intoxication level of one point two.”
“That’s a lot.”
“Yeah, especially considering that when I arrested that man, he wasn’t even drunk.”
“What?” I asked, my heart pounding.
“He didn’t smell like alcohol, he wasn’t weaving around, he didn’t display any of the characteristics we look for. Only reason they took blood is because it’s mandatory in vehicular homicides. I barely even glanced at the lab report when it came back in, so when I saw one point two, I nearly flipped.”
“Did you talk to anyone about it?”
“Nah, I was working double shifts back then, trying to pay off my car note. I just remember thinking, you never know. You never know.”
“So what happened after that?”
He shrugged.
“I didn’t have any other involvement,” he said. “I fielded a few calls from the press, but otherwise I went on to other things. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more than that. But I hope at least this much is a help to you, whatever you need the information for.”
I nodded, thinking about the kind officer sitting next to me, wondering what motivated him to speak to me despite the edict of his boss to cut me off.
“Why did you tell me all of this?” I asked finally, wondering how I could repay this debt.
He exhaled slowly.
“Because I remember you,” he said, his eyes sad as he gazed off across the park. “I responded to the scene of the accident first, before they called me over to the Docksider. I heard you screaming. I watched you clinging to your husband’s dead body, even as the paramedics were trying to pull him away from you.”
“I don’t remember much about that day,” I admitted softly.
“That’s funny,” he replied. “Because I’ve never been able to forget it.”
Eleven
I was in a daze once the officer left, my mind reeling.
James Sparks hadn’t been drunk after all? Surely, that couldn’t be true. I looked in my notes for the phone number of Harry Stickles, the man who had chased down the speedboat in his own boat and then tackled James Sparks on the dock.
His wife said he was out in the yard, working on the car, and that he would have to call me back. I told her it was urgent, so she asked me to hold on and then set the phone down with a clunk. I listened as she yelled for her husband. After about two full minutes, it sounded as though he had come inside.
“Don’t get grease on the phone,” she said in the background.
“I won’t,” he said irritably. Then he spoke into the phone. “Hello?”
“Mr. Stickles,” I said, “this is Callie Webber again, the one who called about the boating accident. I’m sorry to bother you, but I just have one more question for you.”
“Oh, it’s no bother,” he replied. “But call me Harry, please.”
“Sure,” I said. “Harry. I just wanted your impression of James Sparks that day you caught him at the Docksider.”
“My impression?”
“About his…about him being so drunk. His blood alcohol level was very high. I’m sure he must’ve been pretty out of control?”
“Naw, on the contrary,” he said. “He was upset at first, but then he got real quiet. I was surprised when the paper said he’d been drunk at the time. Sure didn’t seem drunk to me.”
“Did you smell alcohol on him?”
“Not that I noticed, but then again, I had already had one beer myself, so maybe I wouldn’t have smelled it anyway.”
“I see.”
“He sure wasn’t out of his head, though. I mean, I know drunks. I’ve seen my share around here, that’s for sure.”
He cracked up laughing, his laugh finally turning to a cough. I waited for the spell to be over before I spoke again.
“So you would say he definitely did not seem drunk at the time?”
“That is correct. He did not seem drunk at the time, though I guess he might’ve been. Some folks is quiet drunks, you know. Takes all kinds.”
I thanked him for his help and concluded the call, knowing what I had to do next. The time had come to see
“That’s a lot.”
“Yeah, especially considering that when I arrested that man, he wasn’t even drunk.”
“What?” I asked, my heart pounding.
“He didn’t smell like alcohol, he wasn’t weaving around, he didn’t display any of the characteristics we look for. Only reason they took blood is because it’s mandatory in vehicular homicides. I barely even glanced at the lab report when it came back in, so when I saw one point two, I nearly flipped.”
“Did you talk to anyone about it?”
“Nah, I was working double shifts back then, trying to pay off my car note. I just remember thinking, you never know. You never know.”
“So what happened after that?”
He shrugged.
“I didn’t have any other involvement,” he said. “I fielded a few calls from the press, but otherwise I went on to other things. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more than that. But I hope at least this much is a help to you, whatever you need the information for.”
I nodded, thinking about the kind officer sitting next to me, wondering what motivated him to speak to me despite the edict of his boss to cut me off.
“Why did you tell me all of this?” I asked finally, wondering how I could repay this debt.
He exhaled slowly.
“Because I remember you,” he said, his eyes sad as he gazed off across the park. “I responded to the scene of the accident first, before they called me over to the Docksider. I heard you screaming. I watched you clinging to your husband’s dead body, even as the paramedics were trying to pull him away from you.”
“I don’t remember much about that day,” I admitted softly.
“That’s funny,” he replied. “Because I’ve never been able to forget it.”
Eleven
I was in a daze once the officer left, my mind reeling.
James Sparks hadn’t been drunk after all? Surely, that couldn’t be true. I looked in my notes for the phone number of Harry Stickles, the man who had chased down the speedboat in his own boat and then tackled James Sparks on the dock.
His wife said he was out in the yard, working on the car, and that he would have to call me back. I told her it was urgent, so she asked me to hold on and then set the phone down with a clunk. I listened as she yelled for her husband. After about two full minutes, it sounded as though he had come inside.
“Don’t get grease on the phone,” she said in the background.
“I won’t,” he said irritably. Then he spoke into the phone. “Hello?”
“Mr. Stickles,” I said, “this is Callie Webber again, the one who called about the boating accident. I’m sorry to bother you, but I just have one more question for you.”
“Oh, it’s no bother,” he replied. “But call me Harry, please.”
“Sure,” I said. “Harry. I just wanted your impression of James Sparks that day you caught him at the Docksider.”
“My impression?”
“About his…about him being so drunk. His blood alcohol level was very high. I’m sure he must’ve been pretty out of control?”
“Naw, on the contrary,” he said. “He was upset at first, but then he got real quiet. I was surprised when the paper said he’d been drunk at the time. Sure didn’t seem drunk to me.”
“Did you smell alcohol on him?”
“Not that I noticed, but then again, I had already had one beer myself, so maybe I wouldn’t have smelled it anyway.”
“I see.”
“He sure wasn’t out of his head, though. I mean, I know drunks. I’ve seen my share around here, that’s for sure.”
He cracked up laughing, his laugh finally turning to a cough. I waited for the spell to be over before I spoke again.
“So you would say he definitely did not seem drunk at the time?”
“That is correct. He did not seem drunk at the time, though I guess he might’ve been. Some folks is quiet drunks, you know. Takes all kinds.”
I thanked him for his help and concluded the call, knowing what I had to do next. The time had come to see
Similar Books
