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of mismatched, broken-down furniture he had resurrected from the trash. The rest of the area was rundown, brought on by neglect. The previous owner liked to buy property but had no interest in keeping it maintained. There were several dilapidated trailers not fit to live in, all of them empty, not because tenants couldn’t be found. I suspected Crum, the only tenant, liked it that way, and ran off anyone who thought they might like to join him in squalor.
    “Why not call the sheriff? It could be your husband who is dead instead of your boyfriend,” Fab said with contempt.
    Jami glared at her. “This isn’t my fault. I didn’t know Eddie was freaking crazy.”
    “Is Pyle okay?” I asked.
    “Eddie swore to me he’d stay sober, and then one night he got drunk, snorted a few lines, and somehow got Pyle’s address. He started out by driving by their house, then got out and banged on the door, screaming mostly the ‘F’ word. Pyle confronted Eddie, telling him I was a flat-out liar, that he hated me and hadn’t seen me in months.”
    “Imagine that,” Fab mumbled.
    “So no one got hurt?” I asked. Jami seemed oblivious to the chaos she had orchestrated.
    Jami twisted her hands in her lap. To my surprise, Crum patted her on the shoulder.
    “Eddie snuck back and slashed the tires on their minivan. One of the kids saw him from the kitchen window.”
    “Your ex has kids?” Fab asked in disgust.
    “He remarried and has two children. I can’t stand the woman he married.”
    “I bet the feeling is mutual,” Fab said.
    “Did the sheriff ever get called?” I asked.
    “When they showed up, Eddie led them on a chase, ditching the car at a dead end and jumping a fence. The cops unleashed the dogs. He tried to fight them off and got chewed on pretty good. Once they caught up with him, he assaulted a cop who was trying to cuff him and kicked one of the dogs in the face. Did you know that’s an extra charge?”
    I cringed at the thought of the poor dog. “No, I didn’t. But good.”
    “It took four sheriffs to wrestle him into the back of the car. No one thought he’d get bail but he did; his sister paid. He showed up with flowers, apologizing, I was afraid not to go back.” As she spoke, her eyes glittered with tears.
    We sat in silence, everyone looking uncomfortable. Fab jumped up and got us bottled water out of the back of the Hummer.
    Jami broke the silence. “He’d been convicted of rape long before we hooked up. Several friends knew and never said a word. He claimed the woman cried rape because she didn’t want her husband to find out she’d been cheating on him.”
    Crum patted her head like dog and said, “He can’t hurt you again.”
    “I couldn’t take it anymore when he stole my keys, cleaning out your shed and pawning it all. I planned to take my cash advance and disappear. He drove me to the beach and started drinking and picking a fight. I waited until he went to the bathroom and ran along the shore, blending into the tourists, jumping in the waves. Crum’s been hiding me. I didn’t kill Eddie but I’m not sad he’s dead.”
    “Well, someone did and left him to die in the shed,” I said.
    “I have an alibi; I stayed here last night,” Jami said.
    “I would suggest you get a lawyer on speed dial before the cops catch up to you. There’s a semi-retired one in town who takes on pro-bono cases. I’m not sure he practices criminal law, but he could do some hand-holding in a police interrogation.”
    Two sheriff cars rocketed into the driveway, lights flashing. Both officers jumped out in unison. I didn’t recognize either one.
    “Jami Richards, hands up—you’re under arrest,” one yelled. Both were holding their service revolvers pointed right at her.
    “I didn’t kill him,” she started to cry.
    “Don’t say one word without a lawyer present,” I called to her. “They have to assign you one for free since you can’t pay.”
    “Step back,” the cop bellowed. “You’re