Read Still Life: The Randi Lassiter Series, Book 1 for Free Online

morning.
    Randi recognized Detective Watman as she appeared tableside. She knew Terri from town but had never spoken to her in any official capacity. She nodded to Randi then whispered something in the detective’s ear that made an eyebrow rise. He stood up.
    “We’re done here.” He pulled a five-dollar bill out of his pocket and tossed it on the table. “Somebody will be with you shortly to take your full statement.” He turned his back on her and walked away.

Chapter Six
    Coffee?” Terri held a to-go cup out in front of Jon as she hopped into the passenger seat of his Jeep and nudged a half dozen empties out of the way with her foot. “Jeez, what a pit.”
    He shrugged. “Cleaning lady’s day off.” Hours into the case and several cups down, coffee would continue to be his only fuel until he got the shakes. Then he’d stop for real food.
    “Rumor is the chief will want you to include Wacko on the detail.”
    “Yeah, but I’m not putting him behind the tape on this. If I’m forced to bring him on, he can play glorified secretary and messenger.”
    Terri didn’t argue. Terri Watman had a strength that belied her stature—a pit bull in the body of a Chihuahua.
    He didn’t know much about her personal life yet. Before he’d started his new job, Jon had learned through the town grapevine that his assigned partner was gay. On moving day his neighbor had asked if he knew who his partner would be. Jon had told him the only thing he’d known at the time…some female detective. The next thing the guy says is, “Oh, she’s a lesbian. And her significant other, Carrie Ann, runs the produce market downtown.” It wouldn’t have bothered Jon so much except the guy said it with a strange kind of pride, like he was taking credit for the town’s token gay couple. Jon chalked it up to small town shit.
    In her free time Terri entered the occasional amateur bodybuilding circuit. Jon had discovered this when she’d shown up on a Monday morning looking like a basted Butterball because her spray tan wouldn’t wash off. He didn’t give her any shit because he was certain she could kick his ass anytime she wanted.
    Jon placed a stack of interview sheets into a box in the back seat. “Should have known that lead would be a bust.” He grumbled. A busboy out on a smoke break had seen a guy he knew from town—Travis Pauley—pull up behind the building and wrestle something heavy from the trunk of his vehicle into the alley. The kid just blew it off until he was being interviewed regarding a murder.
    “Yeah, but I have to say it was kind of fun watching Travis squirm when we showed up on his doorstep.” Terri said.
    Jon, Terri and two sheriff’s deputies had dragged him out of bed to find out what the hell was he throwing into the alley. Turned out he was renovating his basement and wanted to save on disposal costs by dragging carpet, padding and other crap to public dumpsters around town at night. A quick call to the guys finishing the crime scene confirmed there was a roll of old carpet right where Travis said he left it. It matched the same shag crap he had left in his house.
    “Never would have thought Travis to be a thong kind of guy…kind of freaks me out.” She grinned, referring to the underwear he had on when he answered the door. “I thought he was going to piss himself when we showed him the photo of the dead girl. He was probably only four feet from her when he made his dump.”
    “Yeah, I doubt he’ll think twice about paying a dump fee in the future.”
    Terri laughed and handed him a stack of sheets.
    “Freaking weird how he and Lassiter were both in the alley tonight though…for a motel it might as well be Grand Fucking Central Station.” He took the fresh stack of papers she offered. “Are those the KODs?” He asked.
    “Yeah.” There was no enthusiasm in her response, obviously bummed by the lack of any leads during the knock-on-door detail. “Didn’t take long,” she added. “Not