a psychotic daughter.” She turned to Davies. “Your Mom hired me to find him.”
“Not funny,” Davies said.
“In Apartment 312?” Jake asked.
“Deadbeat Dads don’t put their names on their mailboxes, Jake. You’ll learn that when you become a detective.” Jake’s face flashed red, and for a moment, Mary felt bad, which surprised her. She didn’t want to hurt him, just sting him a little. And she really didn’t want to fuck up his career.
“Ever heard of a man named Barrymore Olis?” Davies said. “Barry Olis to his friends?”
“I know an Oily Boris, but not a Barry Olis.”
“Well, there was a body in 312, and the apartment belonged to a Barry Olis,” Davies said.
“Excellent deduction, detective,” Mary said.
Jake pulled out a sheet of paper. “Any idea what this means?” But before Mary could answer, the Shark snatched the paper from Jake’s hand.
“Let’s get information, Detective Cornell,” Davies said. A hard edge to her voice that perfectly complemented her entire being. “Not give it. We’re all done here,” she said. The Shark turned her full attention on Mary. “Stay away from me, Cooper. This is your last warning. You turn up at another one of my crime scenes and I’ll run you out of town like the obnoxious jerk you are.”
The Shark stormed off with Jake in tow.
“Thanks for coming!” Mary called after them.
But it didn’t matter. She didn’t really care what the Shark threatened to do. She’d gotten a good look at that sheet of paper in Jake’s hand. A part of her wanted to believe that Jake had done it on purpose, to give her the information but make it look like he’d done it accidentally. Her heart lightened a little bit and she almost smiled. He was smarter than Davies, that was for sure. Hopefully, she’d find that out one day, in a bad way.
Mary had seen that piece of paper, and she had read it. So she knew what she had to do.
It had been three little words. But words that tied this murder into Uncle Brent’s.
The note had been in big block letters.
He really bombed.
Ten
“I always knew your career choice would blow up in your face,” Aunt Alice said as she let Mary inside the house. Mary rolled her eyes. A man in a pair of black slacks and a black turtleneck rose from the couch to greet her.
“This is Whitney Braggs,” Alice said. “Whitney, this is my niece, Kojak.”
“Mary, actually.”
“Nice to meet you Mary Actually.”
Oh God, Mary thought. Everyone’s a comedian, and a bad one at that. Braggs smiled at her and Mary noted the brilliant white teeth, the smooth, tanned skin and the perfect white hair. This guy was probably in his late sixties, but he clearly took good care of himself.
“Really, though,” he said. “I know you’re a Cooper. Brent, your…uncle, and I went way back. I’m sorry for your loss.” His voice was evenly smooth and cultured. He sounded like a radio announcer.
“Mary, can I get you anything?” Alice said. “A drink of water? An application to a local community college?”
Mary had been released several hours ago. The prognosis had been good. No broken bones. A slight concussion, most likely. Right now, she just felt sore and tired.
“Ladies,” Braggs said. “Since you’re both slightly incapacitated, allow me.” He escorted Alice to a chair. Even though she was walking now, it wasn’t a very steady gate. Mary didn’t bother waiting for him. She sat down on the yellow chair next to Alice. Alice asked for iced tea and Mary asked for a Diet Coke. Mary caught a waft of subtle, expensive cologne.
Once Braggs had left for the kitchen, Mary turned to Aunt Alice. “So is the sex good with him?”
Alice looked at her out of the corner of her eye and answered in a soft voice.
“Why, would you be jealous?” she said.
“Looks like you didn’t even ruffle his hair.”
“He got so excited there wasn’t time…”
The return of Braggs with the drinks cut Alice off. Mary had to laugh inside. Sometimes she hated being a Cooper. Other times, like now, joking with her aunt about sex with a stranger, actually made her glad. Just a little.
“Whitney says that a group of Brent’s friends are all coming to town,” Alice offered.
“There go our property values,” Mary said. “Buy your polyester shirtsand Sansabelts now, before they’re gone.”
“Some of them are actually here, living here,” Braggs said. “But yeah, there are a few out-of-towners. You know, we were all pretty close back in the day,” he said, his face