For Old Crime's Sake (Chase Charley Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

just hoped I didn’t end up in jail today. I would have a hard time explaining that to Oscar.
    The cop’s stare was still on me as he walked up to the side of my car. He stopped by the window. The tag on his shirt said West. At least now I had his last name. More of his features were visible in the light of day. I’d seen he had dark hair last night, but now I saw that he had deep brown eyes. Wrinkles lined the corners of his eyes and he had a small scar on the left side of his upper lip. The officer was solid and well over six feet tall. He was like a tree towering over me.
    “Hello, Officer,” I said in a singsong voice. “How are you?”
    “Did I ask you to speak?” he barked.
    Being the smartass that I was, I had to respond. “You didn’t ask, but I was curious about your wellbeing.”
    Why didn’t I ever use my better judgment? For someone who didn’t want to go to jail, I was sure giving it my best shot.
    “Do you know why I stopped you?” His voice held no mercy, only anger.
    I had a feeling, yes, but I decided to go along with his little game.
    “No.” My voice was full of saccharine sweetness. I wondered if he would fall for the batting eyelashes trick. Considering he looked as if he wanted to rip my face off, I doubted it.
    “You have a busted taillight. I’m going to have to give you a ticket for that.” He pulled out his official ticket-writing notepad.
    “But…”
    He glared at me and I knew that it would only get worse if I said anything else.
    “License and registration, please.”
    I handed him the items. He turned on his heel and marched back to the car. The other officer was still beside the car. I guess he was assigned to keep an eye on me.
    “You doing okay?” he asked as he leaned down against the car.
    I frowned. “No, actually I’ve had better days.”
    He stared at me under his thick eyelashes for a beat. “I’m really sorry about that.”
    “You know my light wasn’t broken, don’t you?” I asked.
    He studied my face, but didn’t answer. Finally, he pulled out a card. “Call me if you need anything.”
    I looked at the thick white paper. Another officer’s name had been struck out and in pen underneath was written Marc Marquez.
    I tapped the card with my index finger. “Are you Marc or the other name?”
    A touch of red colored Officer Marquez’s cheeks. “I don’t have my cards yet. So I’m just using those until I get mine.”
    Oh, great, an officer who had been on the force for two days. That would be a lot of help.
    I motioned toward the back of the car with a tilt of my head. “What’s the other officer’s name?”
    Officer Marquez paused and glanced toward the police car. “Phillip West.”
    “Thanks,” I said.
    He flashed his brilliant smile at me and then leaned back from the car when he spotted the other cop returning.
    Stomping back to my side, Officer West thrust his hand forward and handed me a ticket and my items back. “I trust you will get that light fixed right away.”
    I stared at him. “Yes, of course.”
    “And you won’t get in any more trouble, right?” He focused his death glare on me.
    I nodded. “Of course not.”
    He stared and then walked away. Officer Marquez followed him and they climbed into their car. I made eye contact with Officer Marquez. He seemed sympathetic, but what good would that do me?
    I had gotten the message loud and clear. That didn’t mean I would listen though. I had to find out what this cop Phillip West was trying to keep quiet.

Chapter Four
     
    I parked my car in front of the salon on the other side of the street. Cars passed down the street one after the other. After waiting for several cars to pass, I crossed to the other side.
    I still couldn’t get the bad cop out of my head. Something about Phillip West wasn’t right and I knew it. I had to find out what he was up to and what he had done with the body in his trunk. It sent chills down my spine knowing that I had been that close to a dead