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there.”
Keller got in. She pulled away from the curb without speaking. She
was dressed in a pair of black workout shorts and tennis shoes.
Keller looked her over. Her body was lean and muscular, the body of
a swimmer or long-distance runner.
    After a few moments, she spoke up. “I’m sorry
about Eddie,” she said. “Officer Wesson, I mean.”
    “ That would have meant a lot more if
you’d been there to tell what really happened.”
    She sighed. “No one told me about it. I went
off-duty and went to the gym.”
    “ Would you have told the truth if you’d
been there?”
    “ Of course I would have,” she snapped.
Keller looked at her for a long moment. She thought for a moment,
then shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean, yeah, I guess. “ She
sighed. “Fuck, I don’t know.” She sounded weary.
    “ What is he, your
boyfriend?”
    Jones yanked the wheel suddenly, steering the
car over to the side of the street and slamming on the brakes. She
turned to Keller. “Get out,” she said. Her voice was absolutely
flat.
    “ Whoa, whoa.” Keller said. “I’m sorry,
I--”
    “ I am so SICK of that bullshit!” she
slammed her open palm on the steering wheel. “From Eddie’s wife.
From my ex. From every asshole in the station. The ones that don’t
assume I’m fucking Eddie assume I’m some sort of dyke because
I’m not fucking him. Well,
fuck them, and fuck you too.” She grabbed the wheel with both
hands. She rested her head on the steering wheel for a moment,
getting herself under control. Her knuckles were white.
    “ You’re right,” Keller said softly. “I
was out of line. It was a stupid thing to say. I’m
sorry.”
    She took a deep breath and straightened up.
She looked straight ahead for a moment, took another breath, blew
it out. She turned to Keller.
    “ I sit for the Sergeant’s exam next
month,” she said. “I’ve got a kid that my ex keeps threatening to
take away every time I make a fuss about the back child support.
You think I need that kind of problem?”
    “ Not meaning to add to your load, but
you’ve got another problem. Wesson’s a psycho,” Keller said. “He’s
apt to turn on you.”
    Jones shook her head. She pulled the car back
into traffic. “He’s really an okay guy,” she said. “He’s just been
having some problems at home. He’s wound a little too tight these
days, I guess.”
    “ Officer Jones,” Keller said. “Your
partner’s more than wound too tight. I’ve seen that look in
people’s eyes before. He’s getting ready to cut loose. And when he
does, he’s going to kill somebody. And maybe get himself killed as
well. Or you.”
    She shook her head again. “He’s my partner,”
he said. “I’m supposed to look after him.”
    “ You’re supposed to look after each
other,” Keller said. She didn’t answer. Keller could see he was
getting nowhere, so he changed the subject. “How’d you find out
about the hearing?” he asked.
    “ Your boss got me on my cell phone,”
Jones said. “I tried to get here, but I ran into her in the parking
lot and she told me it was all over, that you’d been turned loose.”
She looked at Keller. “Do you mind if I say something?”
    Keller shrugged. “Depends on what it is, I
guess.”
    Marie laughed. “Fair enough. It’s just that
your boss-- Angela, is it?”
    “ Yeah, Angela Hager.”
    “ She’s pretty, but she’s kind of
spooky-looking. What’s the deal with the gloves?”
    Keller leaned back in the seat and looked out
the window. “She’s got some pretty bad scars. Burns. She doesn’t
like people staring at them.”
    “ How’d she get burned?”
    Keller looked at her. “Her husband founded H
& H bail bonds. He was a big shot, knew everybody, liked to
throw his money around. He also used to beat her up. Finally, she
had enough and took out a warrant on him. He went into court and
denied everything. He had been a major supporter of the D.A. in the
last election, so they dismissed all charges