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met Pete through mutual friends. But that was only the technical version; they were his kids as far as he and they were concerned, complete with the challenges and heartaches that came with the territory.
    A new heartache was potentially brewing in the form of Julie’s new boy friend, or simply, new “friend”, as she referred to him. Marti, like most mothers, read more into it than that. A single mom to her two young daughters, Julie had managed to rid herself of one worthless husband slightly over a year ago, and Marti was clinging to hope she wasn’t falling into another trap. There was no evidence to lead to that conclusion, but she feared that sporadic child-support payments from her ex may be causing her to jump back into deep water too soon.
    Influenced by being raised by a school teacher, Julie also taught at an elementary school in San Antonio, which didn’t provide much in the way of income after child-care was factored in.
    Pete shared his wife’s concern. He had decided to take on the role of inquisitor when Julie arrived, since Marti would be in no condition to probe. It was something he wasn’t looking forward to; Julie was an adult—a stubborn one at that. The kids staying at his in-laws’ house in nearby Pearland might give more room to pry. In any event, both offspring had insisted on coming; it would be good having them around.
    “She said she’ll make a point to bring ‘em by next trip,” Marti assured.
    Pete’s offer to help clean up after the purposely lite dinner was refused. He settled into his favorite recliner in the den, with a clear view of the kitchen.
    Picking up the morning Houston Chronicle , then folding it in his lap without even reading the headline, he watched her. Small moments such as this always had the effect of crystallizing for him how lucky he was to have found her, saving him from the dark, spiraling hole his life was becoming after his first wife had left him cold, over two decades ago. Before he could block it out, a shiver went through his body at the thought of life without her. It was impossible to think about it without going insane. He quickly chased the idea away. He would take her at her word. “ Everything will be fine.”
     

 
     
    5
     
     
     
    Proper procedure and a desire to not rock the boat told Scallion he needed to spend time sharing with his partner what he had learned about the Becker case. Friday morning, and as usual, he arrived at the Harris County Sheriff’s office building in downtown Houston long before Murtaugh. Waiting for his partner to arrive, he entered his notes from the previous day’s interview with James Truluck onto his p. c. Modern technology was supposed to make his job easier and more time-efficient, but stuck with using a hunt and peck method on the keyboard, the time saved, compared to writing out his reports, was negligible. At least it did look neater.
    Placing the bag holding the suspect harmonica on his cubicle desktop, he stared at it for a second. Anxious to take it on the fifteen-minute drive to the Harris County Medical Examiners office, he knew he had to wait for his senior partner. After all, the case was originally re-opened by Murtaugh a few months before Scallion had joined the department. Leaving the man out of the loop would be a serious breach of etiquette.
    Finishing his report, then clicking on the “save” function, he leaned back in his chair, just as a raspy, coughing sound warned of Murtaugh’s arrival.
    “Morning, Pete,” Murtaugh said, removing his tan blazer and hanging it on the back of his chair. Loosening his tie, he fell into the chair across from Scallion with what appeared to be an effort.
    “Denny. How’d it go at the dentist?”
    The older detective grunted, then frowned. “About as well as forkin’ over two-hundred bucks can go,” he snorted.
    “Ouch! He must’ve used a diamond-studded drill bit.”
    Murtaugh snorted a short laugh, then said, “You’d think so, wouldn’t you.