Chapter Six


Rona jiggled her leg. She wanted to pace, but she didn’t want to draw the attention of the drug addict on the other side of the reception area.

She glanced at her watch. It had only been five minutes since she asked the receptionist to page Detective Wiles. She groaned under her breath. She just wanted to get the information in the address book and get out of here.

“Officer Mendoza?”

Rona jumped up gratefully. It was Officer whatshisname, from that night. She held out her hand, and he smiled as he shook it.

“David Park,” he said, as though reading her mind. “I’m afraid Detective Wiles isn’t available right now. What can I do for you?”

“Is there someplace we can talk?” she asked.

“Of course,” he said, and led her down the hall to an empty office. “Have a seat,” he told her as he sat behind the desk. “What did you want to tell me?”

Rona took a deep breath. “You’re aware of the investigation I’m conducting?”

Officer Park nodded. “You’re trying to locate a puppy mill,” he said. “Our vic said he had evidence for you.”

She nodded. “This morning his son came to see me. Evidently he went to see the mill a week before he died. I have a possible lead on its location, but in order to confirm it, I need to see something you have in evidence.”

The other cop shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t just hand you evidence,” he said.

“Of course I don’t expect you to do that,” Rona snapped. “I just want a photocopy of his appointment book.”

“You think he would put a visit to an illegal puppy mill in his day planner?” Officer Park asked.

Rona hesitated. She didn’t want to tip her hand. But she remembered what Karen had said. With a small sigh, she pulled the GPS out of her pocket.

“His GPS,” she said. “If I can cross-reference the appointments in his planner with the addresses in the GPS, I can narrow down the possible locations.”

“Where did you get this?” Officer Park asked.

“Bobby.” At the cop’s skeptical look, she explained: “Bobby helped me encourage his dad to turn in the mill after my superior forbid me to speak to him. We’re always gotten along.

“Look, I could have kept this to myself,” she continued. “I’m bringing it here to you in good faith. The mill might be the reason he was murdered.”

Officer Park reached out to take the GPS, and she yanked it back. “But I need your promise. We’ll work together to figure out where the mill is, and then we’ll go together. The mill is my investigation.”

“It’s not even an official investigation,” Officer Park said. “And, with all due respect, we are conducting a murder investigation. That takes priority.”

Rona scowled, and he sighed. “Look,” he said. “We will look into the mill location. If it turns out to be the reason he died, they will have the full force of the law rained down upon them. If it’s not the reason, we will turn over any evidence that might lead you to the mill once our investigation is complete. That’s the best I can do.”

With great reluctance, Rona handed him the GPS.



Tisha sat at her desk and scrolled through the recent searches on the GPS. Patrick McGovern had quite the traveler; the GPS had addresses from all over Maryland. But what they meant, she didn’t know. Were they directions to lovers’ trysts? The location to an illegal puppy mill? Was the killer’s address somewhere in this device?

“I think you’re supposed to use that in a car,” Danny said. Frank gave her a little wave.

“Thanks for the helpful advice,” she said dryly.

Danny plunked himself down in the guest chair, and Frank perched on the corner of her desk.

“So what is this, early Christmas present?” Danny asked.

“Possible clue,” Tisha said.

“In that case, shouldn’t you look a bit more excited?”

Tisha leaned back in her chair. “It’s a long-shot lead from a questionable source,” she said. “And my team is busy enough as it is.”

“You’re not asking them to drive to every destination there, are you?” Danny asked.

“Of course not,” Tisha said.

“Then they’ve got the time,” Danny said. “Unless there’s some other reason you don’t want to follow this lead.”

Tisha sighed, and pondered her answer. “I really don’t think this lead is going to get us anywhere,” she said. “At best, our source is trying to trick us into using our resources to do her own work for her. At worst, she’s trying to frame someone else.”

“You’re forgetting one possibility,” Danny said. “Which is that it’s a good lead.”

“I really doubt it,” Tisha said.

Danny shrugged. “I’m not saying you should chase down every lead you get,” he said. “But if you’re dead in the water, every push helps.”

Tisha quirked a grin. “You’ve got a point.” She put the GPS in her desk and stood. “Walk me to the door?”



Rona knew that the GPS would be low on Detective Wiles’ priority list, and that “I’ll be in touch” really meant “You’ll never hear from me again.” But she couldn’t go back to work, wondering if they had found the mill location and had left without her.

So she called out sick and parked herself at the sleazy diner across the street from the station. Captain Wascomb would probably see through the ruse the moment he heard about it, but she didn’t care. Once she proved that the mill was real and shut it down, he’d forgive her.

Five hours passed. She finished her pancakes in the first thirty minutes; after an hour and a half, the glares from the waitress prompted her to order a veggie burger and several plates of fries. A squirrel outside the window did its best to entertain her, but she was too distracted to translate properly. She rarely interacted with with wild animals; they didn’t generally care for humans, even ones that could inexplicably speak their language. The squirrel soon gave up on having a meaningful conversation and scampered off to eat.

Rona had just finished the last of her now-cold fries and was on the verge of ordering another plate to justify her continued presence when her phone rang. Detective Wiles? In her eagerness, she picked it up without checking the caller ID.

“Officer Mendoza, are you lying at death’s door?”

Captain Wascomb. Rona had thought herself prepared for his inevitable anger, but something about the cold wrath in his even tone made her feel like a chastened puppy.

“I’m just a little under the weather, sir,” she said. “I didn’t want to spread anything around the department.”

“Don’t lie to me, Mendoza,” Captain Wascomb snapped.

Rona didn’t take back her words, but she didn’t protest her honesty either.

“Well, Mendoza, I hope you feel better soon,” the captain continued. “But don’t bother coming back to work. You are suspended without pay until further notice. Is that understood?”

Rent’s due Thursday. Shit. “Yes, sir.”

The call ended without any farewells. Rona pocketed her phone, fighting a sick sense of dread. What if this was it? What if they finally fired her?

She had to find that mill. She could fix everything if she just found that mill.

She ordered another plate of fries to soothe her ruffled spirits and resumed her watch of the station with renewed determination.

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