off.”
“Contrary to popular titles, death does not take any holidays.”
I smiled and motioned for him to come in. He looked toward the kitchen and sniffed thoughtfully, a question in his brow.
“Green tea with jasmine,” I said.
He smiled. “Now, that’s a new one for me.”
Yes! I thought. Out loud I said, “ And my homemade sugar cookies.”
Drew shook his head and smiled. “Now, Toni, you are going to just spoil me.”
“It gets better,” I said. “It’s your mama’s recipe for the cookies.”
“Oh no. I hope you don’t have very many of them, because I have just managed to take off five pounds I gained from slacking off at the gym last month. I had to work out double time for two solid weeks. If you’ve got Mama’s sugar cookies, I could regain the whole five pounds in one sitting.” And then he laughed.
Now I shook my head. “Well, lucky for you, my son was over here the other day and he polished off quite a few of them before I managed to run him off.”
“Thank goodness,” he chuckled. “All the time at the gym will not be wasted now.”
He smiled that great smile with his gentle overbite. Drew had married when he was twenty-one and divorced before he was twenty-seven. His wife had left him for someone else. Drew said it was because she couldn’t handle his police work—he had been a state trooper then.Still, I wondered what that crazy woman must have been thinking. Drew was a treasure. I hated to be a matchmaker, but I just knew there must be a nice young woman out there for him somewhere.
I plated the cookies and poured our tea. Drew laid the file on the table and took off his windbreaker, hung it on the back of his chair and waited. He would never sit down until all the ladies in the room were seated. I sat and then he sat. I made a mental note to look much harder to find a nice girl for him. He would have been embarrassed to know that, but he would never know. I could be sneaky when I wanted to be.
We chatted for a while. He asked how Michael was and I asked about his mother. Mama Beatrice was doing well, he told me, but she was thinking about leaving Louisiana and moving to Austin to be closer to Drew. She was getting up in years and thought that living closer to her son would be wise. Drew’s sister lived in San Antonio and both of his brothers worked in Houston. Mama Beatrice didn’t like either of those places as well as Austin. Plus, I knew that Drew was the one of her children who took care of things for her.
I told Drew I’d be happy to help her find a place and relocate. I would love to have my friend Beatrice in the city. Drew said he’d take me up on that, and he’d keep me posted on her plans.
“So, what is new on our cottonwood case that has caused you to work on your day off?”
“She’s been identified.”
I set my teacup down. This was always the moment for which I worked and waited.
“Her name is Lisa Wells.”
I sat still for a moment. This young girl with whom I had become so connected and whose face had come to lifeagain under my fingertips—this young girl was reconnected with her name and her history.
“How did you find out who she was?”
“Her mother saw the photos of the bust on the local TV news and recognized her. She called the number on the screen, and wanted to come in and identify her daughter.”
I sighed a deep sigh. “Oh man.”
“Yeah. I had to explain to her as gently as I could that it would not be possible. Then I explained that I would need her daughter’s dental records and we would confirm the ID.”
“How did she take it when you explained?”
“Pretty hard. I cushioned the news as much as I could, but there aren’t a lot of sweet ways you can tell a mother that her daughter’s remains consist of bones that lay exposed in a cottonwood grove for months and have been picked clean by buzzards.”
I ran my hand through my hair and sighed again.
“Sorry, Toni.”
“No, it’s not what you said. I deal with
“Contrary to popular titles, death does not take any holidays.”
I smiled and motioned for him to come in. He looked toward the kitchen and sniffed thoughtfully, a question in his brow.
“Green tea with jasmine,” I said.
He smiled. “Now, that’s a new one for me.”
Yes! I thought. Out loud I said, “ And my homemade sugar cookies.”
Drew shook his head and smiled. “Now, Toni, you are going to just spoil me.”
“It gets better,” I said. “It’s your mama’s recipe for the cookies.”
“Oh no. I hope you don’t have very many of them, because I have just managed to take off five pounds I gained from slacking off at the gym last month. I had to work out double time for two solid weeks. If you’ve got Mama’s sugar cookies, I could regain the whole five pounds in one sitting.” And then he laughed.
Now I shook my head. “Well, lucky for you, my son was over here the other day and he polished off quite a few of them before I managed to run him off.”
“Thank goodness,” he chuckled. “All the time at the gym will not be wasted now.”
He smiled that great smile with his gentle overbite. Drew had married when he was twenty-one and divorced before he was twenty-seven. His wife had left him for someone else. Drew said it was because she couldn’t handle his police work—he had been a state trooper then.Still, I wondered what that crazy woman must have been thinking. Drew was a treasure. I hated to be a matchmaker, but I just knew there must be a nice young woman out there for him somewhere.
I plated the cookies and poured our tea. Drew laid the file on the table and took off his windbreaker, hung it on the back of his chair and waited. He would never sit down until all the ladies in the room were seated. I sat and then he sat. I made a mental note to look much harder to find a nice girl for him. He would have been embarrassed to know that, but he would never know. I could be sneaky when I wanted to be.
We chatted for a while. He asked how Michael was and I asked about his mother. Mama Beatrice was doing well, he told me, but she was thinking about leaving Louisiana and moving to Austin to be closer to Drew. She was getting up in years and thought that living closer to her son would be wise. Drew’s sister lived in San Antonio and both of his brothers worked in Houston. Mama Beatrice didn’t like either of those places as well as Austin. Plus, I knew that Drew was the one of her children who took care of things for her.
I told Drew I’d be happy to help her find a place and relocate. I would love to have my friend Beatrice in the city. Drew said he’d take me up on that, and he’d keep me posted on her plans.
“So, what is new on our cottonwood case that has caused you to work on your day off?”
“She’s been identified.”
I set my teacup down. This was always the moment for which I worked and waited.
“Her name is Lisa Wells.”
I sat still for a moment. This young girl with whom I had become so connected and whose face had come to lifeagain under my fingertips—this young girl was reconnected with her name and her history.
“How did you find out who she was?”
“Her mother saw the photos of the bust on the local TV news and recognized her. She called the number on the screen, and wanted to come in and identify her daughter.”
I sighed a deep sigh. “Oh man.”
“Yeah. I had to explain to her as gently as I could that it would not be possible. Then I explained that I would need her daughter’s dental records and we would confirm the ID.”
“How did she take it when you explained?”
“Pretty hard. I cushioned the news as much as I could, but there aren’t a lot of sweet ways you can tell a mother that her daughter’s remains consist of bones that lay exposed in a cottonwood grove for months and have been picked clean by buzzards.”
I ran my hand through my hair and sighed again.
“Sorry, Toni.”
“No, it’s not what you said. I deal with
Similar Books
