فصل 20 - بخش 04

20

He was telling Jeannie how it went when his phone rang. It was Yune. ‘Can we talk tomorrow, Ralph? There was something weird in that barn where the kid found the clothes Maitland was wearing in the railway station. More than one thing, actually.’

‘Tell me now.’

‘No. I’m going home. I’m tired. And I need to think about this.’

‘Okay, tomorrow. Where?’

‘Someplace quiet and out of the way. I can’t afford to be seen talking to you. You’re on administrative leave, and I’m off the case. Actually, there is no case. Not with Maitland dead.’

‘What’s going to happen with the clothes?’

‘They’re going to Cap City for forensics examination. After that, they’ll be turned over to the Flint County Sheriff’s Department.’

‘Are you kidding? They should be with the rest of the Maitland evidence. Besides which, Dick Doolin can’t blow his own nose without an instruction manual.’

‘That may be true, but Canning Township is county, not city, which makes it the sheriff’s jurisdiction. I heard Chief Geller was sending a detective out, but just as a courtesy.’

‘Hoskins.’

‘Yeah, that was the name. He’s not here yet, and by the time he makes it, everyone will be gone. Maybe he got lost.’

More likely stopped somewhere for a few pops, Ralph thought.

Yune said, ‘Those clothes will end up in an evidence box at the sheriff’s department, and they’ll still be there when the twenty-second century dawns. No one gives a shit. The feeling is Maitland did it, Maitland’s dead, let’s move on.’

‘I’m not ready to do that,’ Ralph said, and smiled when Jeannie, sitting on the sofa, made fists and popped two thumbs up. ‘Are you?’

‘Would I be talking to you if I was? Where should we meet tomorrow?’

‘There’s a little coffee shop near the train station in Dubrow. O’Malley’s Irish Spoon, it’s called. Can you find it?’

‘No doubt.’

‘Ten o’clock?’

‘Sounds good. If I have to roll on something, I’ll call and reschedule.’

‘You have all the witness statements, right?’

‘On my laptop.’

‘Make sure you bring it. All my stuff is at the station, and I’m not supposed to be there. Got a lot to tell you.’

‘Same here,’ Yune said. ‘We may crack this yet, Ralph, but I don’t know if we’ll like what we find. This is a pretty deep forest.’

Actually, Ralph thought as he ended the call, it’s a cantaloupe. And the damn thing is full of maggots.