Page 27 of Done Dirty

“Official COD is blunt force trauma to the occiput, three impacts, first one did the job. The other two were editorial. Postmortem stab wound confirmed—somebody was very angry and then very deliberate, in that order. BAC was point zero two, so maybe a glass of wine with dinner, which was salmon and vegetables by the way.”

“You could take a lesson from that kind of healthy eating.”

“Why?” I asked. “He’s dead. Fat lot of good it did him. I ate vegetables at lunch.”

“You did good.”

“Thank you. Anyway, his UV screen came back positive for seminal fluid, so those panties definitely had an owner. Swab and full tox panel are on their way to the lab in Richmond.”

There was a knock at the door and Plank peeked his head in.

“Come on in, Plank.”

“Got your coffees,” he said.

My mouth dropped open as Plank handed me one of the specialty coffees Lady Jane’s was famous for. He handed the other to Jack.

“We’re meeting up at our place tonight to go through the case files,” Jack told him. “Why don’t you join us since you were first on scene.”

“Yes, sir,” Plank said, coloring slightly. We all knew Plank wanted to be a detective, but he still needed some seasoning on him. Jack was giving him the opportunity.

When Plank left I looked at Jack. “You got me coffee?” I could have purred.

“And timed it just right,” he said, giving me a wink. “I figured you’d need a boost by this point in the day. Usually you’re falling asleep.”

“I could kiss you.”

“Plenty of time for that.”

“Promises, promises,” I said, propping my feet up in the other chair. “So what have you been doing?”

“Ignoring the media for the most part,” he said. “Martinez ran down the angry husband. His name is Holt Ferriday, and he owns a development company in KGP. Martinez is running a background check.”

“Don’t let me interrupt,” Martinez said from the doorway. “Hey, looking good, Doc. Nice to see you without that particular pallor of green. You were starting to look like She-Hulk.”

He was propped against the frame with one ankle crossed over the other, looking GQ suave as always.

I narrowed my eyes. “Yeah, throwing up at crime scenes was a real damper on the job.”

“And on the people around you,” he said. “You know I’m a sympathetic vomiter.”

“Uh-huh,” I said. “Try being pregnant in summer sometime.”

“No, thank you,” he said with a shudder. “I’m happy to be an uncle to everyone else’s kids.”

Martinez and I had worked a case not too long ago where we’d gotten to know each other pretty well, and I’d found out he’d had a vasectomy when he’d been young because he didn’t want children.

“You need a haircut, Martinez,” I said. “And is that a crease I’m seeing in your shirt? You’ve really let yourself go since Cole went on leave.”

Cole was another of Jack’s detectives, and he’d been shot in the line of duty by the same men who’d blown up my funeral home. I also knew from Lily that Cole was going stir crazy and driving her up the wall without work to do. Cops didn’t do well with “down time.”

Martinez laughed. “He’s coming back next week. I’ve got a haircut appointment scheduled after shift, and a fresh shirt in my locker so I can pick up my date. You’re just mad about the She-Hulk comment.”

“Maybe,” I said. “Are there still women left in King George County you haven’t dated yet?”

“Met her at my gym,” he said, grinning. “I guess there’s still a few left.”

“That seems to be a popular place,” I said.