Josie said, “What you really mean is that you’re here to make sure that we stay on message.”
Chitwood, who normally would have rebuffed Josie for speaking up, remained silent, staring hard at Amber, waiting for her response.
Amber turned to Josie, her smile never faltering. “No, that’s not my job. I’m not the Mayor’s lackey.”
“She’s here to spin things,” Gretchen said.
Amber said, “I’m sorry. We haven’t been introduced. You are?”
“Detective Gretchen Palmer.”
“Oh yes. Well, Detective Palmer, if I recall, you were personally involved in a case a couple of years back that was heavily covered in the media.”
“That’s none of your business,” Josie snapped.
Gretchen reached over and touched Josie’s arm. “It’s okay, boss.”
Amber’s smile slipped. “I’m not here to make enemies. Far from it. I know it doesn’t seem like it, especially since the Mayor hired me, but I am on your side. The only reason I brought up your history, Detective Palmer, is to make the point that this city has been the home of several high-profile criminal cases over the last five years. Cases that have captured national interest. You really should have had someone like me in place a long time ago. My job is not to get in your way or to make your job harder. In fact, my job is to make yours easier. I deal with the press so that all of you can carry on with your investigative work. Just this morning, Detective Quinn was captured on the news recovering what looked like a dead body from a flood zone. The press are camped outside, and their numbers are growing by the minute. I can help you deal with them. That’s what I do.”
The three of them regarded her warily. When none of them spoke, Amber said, “I can see that the Mayor didn’t exactly pave the way for my arrival. I don’t want us to get off on the wrong foot.” She turned to the Chief. “How about if I set up a meeting with the Mayor? The three of us can discuss this in private. Would that put your mind at ease?”
Chitwood raised a brow. “What would put my mind at ease is if the damn Mayor would stay the hell out of my way and stop screwing around with Emergency Services!”
From inside her briefcase, Amber produced a cell phone. “We can definitely put your concern on the agenda. I’ll give her a call right now.”
Josie and Gretchen stared at Chitwood, braced for an explosion. He had one of the foulest tempers Josie had ever seen on the job. Most people were intimidated by him—or at least annoyed—but Amber was unfazed. They all listened as she spoke with the Mayor, never once breaking from her professional demeanor. She was smooth, Josie would give her that. Unflappable. She pulled the phone away from her ear for a second and asked the Chief, “Today at two? At the restaurant just past the university campus? I think neutral territory would be best.”
The Chief’s pitted cheeks flamed. Haltingly, he said, “Uh, sure, yeah.”
Amber confirmed with the Mayor and ended the call. “Lovely,” she said. She graced them all with another smile and said, “I can see you’ve all got work to do so I won’t make myself a nuisance. Chief, I’ll see you later today.”
He didn’t answer. Amber tilted her head, her voice softening. “The awkwardness of my arrival aside, I really do look forward to working with all of you. Detective Quinn, I’ve been an admirer of yours for some time.”
Josie managed a weak “thank you,” and they watched Amber disappear back into the stairwell. Chitwood patted down the stray hairs on his scalp, letting loose a stream of muttered expletives before addressing Josie. “Quinn, I want you to find that job listing for me, you got that?”
“Of course,” Josie answered, grateful that Amber’s arrival had overshadowed her actions from this morning. She fully expected to be dressed down by the Chief, but he was more worried about the Mayor’s machinations.
“I’m not going into this meeting unprepared,” he said. “I will not be intimidated by this woman. I don’t care if she’s my boss.”
Josie remembered her own experience with the Mayor back when she had served as interim chief of police. They’d had a case where an infant had been abducted, his mother beaten. The Mayor’s husband had briefly been a person of interest. The Mayor had personally and privately requested that Josie brush his connection to the case under the carpet. Josie hadn’t agreed to it, and her relationship with the Mayor had been strained ever since. “I’ll dig up whatever I can,” she assured Chitwood.
He nodded. “Also, Palmer brought me up to speed on today’s events. I expect Dr. Feist’s autopsy will show we have a murder victim on our hands. Palmer and Quinn will take the lead on the case.”
Josie waited for him to mention her dive into the river after the tarp, but he said nothing.
“We’re headed over to see the owner of the house now,” Josie told him. “Calvin Plummer.”
Chitwood gave a pinched expression. “He’s one of those Quail Hollow Estate assholes. Not the worst of them, though. Good luck. Keep me up to speed. I’ve got to get out to the command post and assess the shitshow for the day before I see the Mayor.”
Seven
Calvin Plummer’s office was located in South Denton, which was primarily a commercial district. Squat, flat-roofed buildings sat along the main route, housing strip malls, a car rental agency, and a storage facility among other things. The residences left over had long been converted into businesses as well. Josie drove along back roads to avoid the flooding but when she went to turn onto the main road, there was water flowing across it for as far as the eye could see. Two patrol cars sat at the intersection, lights flashing. Uniformed officers in bright yellow raincoats walked up and down the road, waving cars out of the now flooded area.
“The south branch of the river must have overflowed,” Josie said. “There are a bunch of creeks down here that flow into it.” About a quarter mile down the road to the right, she could see the two-story colonial home with the sign hanging from its porch that announced: Calvin Plummer, Attorney-at-Law.
“It’s moving fast,” Gretchen said.
“You bring your waders?” Josie asked her, putting the car into park.
Gretchen smiled. “You kidding me? After this week? They’re in the back.”
They rushed out into the rain, and Josie popped open her hatch. They pulled on their waders and raincoats and set off toward Plummer’s office. The uniformed officers nodded at them as they moved through the ankle-height water. The strip of grass between the road and Plummer’s front door hadn’t yet been overrun with water, but the ground was soft beneath their feet. Just inside the open door was a small sitting area with a couch, two overstuffed chairs, and a coffee table in the center of them. A small cherry reception desk stood empty. Across from the front entrance were two doors, both open, and to the far left, a flight of stairs. A man emerged from one of the doors carrying a cardboard file box in his hands. Josie knew from the website that they were looking at Calvin Plummer. He was short and stocky with thinning gray hair and a chubby face. He wore a suit with no jacket.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “This really isn’t the time. The police are evacuating us.”