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“Poor Ted,” Joa
“He just took off,” Ted answered. “Everything was going fine, right up until yesterday, when he didn’t show up for his counseling sessions. When he didn’t turn up again today, his supervisor called him at home and got no answer. When somebody finally called me and let me know what was going on, I drove straight to his apartment down in Douglas to see if he was all right. He didn’t answer my knock. There were two unopened newspapers in the driveway, mail in the mailbox, and no car. Given Brad’s history with booze, I’m guessing he’s had a relapse and is back on the sauce. I was hoping maybe you could help me find him before things get any worse than they already are.”
Suddenly Joa
“What’s his name again?” Joa
“I call him Brad,” Ted replied. “But his real name is Bradley- Bradley Evans.”
“How old is he?” she asked.
Ted shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. Fifty-something, I suppose.”
“And what does he look like?”
“Reddish-blond hair,” Ted answered. “Balding. A little pudgy around the middle.”
“Any tattoos?” Joa
“I wouldn’t know about that,” Ted returned. “Why?”
Without answering, Joa
“Not really,” he returned. “At least I’m not supposed to be. I’m actually standing with my keys in hand and one foot out the door.”
“Put down the keys and wait for me,” Joa
“Why? What’s the big hurry?”
“I have someone here in my office. I think he can shed light on this morning’s case.”
“You’d better hurry, then,” George said. “It’s Friday, and your mother is expecting guests for di
“Don’t worry,” Joa
“I’m not sure, Ted,” Joa
“You want me to see if I can identify him?” Ted asked.
Joa
It took Ted a moment to come to grips with what Joa
Ted sat quietly in the passenger seat of Joa
On the way Joa
George was waiting in the doorway and looking pointedly at his watch when Joa
“This is Ted Chapman,” Joa
“Of course,” George said gravely, taking Ted Chapman by the arm. “Right this way.”
George led them into a velvet-lined room that, in the building’s mortuary days, had been a private family viewing room. As part of the county morgue it now served a grimmer but similar purpose. Joa
When he removed the sheet to reveal the dead man’s face, Ted swayed as though his knees were about to give way beneath him. Taking him by the elbow, Joa
“It is him,” Ted whispered hoarsely. “It’s Brad.”
She turned back to signal George to shut the curtain, but he had already done so. She gave Ted a few minutes to regain his composure. “Thank you, Ted. Does Mr. Evans have any next of kin?”
“Probably,” Ted said. “But I have no idea who they are or how to contact them.”
“My detectives are going to need to talk to you as soon as possible,” Joa
“Tonight?”
Unlike Joa
“Yes,” Joa
“All right,” Ted said. “But I’ll need to call my wife and let her know what’s going on.”
While Ted used his cell phone to explain the situation to Gi
“When will you be home?” Je
“You’re probably on your own for di
“With Butch gone, I thought we’d get to have a girls’ night, just the two of us, the way things used to be.” Je
“I thought so, too, sweetie,” Joa
“No, you’re not,” Je
With that, she hung up, leaving her mother listening to the empty hum of the phone line.
Chapter 3
On her way back to the Justice Center, Joa
“Any idea where Ernie is?” Joa
“For someone who claims to hate driving back and forth to Tucson, it seems like he’s been doing that a lot lately.”
“Yes, it does,” Jaime agreed, but he didn’t say anything more than that, and Joa
Joa
“Hey, Rich,” he said. “Ted Chapman here. Sorry to call you at home like this, but I have some bad news about one of your guys-Brad Evans. He’s been killed-murdered.”
Joa
“It happened along Border Road,” Ted continued. “Someone found the body early this morning. I just identified it, but the sheriff’s department is trying to locate next of kin, and I was wondering… Sure, sure. If you wouldn’t mind, that would be great. What’s the phone number here?”
Joa