of hang-up calls. I thought they were for Megan. But later my wife left me for another woman. I know they were for my ex. Every time I answered, they’d hang up in my ear. The bitch. Sorry. Sorry.”
“No. I’m sorry, Mr. Moriarty. Have you had contact with your ex-wife?”
I wonder where Ronnie is going with this. I haven’t tried to contact Mrs. Moriarty. She wasn’t in the picture when I was trying to find Alex Rader. It was an oversight.
“No. She died a couple of years ago. Cancer.”
“You have my condolences, Mr. Moriarty. Have you had any strange calls recently? In the last six months or so?”
“I don’t talk to nobody. I mind my own business. I stay indoors just like the damn judge… excuse me… like the judge ordered me to. I keep the ankle bracelet on and have to stay near the phone. It’s hard taking a damn shower—excuse my language—with that thing on my ankle. I can’t even pull my jeans up over it half the time.”
“Mr. Moriarty,” Ronnie says, like a patient parent to a child, “you didn’t answer my question.”
“No. I haven’t had any strange calls. Unless you count you people checking up on me all the time. I have to take the phone to the bathroom with me. I’ll be glad when this is all over.”
“So no hang-up calls? No wrong-number calls? No salespeople?”
“Well, sure. Those damn telemarketing people drive a man crazy. All the numbers are from New York or Texas. It’s always some damn foreigner wantin’ to sell me Viagra. I don’t know anyone outside of Washington and I quit answering numbers I don’t know. Unless they’re local from you guys. Why? Am I supposed to? Am I in trouble?”
“You’re not in trouble unless you’re not being honest with me.”
“I swear I’m telling the truth.”
“You have a good night, Mr. Moriarty. If you have any problems, call the Sheriff’s Office and report it right away.”
“Should I ask for you?”
Ronnie looks at me and I shake my head.
“No. Just the Sheriff’s Office. Good night.”
She disconnects. “How did I do?”
I give her a thumbs up. I’m trying hard not to laugh. I was afraid to go and talk to this guy. Now I’m glad we didn’t. But I think Ronnie could have handled him either way.
She turns in her seat, looks at me and I swear she looks like she’s sixteen and going on her first date. “Megan, what do you think about me being hired?”
I don’t know what to say. “I’m happy for you.”
“No. I mean, how do you really feel? Am I cut out for this work? I know I didn’t get off on the best foot with you. And I don’t always wear the appropriate clothes. And I may be a little too friendly with some of the guys. And—”
“Cool your jets, Red,” I say, and smile so she knows I’m not making fun of her. “You will do fine if you look, listen and learn. So far I’ve had very few things to criticize you about. And you’ve learned from those things. You may want to tone down your attire because each day is a surprise. I wear crap business clothes because of what I’ve done and seen. You might have to go in a house with a dead body that is crawling with maggots and flies, or arrest someone with lice or crabs, and not the kind that come from the bay.”
She chuckles at my unintentional humor. It makes me lighten up a bit.
“What I’m saying is you’re going to be fine. I’d work with you any day. I think I was a little harsh at first myself.” I hold out a fist and she bumps it. I can see her eyes begin to water and it makes mine start. It’s like seeing someone yawn and you can’t help but yawn. I bite my tongue to distract myself. I’m her mentor, after all, and I can’t show weakness.
Actually, she will be fine. She’s seen me at my worst and kept her counsel. Not because she’s a suck-up but because she believes in the job the way I do it. Almost. I still will keep her at a distance about some things. I won’t ask her to do the hard things. When I kill Michael Rader, she won’t be party to that.
Forty-Nine
She watched the Taurus stop on the road earlier and considered killing Rylee then, but the redhead was in the car with her. She knew she could take