Daddy's Little Killer

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 

Hertz guaranteed an SUV when I booked the reservation. When I landed in Darkwater Bay, they had a Prius waiting for me. I stared at the tiny car with dubious regard. "Seriously? I doubt my legs will fit in there, let alone all of my luggage." Howard the shuttle driver was still lugging my suitcases from the van that delivered me to the car lot.

Rental girl snapped her gum. "You alone?"

"How is that relevant?"

"Cuz if there's no passengers, you can put the extra bags in the back seat of the car. Two should fit in the trunk without a problem."

This is the story of how I ended up driving a battery-operated coffin instead of a real vehicle. I've got nothing against the green movement. I'm merely waiting for the model of vehicle that accommodates anyone taller than five six.

Howard kindly adjusted the driver's seat as far back as it would slide before I folded myself into the tiny and quiet vehicle. Before I could drive away, an enviable dark Crown Victoria pulled up to the curb behind me. "Please let them be returning a car I would rent," I muttered under my breath.

No such luck. Two men in suits stepped out of the vehicle. Anxiety sparked between nerve endings in the center of my chest. Marcos knew I was here? David discovered I left the coast and called agents from the local field office?

Two men approached my car-one older and rotund in the middle, one younger with a deep cleft just left of center chin. His hair dipped down over the edge of one eyelid. He tapped my closed window with a shiny gold badge.

"Great," I hissed a choice word or two under my breath and depressed the button to open the window. Its motor hummed softly.

"Dr. Eriksson?"

I watched his chest expand and freeze the moment our eyes met. Something about the way he looked at me seemed... off. He stumbled half a step backward. Not my imagination.

I frowned. "Yes?"

"Detectives Conall and Briscoe, Darkwater Bay PD, Downey Division. Commissioner Hardy informed us you'd be arriving tonight and requested that we escort you to a fresh crime scene."

I shook my head, more of a rattle really. "Detective, I haven't even agreed to consult on cases for Darkwater Bay yet."

"I understand, Dr. Eriksson, but this case is..."

The man on the other side of the car, presumably Briscoe, muttered something to his partner. I couldn't make out the words, but the tone was clear as day. Serious.

"Fine. I'll go with you to this crime scene."

"If you'd like, we can take you, ma'am."

"Eriksson will do," did I really look old enough to warrant ma'am? Any woman approaching 40 who tells you she doesn't mind being called ma'am is either insane or a liar, possibly both. Ma'am. Why not call me grandma while you're at it?

"I'll follow you in my rental," I said. "I'd rather not take a trip into the city only to have to return for the car after I see your crime scene."

The passenger door popped open and the round detective grunted. He wasn't fitting inside a whole lot better than I was. "Tony Briscoe, Dr. Eriksson," he said. "I'll ride along with you so I can fill you in on the particulars of the case, what we know, why this thing is such a goddamned hornet's nest already. Also, I can help you get through our ground cover so you don't get turned around on the way to the scene."

I clicked on the GPS system. "What's the address?"

"Forty-two fifty Templeton Lane."

Coordinates entered. "Nightingale?"