. Lord, I didn’t belong here. I glanced back at the receptionist, who stared at me with an impatient expression. “Is Detective Zach in?”
“Detective Zach?” Kipp repeated.
What? If he wanted better, he could go float away to find someone else to help him.
“Zach Foster?” Betty asked.
“That’s him,” Kipp replied.
I nodded. “Yup, Zach Foster, is he in?”
Betty picked up the telephone again and placed the receiver against her ear. “Who can I tell him is here and what’s the reason for your visit?”
“Tess Jennings.” I stole a quick glance at Kipp to find him nodding encouragingly. I sighed, focusing back on Betty. “I’m here to talk to him about Kipp McGowen.”
Her eyes widened before her fingers typed quickly as she entered in the extension. “Tess Jennings is here to see you and says she has information regarding Kipp.” She paused. “Mm hmm.” Another pause. “Yes sir, I’ll send her along.” She hung up the phone. “Detective Foster is unavailable right now, but Detective Eddie Perez will meet you in interview room one now.”
Great! More cops to enjoy the show!
She pointed down the hall. “Just go straight down the hall and it’s your first door on the left.”
“Thanks,” I replied.
Kipp led the way to the interview room, but he didn’t need to. The cop who waited outside the door told me I went in the right direction. His cute face held a world of suspicion and his deep brown eyes examined me.
“I’m Detective Perez,” the Jersey-Boy cop said. “Are you Tess Jennings?”
I nodded. “I am.”
Eddie opened the door and I entered
the typical police interrogation room with two-way mirror, steel table and plastic chairs. I only hoped Eddie would forget me after today, which I doubted would happen. He was a cop, after all—trained to never forget a face.
He followed me in, closed the door behind him and looked at me with a stern gaze. “What information do you have on the incident with Kipp?”
“Well…” The simple word marked the beginning of a one-sided conversation as Eddie sat and listened to me with an unreadable expression while I replayed the past events. “And that brings us to now.”
Eddie’s brow furrowed. “Let me get this straight. Our comrade, Kipp McGowen, is a ghost—here with you now—and wants to talk with his partner, Zach, about a cold case they were working on?”
Seemed so simple the way he said it, but it pleased me he understood. “You got it.”
The furrow on his brow slowly lessened and amusement showed on his face before he burst out laughing. “Wait here. I’ll return in a minute.”
The moment the door closed behind Eddie, I aimed a glare at Kipp. “I told you no one would believe me.” Not that I hadn’t expected to have the cops to laugh at me, but how the situation made me feel was far worse than even my imagination could have concocted.