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thought that anyone might think her mother capable of violence was ludicrous. She preferred to take out her anger in more subtle ways, through double-edged compliments and outright barbs.
    By the time she finished with the form, the coroner and an ambulance had arrived. Lacy should take the statement in to Jason and say goodbye, but they would move the car off the body soon. She didn’t want to see that. Instead she left the statement on his seat and jotted a note. “Love you, try to get some sleep. XO, Lacy.”
    In the morning, they would talk and she would tell him about her mother. He would check with Frannie, find out what she had been doing there, and that would be that. In the morning, everything would be resolved.
     

Chapter 4
     
    In the morning, Jason called her. His tone was grave.
    “I have news. I need to talk to you.”
    Lacy’s first thought was that he had found something incriminating at the scene, something that tied her mother to the dead man. “I’m at work. Should I meet you somewhere?”
    “I’ll come there,” he said and disconnected.
    She alternately fidgeted and stared at her phone until he arrived. What had he found? Was Bob’s death not an accident after all?
    He let himself into her office. She rose abruptly to her feet, waiting for the bad news. Jason wasn’t as tense as she was, however. He kissed her and handed her the coffee he had brought before sitting in the chair across from her desk. “I’m leaving.”
    She had just sat down and rose again. “What?”
    “Why did you stand up?” he asked.
    “I don’t know. I’m a little jumpy.”
    “Good thing I brought you more caffeine,” he said. “Are you all right? I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to check in last night, but it was late when we finished with the scene.”
    “I’m fine, I figured it was a late night for you. Can you back up to the part about you leaving?”
    “You know I’ve been on the waiting list to go to the Body Farm in Tennessee. They called first thing this morning and said they’ve had an opening, but only if I can get down there today. The class lasts for a week.”
    “Jason, that’s amazing. I’m so happy for you. You’ve been wanting to take that course for months.”
    “I know. I’ve been waiting and hoping for this since I became a detective. Some basic knowledge of forensics could make all the difference in a case. That homeless woman they found off the highway last week, for instance. The animals had done too much damage to tell anything obvious about her. I had to send her to the forensic pathologist in the capital. But if I knew more, I would have been able to tell how long she had been there, maybe get an idea of her age or cause of death. I’m stoked,” he said, but he didn’t look it.
    “Really? Because you look and sound like someone who has jury duty.”
    “There’s the issue of dodgeball. We’ll have two games while I’m gone.”
    She hadn’t thought about dodgeball, but now that she did, she was relieved. If he wasn’t going, she wouldn’t have to. “Travis can sub for you. And he can get one of his friends to sub for me. I’m sure everyone will understand.”
    “No, sweetie, you don’t understand. League rules say we have to have a minimum of three women playing or we forfeit. I can miss, but you can’t or we’ll lose.” He paused. “You know what, never mind. This was my thing, and it’s not fair of me to ask you to go without me.”
    He hated to lose at sports. Lacy didn’t want him to because she was too afraid to show up. “I’ll go,” she promised, although she was sure she would regret it later when the time came to face the court alone.
    “Travis will be there. I already checked, and he’s available. He’ll cover you.”
    She tried to smile, but terror kept it from being convincing. There was no way Travis would be able to protect her the same way Jason had. Mentally, she reviewed her insurance coverage. What was her co-pay for an emergency