Chapter 5
“You’re such a liar,” Alvarez accused Pescoli as they drove down the steep hill that separated the older section of town from the new. Near the river, the buildings had been built near the turn of the previous century, some, like the courthouse, built in the late 1800s. There were newer buildings interspersed with the old, but this section of town definitely had an Old West feel to it and the town fathers made a point of keeping it looking as if the “Old Grizzly Falls” could be used as the set for a western movie or television series.
Up the hill, past a few old mansions that had been built by copper and timber barons, the newer part of town spread along the cliff face and into the surrounding countryside. While on the waterfront brick-and-mortar buildings stood tall, above, on Boxer Bluff, a few strip malls, fast-food restaurants, the new school and hospital became part of what townsfolk laughingly called Grizzly Falls’s attempt at “urban sprawl.”
“A liar?” Pescoli eased her Jeep past the courthouse, where the Christmas tree was already adorned with hundreds of white, twinkling lights that sparkled twenty-four-seven. “Why is that?” She found a parking spot one block up from Wild Will’s and eased into it.
“The Secret Santa drawing. You didn’t get your own name the first time you picked a name from Joelle’s Santa hat.”
Pescoli cut the engine. “I did, too.”
“Nope. Big lie.” Alvarez climbed out of the seat and slammed the door shut behind her.
“How would you know? Oh, don’t tell me. You drew my name! Oh, great. I’ll probably end up with boxes of herbal tea or some such crap from you.”
“I thought you hated the game.”
“I do.”
“Then why worry about what you’ll get?” Alvarez picked her way over the crusted, dirty snow that had been pushed against the curb by snowplows. “And, no, I didn’t end up with you; I could just tell. My powerful skills of detection.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Admit it, Pescoli, you cheated.”
Pescoli scowled as they crossed the street. “Okay, so you caught me. Big deal.” She was really agitated. “I just couldn’t deal with trying to find cutesy little gifts for Brewster twice in two years. Trust me, that’s my own personal version of hell. It’s bad enough I have to deal with him as my damned boss. I refuse to play games with the man!”
“Jeremy and Heidi ever break up?”
“From your lips to God’s ears,” Pescoli grumbled as she walked through the doors of Wild Will’s, where as soon as they were inside, they were greeted by Grizz, the stuffed grizzly bear standing guard at the door. Over seven feet tall, his lips pulled into a permanent snarl, long teeth gleaming, razor-sharp claws extended, he was always in costume, a regular ursine fashionista who was dressed with the season. Today he was wearing elf attire, complete with a silly little hat decorated with a jingle bell, a red and green coat and huge striped stockings around his hind legs.
“Is it Grizz or Will Ferrell?” Alvarez joked, though she wasn’t in a jovial mood. The holidays always brought her down and the three missing women were bothering her. It didn’t help that the hot water situation at her home hadn’t been alleviated. Jon, the sometimes repairman, had been ducking her and she’d been reduced to heating water on the stove or taking a shower at the gym. Jon had left her a message on her phone earlier: “Hey, uh, this is Jon. Got your message about the hot water. I’ll get to it ASAP.” What a joke; the guy had no idea what ASAP or STAT meant. It was irritating. Damn irritating, but she wasn’t going to focus on it now.
It was around one o’clock and the restaurant was busy, all of the booths and most of the tables occupied. Conversation buzzed through the high-ceilinged room and a fryer in the kitchen sizzled, competing with the strains of Christmas music filtering from hidden speakers.
A hostess led them to a table in the center of the large dining area, where, upon the rough-hewn walls, heads of animals stared down at them. Alvarez had always thought the decor bordered on the macabre and never felt completely comfortable with the glassy eyes of deer, elk, a moose and even a cougar glaring down at the patrons.
They had settled in and ordered before Sandi swept by. She put on the brakes when she spied Pescoli. “Don’t suppose there’s any news?” The lines in her face seemed deeper than usual, her eye shadow a sparkling metallic green, probably in homage to the season.
“Not yet.”
“Damn!” She shook her head and her eyes narrowed suspiciously, green eyelids even more noticeable. “You’d better check out Ray, the ex. Brenda and he have been in a battle royal for those boys. He wants full custody and so does she. There’s always something going on there, with the courts. He’s even had the gall to call your damned department and report her if he can’t get through to his kids, and he’s been on the phone to human services, sending them out to Brenda’s house, trying to prove she’s unfit or some such nonsense!” Sandi snorted at the insanity of it all. “A mean one, he is.” Nodding as if agreeing with her own theory, she pointed a red-tipped nail at Pescoli and jabbed the air in front of Pescoli’s nose. “If you ask me, she was way too good for him, and he knew it! I never did like him. A real loser.”
“Aren’t they all? Exes, I mean?” Pescoli asked and Alvarez guessed she was thinking of her own.
“Well, yeah, most of ’em! And you can sure throw mine in there.” Her red lips pursed thoughtfully. “Although Connie Leonetti gets along with hers. She even bakes him and his mother cookies for the holidays. And I’m not talking about the arsenic or Ex-Lax-laced kind. If you ask me, that’s just an abomination of nature.” She didn’t crack a smile at her attempt at humor. “I just hope you find Brenda. And it’s not because I’ve had to pull double-duty without her. She’s really a sweet, sweet woman and when I think of those boys of hers ... Oh, man, she adores them.” Sandi’s lower lip quivered a bit and Alvarez wished there was something that could be said, some platitude that would soothe her. There wasn’t.
Clearing her throat and squaring her shoulders, Sandi said, “If you ask me, Ray Sutherland is behind this. He didn’t want the divorce and wasn’t happy with the custody arrangement. If I were you, I’d be lookin’ at him hard. Real hard.” With that, she saw a table that needed to be cleared and took off, her quick steps wending her expertly through the tightly packed tables. Closing in on a lackadaisical busboy, she snapped her fingers to gain his attention. Obviously, the pudgy teenager wasn’t quick enough with his dishpan and towel to suit Sandi.
Probably no one was.
As far as Ray Sutherland went, they’d already talked to him, this morning, early enough that the trucker had obviously just rolled out of bed at the pounding on his apartment door. He lived on the second floor of an L-shaped stucco building. A surly sort with the beginning of a pot belly and in serious need of a razor, he’d seemed genuinely surprised when they’d told him about his ex-wife.
Had he been nervous?
Maybe.
Alvarez had noted that he ran a hand through his dull brown hair, all of which was sticking up at odd bed-head angles.