Blood Orchid (Holly Barker 3)

Holly decided to play it straight with him; she figured she had a chance of learning more. “I’m chief of police in a little town called Orchid Beach,” she said, laying her ID on his desk.

He picked it up and examined it. “Holly, not Helen.”

“Sorry, I was being too careful.”

He tossed back her wallet. “So, like I said, what brings you to my place?”

“A customer of yours took one in the back of the head up in my jurisdiction.”

“That would be Carlos Alvarez, unless I’ve lost another customer I don’t know about.”

“That would be Carlos. I’m working the murder.”

“There’s a guy named Barker up there. Know him?”

“Ham? That would be my old man.”

Jimmy smiled. “I was at Bragg with him a few years back. I didn’t know him, really, but I saw him shoot a couple of times. It was really boring, looking at those targets; he’d blow out the middle every time.”

“He still does.”

“I’d say tell him hello, but he wouldn’t know the name. Tell him a fan said hello.”

“I’ll do that; it’ll please him.”

“So, Holly, how can I help you?”

“Carlos shot in here once a week.”

“Yeah, he did. He was a good shot, too; not as good as your old man, but good.”

“Who did he shoot with?”

“Bunch of Cuban guys.”

“You think they’d talk to me?”

Jimmy laughed. “An Anglo female cop? Yeah, sure. That would violate four or five different kinds of macho.”

“That’s what I figured, but maybe you can tell me what I need to know.”

“If I can.”

“What did Carlos fire when he came?”

“He usually brought a forty millimeter and a Beretta.”

“I’m firing the Beretta tonight.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. The forty is missing; I think it might have been used to kill him.”

“A shame about that. He had a really pretty girlfriend he brought in here once.”

“Yeah. Did Carlos ever fire a rifle here?”

“Sometimes he’d swap pieces with somebody. Once, he brought a twenty-two Winchester with a scope in here.”