The Replacement Child - By Christine Barber Page 0,44
any sense.
Lucy slouched in her seat. She was just seeing a conspiracy here that didn’t exist. Journalists loved conspiracy theories because in their line of work, sometimes the conspiracy theories turned out to be true. “It’s not Scanner Lady. It can’t be her,” she muttered.
She jumped as a deputy knocked on the ambulance window. She and Gerald were escorted into the house. Deputies and fingerprint dust were everywhere. The police photographer clicked away. They were led into the back bedroom.
A big man with a round chest introduced himself as Major Ed Garcia, the investigating officer. Gerald greeted him warmly, calling him Eddie and giving him a handshake/hug. Lucy wondered how they knew each other. Cousins? Uncles?
Gerald explained how he and Lucy had come to the house and found the body. It was a quick summary, taking only a few sentences. Garcia nodded and didn’t ask any questions. It was all routine. They gave Garcia their names, addresses, and phone numbers. A deputy was about to escort them out when Lucy said, “Actually, Major, I was wondering about something.” She felt Gerald shift his stance next to her. He probably wanted her to shut up, but she didn’t care. She needed to know.
“I work at the newspaper, and we have this woman who always calls in with tips she hears on her scanner. I was just thinking that maybe this woman might be our tipster.”
Garcia looked at her intently. “You work at the newspaper? What do you do there?”
Lucy heard the edge in his voice. The innate distrust of journalists. “I’m an editor.”
Garcia glanced accusingly at Gerald, then back at Lucy. She could tell that the major was getting nervous. He didn’t say anything.
She made herself smile brightly. “If I could just hear her voice, maybe just hear her answering-machine message, I would know if she’s our tipster and let you guys get back to work.”
Garcia wasn’t buying her Pollyanna act. “I’m going to have to check with my superiors,” he said.
“I just need to hear her voice, that’s all. I just need to be sure. I only need to listen to the answering machine. How could that hurt anything? I swear I’m not going to run out and tell the newspaper anything.”
“Like I said, I need to check with my bosses. I have your name and number. I’ll call you.”
Lucy was about to argue but Gerald grabbed her arm and steered her out of the room. Damn police. Because she worked at a newspaper she was automatically labeled untrustworthy and willing to do anything to get a story.
As she walked through the living room, Lucy glanced furtively at the answering machine. It had been dusted for prints. If only she had listened to it before the cops showed up. But she had been trying to preserve the scene.
As they walked out into the bright sunlight, the OMI van pulled up. Lucy looked at the deputy escorting them.
“Deputy, what’s the operating theory? What do you guys think happened?” Lucy asked.
“Robbery that got interrupted,” he answered with no intonation.
“A robbery? Was anything taken? There were no signs of a struggle. The strangulation marks were made by a rope or something. If she had surprised a robber he would have reacted quickly and used his hands, right?”
The deputy shrugged. “Who knows?”
“The dead woman—what was her name?” Lucy asked.
The deputy hesitated. He had seen the exchange between her and Garcia.
“How can it hurt to tell me her name? I have to know so I can write my report anyway. If I don’t find out from you, I’ll just call dispatch for it,” Lucy asked.
The deputy hesitated again before he said quietly, “Patsy Burke.”
How could God allow a man that stupid to live? Someone should have killed Garcia with a rock a long time ago,” Lucy said as they climbed back into the ambulance. It took her a second to remember the half hug that Gerald had given Garcia. “Oh, sorry. I forgot you guys are related.”
“We’re not related. We played football together in high school, although we might be second cousins on my mother’s side.” Gerald smiled a little. “He’s not a bad guy.”
“You could have fooled me.”
Gerald shook his head and said, “He’s just doing his job.”
“Well, if his job is to be a jerk, he’s great at it.”
“In his mind, you’re the enemy. The newspaper has it out for the police.”
“No, we don’t, and I wasn’t there as a member of the media, I was there as a stupid medic.” She winced