Dogs on the Roll. I was glad about it. I wasn’t going to get any information from him about the murder, and apparently I was going to be forced to witness his courtship of Sabine, which I could do without.
Sabine had scrubbed the place in my absence. I was impressed, despite Land’s worries about leaving her alone in the truck by herself. We parted ways, and she assured me that she would be back in the morning. I wondered what her hours were at the gallery, but they didn’t seem to be interfering with her shifts on the food truck, so I didn’t complain.
I called Carter when I got home and left all the information on voice mail. I’d just started making dinner, if you want to call a can of soup “dinner,” when he returned my call.
“Maeve, thanks for the information. I called the lawyer, and you’re right. He wants to learn more about my father. I’m not sure what to tell him since I have no way of contacting him.”
I took a deep breath. “If I were you, I’d contact the family then. They have a sister named Brianna, and I’ve talked to her. They may know where your father is.” I scrounged through my purse until I found the card with her number on it. I read it off to Carter. After a few more minutes of chatting, he hung up.
Chapter 7
The next morning broke beautifully. I was awake early and actually had time to stop for a cup of coffee on the way to pick up the truck. It was heaven not to be rushed, but, of course, not enough so to make me get up earlier than I had to.
I pulled the truck into its normal place on Elm Street and began the prep work. I had about finished the coffee rituals when Sabine showed up. She looked beautiful, as always, and I was stunned by the fact that she was here early. Land had always called her lazy, and it didn’t match the woman who had been here early twice in a row. Granted, I’d only known her for a short time, but perhaps family doesn’t know you best.
We continued getting ready for work in silence. She definitely was someone who kept her thoughts to herself, but she did share at times. Today apparently was not one of those times.
We were almost prepped to open when we heard a loud crash from outside. I flipped open the window, having the foresight to lock the register almost simultaneously. I looked down to Government Square and saw two homeless men arguing loudly. It appeared that one of them had knocked over one of the trash bins, the large metallic framed cans on each corner of the square.
I stared at the men for a moment, feeling a shiver go up my spine. The scene was just vaguely reminiscent of what I’d seen the other night, though it had been at the park and not in daylight.
I started to say something, but before I could, Sabine was at my side watching. She gasped as we watched.
One of the men was the manicured man I’d seen twice now. The other one I didn’t recognize. That wasn’t going to stop me. I headed to the door and was on my way to Government Square before I could talk myself out of doing something stupid. It was well lit and open. I figured that I would be safe there. A few pedestrians walked by, but they turned their heads away to avoid looking at the two men arguing.
However, as I approached, the manicured man saw me and ran. He sprinted across the square before I could say anything to him. The other man stayed where he was. He looked at me for a long moment and then collapsed on the ground.
I checked him for a pulse, careful to keep my fingerprints and DNA off of him. I couldn’t find a pulse on his wrist or neck. I stood up and walked quickly back to the truck.
I shouted to Sabine as I approached the food truck “Call 9-1-1. Now.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. Her phone was out and up against her ear in seconds. She disconnected and looked at me. “The ambulance is on the way, and so is Jax. He needs to be aware of this—now.” I noticed that she used the detective’s given
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