Joyce & Jim Lavene - Taxi for the Dead 02 - Dead Girl Blues by Joyce Lavene, Jim Lavene

ransacked the kitchen while Gerald got dressed. There was no coffee, no food of any kind.
    “Not any clean dishes either,” Lucas remarked as he opened cabinets and the refrigerator. “I think he lives on food that others make for him.”
    “Take-out,” I corrected automatically. “I don’t think he’s been out of the house in a long time. We’ll have to go get coffee and food. I think he needs to eat too.”
    “You might not be able to prop him up long enough to get the answers you seek,” Lucas said.
    “It won’t take that long. One good conversation and I’ll know what he knows. We just have to get past the crying and get him thinking again.”
    “He is a warrior? Is my understanding correct?”
    “You could say that. At least he was a warrior.”
    There was pounding on what was left of the front door followed by a brisk voice announcing itself. “Nashville PD, Mr. Linker. Let us in.”
     

Chapter Eleven
     
    “Let me handle this,” I said to Lucas. Gerald had come out of the bedroom, still half dressed. “Finish getting ready.”
    “I have a reputation,” Gerald whispered. “I don’t know why they’re here now, but they’ve been here before.”
    “Don’t worry about it,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “I’ll take care of it.”
    Lucas waited in the kitchen while I pulled open the door with the large hole in it.
    “Officers.” I nodded to the two young men on the doorstep.
    “We need to speak to Mr. Linker, ma’am. Is he here?” The officer closest to the door surveyed the inside of the house that he could see.
    “I’m a social worker.” The lie rolled off my tongue. “Skye Mertz.” I shook his hand. “The department of social services is trying to get Mr. Linker on his feet and involved in a recovery program.”
    The two young men exchanged glances.
    “We had a report of gun fire earlier.” He looked pointedly at the hole in the door.
    “I’m so sorry.” I smiled and straightened my hair a little. “It was careless of me. I was moving the shotgun off the table, and it accidentally discharged. I could never stand to see a gun lying out in the open that way.”
    “Is Mr. Linker here, ma’am?” The second officer seemed not to believe my story.
    “He is, but he’s in the shower. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get him in there?” I lowered my voice. “I didn’t want to take him anywhere in my car.”
    Finally the first officer nodded and smiled. “Yes, ma’am. We do. We’ve had the beat for a while. We know exactly what you mean. I hope you can do him some good. Poor old man.”
    “Thank you for coming so promptly, officers.” I was joking of course. I could have killed Gerald and stolen everything he had before they got there. They had dragged their feet getting here because they knew what to expect. I was probably a pleasant surprise.
    “Thank you, ma’am. You take care now.” He tapped his cap, and they went back down the stairs.
    “Are they gone?” Gerald asked from the bedroom.
    “Yes. I’ve had similar calls myself when I was working. We’re fine now.”
    “What would the law keepers have done if they’d learned Gerald had shot at us?” Lucas asked.
    “Taken him in to jail,” I answered. “It’s illegal to shoot a gun in the city limits.”
    “Thank you,” Gerald said. “It would’ve been a lot worse than that, Skye. For me, any call to the police is just the beginning of months of harassment. You kept that from happening to me again. Maybe there’s something to this partnership idea.”
    “Let’s get out of here,” I said. “Your house needs a good cleaning, Gerald, and you need to get some food in here. The police are going to be less likely to harass you if it looks like you’re taking care of yourself.”
    The closest coffee shop was a few blocks away. We headed there first. Lucas didn’t really like coffee, but he had a cup of tea. Gerald and I both had large black coffees. I bought him a bagel with cream