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and
Grace and I left.  
    “That was
perfect,” I said.   “Now back to
business.   Did you have any luck
finding either one of our last two suspects?”
    “It was tough,
but I finally got a line on both of them.”
    “Let’s hear what
you’ve got,” I said as we headed for my Jeep, now ready to tackle the world again
after filling our bellies.
    Grace was
interrupted before she had a chance to get started, though, as my cellphone
rang.
    “It’s Chief
Martin,” I told her after glancing at the caller ID, and then I answered.   “Hi.   Thanks for calling me back.”
    “Suzanne, I need
you to come to my office at the police station right now.”
    “Does it have to
be this instant?   Grace and I are busy
at the moment.”
    “Sorry, but this
can’t wait.   You should come alone,
so ask Grace if she could meet up with you later,” the chief said.
    “Is that an
order?” I asked, resenting his command.
    There was a heavy
sigh on the other end of the line, and then Chief Martin asked me in a voice
full of contrition, “Just do this for me without giving me any grief, okay?”
    “Fine.   I’ll see you in a few minutes,” I
said.   I’d never heard him couch a
request like that, and I wanted to see what this was all about.
    “What’s up?”
Grace asked me as I put my cellphone back in my pocket.
    “There’s been a
sudden change of plans.   I need to
drop you off at home, if you don’t mind.   The chief wants to see me in his office right away.”
    “Without me?”
Grace asked, clearly unhappy about being left out.
    “I’m sorry, but I
have a hunch that if I don’t go alone, I’m not going to find out what’s happening,”
I explained.   “Do this for me, could
you?   Is there anything that you can
do for an hour while I see what’s going on at the police station?”
    She
shrugged.   “Actually, I’ve got a
pile of paperwork waiting for me, but I’d still rather go with you.”
    “That’s my
preference, too, but I didn’t get a choice.”
    After a few
seconds, Grace finally gave in.   “Fine, but you need to come by my place
the second you leave the station and tell me everything that happened.   Is that agreed?”
    “Agreed,” I
said.  
    We got to her
place quickly, and I let her out.   As I drove back toward the chief’s office, I couldn’t help but wonder
what this sudden summons was all about.   Knowing that I’d find out in a few minutes didn’t make it any easier to
take, either.
    When I drove up,
I saw him standing out in front of the precinct door, and by the expression on
his face, I had a hunch that I wasn’t going to like what was about to come
next.
    The way it ended
up, boy, was that ever the truth.

 

 
    Chapter 8

 
    “I’m out here
because I wanted to speak with you first,” the chief told me after I’d parked
my Jeep in one of the spaces out front.   He’d met me halfway in the parking lot, and his expression hadn’t
softened during his stroll over.
    “What’s going
on?   Nothing’s wrong with Momma, is
it?”
    “No, of course
not.   Why would you even think
that?”
    “Well, even you
have to admit that this is all kind of mysterious,” I said.
    “No worries on
that front.   Your mother is fine.”
    “Have you spoken
with her yet about what’s been troubling her lately?” I asked him.
    “That’s why I
asked you to come by.   Suzanne, I’ve
officially resigned, once and for all, as the chief of police for April Springs.”
    “I already knew
that,” I replied.   “You’re still going
to keep filling in until Jake can finish working his notice so he can decide if
he wants to take over, right?”
    “I’m sorry, but it
looks as though that’s not going to happen.   I’ve already spoken with Jake this
morning, and so has the mayor.   It
appears that he meant what he said before.   Jake made it pretty clear that he’s not interested in my job, and I
can’t take another second of it.”
    “Hang on a second
and give me