Best Defense - Randy Rawls Page 0,2

hot for my liking. The M.E. is on the way.”

“My favorite skirt-PI,” Sargent said from behind Bannon, giving me his pretty smile, the one he reserved for use with his most sarcastic remarks. “Somehow I just knew we’d meet again. How many bodies this time? Dispatch said only one, but I figure I misheard. You’re better than that.”

I wanted to tell him there was one less body than I’d like—his—but decided that wouldn’t be smart. Also, I had to admit, he had a point. The last time I saw him and Bannon, the body count would have made a car-bomber proud. Rather than match their attitudes, I went with, “Sorry, it’s two. And yes, before you ask, one of them was a client of mine. Sabrina Hammonds, wife of John Hammonds of Hammonds, Perches, and Ballson.”

“Looks like you’re moving up in society,” Bannon said. “And I’m impressed. You even learned the name of your client. Last time we crossed paths, you didn’t have a clue about the identity of the woman who hired you.”

That elicited a laugh from the two of them and a grimace from me. He was right, but I wasn’t there to revisit that situation. Of course, I could have enjoyed telling them I’d solved the case, not them.

They hadn’t changed a bit since our last encounter. If forced to talk to them, and they were cops so I had no choice, I preferred Bannon. At least I could catch him in a listening mode once ina while. Sargent, never—always sour, always sarcastic, always a horse’s ass.

I said, “If you can drag yourselves out of the past, there’s a dead woman in there whose husband killed her. I tried to explain to the two uniforms, but they have heads carved from the same oak tree as yours. Is it a requirement to have a hardwood cranium to be a cop in this town?”

I smiled my most innocent smile while hesitating, then jumped in when I saw a response appear in Sargent’s eyes. “Now, listen carefully, and I will explain this to you. Don’t worry about taking notes, I will enunciate very slowly. Ms. Hammonds came to me because her loving husband has been sleeping around on her. She planned to divorce him and take every dime he has. He discovered her plot and took care of the problem before it went too far. That’s it. End of case. Now, I recommend you put out a BOLO on him before he skips the state.”

Bannon looked at Sargent and shook his head. The look in his eyes told me there was a hole in my hypothesis.

“Yeah,” Sargent said. “She’s hallucinating again. Ma’am, Ms. Private Investigator, Mr. Hammonds is on his way. He should be here any minute. He was in court when we made contact. It took a few minutes for him to get an adjournment, or he’d be here already.”

My stomach sailed south. “You sure?”

“Oh no, Ma’am, I’m not sure. I just make up stories like this on the fly. However, I really must get on about my business instead of listening to your fairy tales. But, if you’d like, I’ll give you time to explain your crazy theory to him as soon as he arrives. Detective Bannon, if you will please take the lady’s statement, I’ll get things rolling inside.”

“Hold up, Major,” Bannon said. “That could be Mr. Hammonds turning into the driveway now. Ms. Bowman, please don’t leave. I’d better escort Mr. Hammonds. He can’t like what he’ll see.”

_____

I cooled my heels for the next two hours while detectives, uniforms, and the medical examiner did their thing. After an eternity, the bodies were removed. Various groups went into the house with few leaving. I recognized some of the faces, crime scene techs I’d seen on previous jobs. I didn’t envy them. The place had at least twenty rooms that would require detailed examination. I hoped they didn’t find any more victims.

To save gas—one never knew how much the next tank full would cost—I killed my engine and left the car. The Hammonds had a gazebo in an area of the yard shaded by palm trees so I camped out there. The time gave me a chance to review the bad fortune that placed me in a position to find the bodies.

Ms. Hammonds had hired me to get the goods on her husband, John Hammonds, Attorney at Law. She said he was unfaithful, and she wanted a divorce—along with the houses, the cars, his property, and all