Jingled, page 7
part #4.50 of Charlie Cooper Mystery Series
I caught the two men glancing at each other. Was there a chuckle in their eyes? I hoped the dealers were in town, doing whatever dealers do, right there beneath our noses. Because that meant that I could catch them and show these guys a thing or two. Never mind that I didn’t know the first thing about drug investigations.
Outside the station, I turned to face Graywell. “Okay, catch me up. Anything else he wants us to do besides what we got from Kingsley?” We both looked around to make sure no one was listening.
Graywell ran his hand through his thick shock of gray and blondish hair. “Just go and visit with your friends. Catch up with your family.”
“Well, since I’m on assignment, I don’t think the only thing to do is visit with my friends. Tell me what Snow told you.” I gave him a hard look. “Kingsley put me on this case too. He didn’t just send you. That meeting was for both of us.” Despite the anger that I felt, I made sure to talk in a quiet voice.
“Look, Cooper, I’ve got things to do.” He fished his car keys from his pocket. “That’s why I moved the meeting up. Cause I’m anxious to get started. This case is high priority for the DEA.”
“And that’s why the captain sent me too.”
He stared me down. “I’ve got a plan. It’s dangerous. And I don’t need your help.”
I stared right back. “Kingsley thinks that you do.”
He lowered his voice. “We shouldn’t talk about this here. Somebody could be listening. And look, it’s cute you want to help. But you could get hurt. Real bad.”
Cute? Did he say cute?
“You don’t say?” I asked in mock surprise. “I had no idea that fighting crime might be dangerous. Well. I guess detectives everywhere should turn their guns in right this minute. Because, oooh, someone might hurt them! They should hurry home and pour themselves a great big glass of milk and curl up with a blankie where they will be safe.” I gave him a hard look. “Give me the info, Graywell.”
He looked at me, shocked at this new side of the quiet girl that sat in her cubicle everyday, pounding away at her computer.
“So,” I said. I was trying for a tone that was stern, authoritative. Anything but cute. “What else do I need to know?”
He looked anxiously toward his Honda like he had somewhere else to be. Guess he had to leave the BMW back in Boston. It didn’t look like anything that a barber might drive to his new job in Springston. I noticed he’d changed his look as well to go undercover. His khakis weren’t perfectly ironed, and scuffed boots had replaced his high-end dress shoes. He looked less like an uptight stuffy asshole and more like a regular person. He turned toward his car.
I was determined he wasn’t about to get out of there so fast. “Give me the update, Graywell. Since you decided it was okay to have the meeting without me there.”
He sighed. “Fine. There’s something you should know. And it’s the reason why I think these guys aren’t playing games – why we need to be real careful.”
“What did Snow say to you?”
He hesitated. “You know about the driver? In custody in Boston?
“Kingsley filled me in.”
“They let him out on bail.”
“Okay…”
“And two hours later, he was dead.”
“Oh…”
Dead. That did seem dangerous.
I took a good deep breath. “I’m heading to the diner,” I said in a small voice. “I’ll report in on what I find.”
The job suddenly seemed less exciting than before.
JAMMED
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Deany Ray, Jingled
