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“Yeah, I’ll let you know what my friend says.”
Chapter 2
Today
“Hey, Rick. What’s up?”
“Can we talk to you a second?”
Margot looked past Detective Rick Radcliff to see Detective Ames was also standing by her door. Behind him was a tall sheriff’s deputy built like a tank. He was wearing a cowboy hat, which he tipped her way as he leaned against the railing in front of Margot’s second-floor apartment before giving Margot the kind of hard stare that made her think she was guilty of something.
“I take it since it’s ‘can we talk’ that this isn’t a social call?”
“I wish it was. Can we come in?”
“Do I need a lawyer?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Come on Margot,” Ames said. “Don’t be such a hard-ass.”
“I’ve got things to do, is this going to take long?”
“That depends on how much you cooperate. Things would move faster if we could come inside,” Ames told her.
“Who’s the cowboy?”
“That’s Deputy Brantley.”
“Alright, tell me what this is about and then I’ll decide whether to let you in or not.”
“Do you know a guy by the name of Ron Stickly?” Ames asked.
“You mean Stick? Yeah, I know him. We work the same business, only he’s probably making a better living at it than I am.”
“He’s not making a living at anything anymore,” Ames told her.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’re a smart girl Margot, what do you think it means?”
“Are you saying he’s dead?”
“Yes,” Radcliff told her. “I apologize for my partner’s crude way of breaking the news.”
“No problem. I’m guessing he didn’t die of heart disease or you two and the deputy wouldn’t be here.”
“You guess correctly. Someone shot up his car with him in it. Given where he was found, the guess is he was on the way to the hospital. Can we come in now?”
“You don’t think I did it, do you?”
“No,” Ames replied, “but I’m keeping an open mind.”
Margot stepped aside and let the two detectives come into her apartment. The deputy was still leaning against the railing.
“You coming in?” Margot asked him.
He unfolded his arms and adjusted his hat. Margot took this to be a yes and left the door open.
