Secrets and Lies by Capri Montgomery Page B

misplacement of their loved one’s body?
    “You’re late,” he snapped. How could she be late when she wasn’t even expected?
    “I’m sorry. I was sent up to missing person’s first…” he held up his hand and not so politely told her to stop talking.
    “We’ll take my car,” he snapped. “If I hadn’t had to wait for you I could have been there already. Dead bodies don’t just wait you know.”
    “Where exactly are they going to go?” He looked at her in a way that told her she should shut up or risk punishment. Well, at least they had found her mother. That was a plus. But why did he need her to go with him. Couldn’t they just bring her back to the morgue?
    The ride over had been quiet and tense. The Captain hadn’t uttered two words to her...that is two polite words. He had told her, the moment she tried to speak, that he didn’t want her excuses…he had said that with several expletives in between each word.
    When they arrived at the Victorian designed home she saw the mass of officers and medical trucks outside. The good captain had told her to move her feet, so she moved her feet. It wasn’t until she entered the living room and saw the blood soaked carpet that she felt nauseated. Surely this wasn’t about her mother, and it would have been better if he had discussed her case in his office instead of at a crime scene.
    “I hate blood and mutilated bodies,” she groaned, placing her hand over her stomach.
    “Then why the hell did you become a homicide detective? A cop can’t be squeamish.”
    “I’m not a cop.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “I’m not a cop.”
    “Then why did you say you were.”
    “I didn’t. I started to introduce myself to you down at the station, but you held up your hand, told me you didn’t have time for introduction and to get my…behind, only you used an expletive, in the car. Seeing as though it’s not physically possible for me to get just my behind into the car I assumed you wanted all of me in there. You weren’t up for conversation on the way over here—” He held up his hand again and she stopped talking. Clearly there had been a mistake. She could only imagine he was expecting a new officer to start today…but wouldn’t he know who the officer was…or more like, shouldn’t he know?
    “Who the hell are you?” He growled.
    “Thena,” she said. “Thena Davis. I wanted to talk to you about my mother’s missing body.” The other detectives on the scene stopped what they were doing and looked over in observation of a situation that was growing tenser by the second. This wasn’t her fault. He told her to get in the car? So she got in the car.
    He mumbled several more curses, grabbed her by the arm and bodily forced her out the door and back into his car. This time, instead of putting her in the passenger seat, he made sure he tucked her away in the back like a criminal.
    When they arrived at the station he put her in a holding cell, all the while muttering curses about how stupid she was and how he wasn’t letting her leave until somebody came to get her. He had even mentioned pressing charges against her…but then she quickly reminded him that she never said she was a cop and he never gave her a chance to say anything. Her words inspired more curses. He ordered the guard to make her sit for a couple hours and then let her use the phone. Great, she was in lockup and nobody could come rescue her because nobody knew where she was. She couldn’t call a lawyer either. The only saving grace was that they hadn’t actually booked her. She wouldn’t actually have a record.
    After two hours of sitting in with the hookers and druggies she finally got her phone call. Boy was she in trouble. Who could she call that she could be sure would answer the phone…would not only answer, but would also drop everything to come get her?
    “McGregor Investigations.”
    “Janet, this is Thena. Is Thomas there? It’s an emergency.”
    “Um…his phone is on the do not