Read Veiled (A Short Story) for Free Online

first is at seven
forty-three for three minutes. Then there’s another ten minutes later.”
    Lacey nodded. “Dr. Pillai is estimating her time of death
between ten p.m. and midnight. And he’s convinced she was strangled. He hasn’t
found indications of anything else. He’s waiting on tox reports. You should
have an official report tomorrow morning.”
    “He must have called Patty at the bar. What do you think
they discussed?” Terry wondered.
    Lacey doubted it was pleasant.

C HAPTER F IVE
    The investigative group had moved from the luxurious
conference room at the hotel to a no-frills conference room at the police
station. Lacey missed the hotel’s pressed coffee and lemon ice water. The
coffeepot here looked like it had last been cleaned in 1970.
    The interviews with the hotel guests hadn’t turned up any
leads. No one had complained of any noises; no one saw anything suspicious. All
the guests had been willing to let the police take a quick look in their
suites. But nothing uncommon turned up.
    Paul had printed still shots from the front-desk video, but
Patty hadn’t appeared in any of them. He’d said he’d watched the entire video,
looking for the familiar bartender but hadn’t seen her at any time.
    “Rick from The Anchor is here to talk with you, Chief,”
Garcia said from the doorway.
    “Send him in,” answered Terry. He shuffled the digital
images of the body and hot tub into a file. He and Jack had been poring over
the shots seeking anything unusual.
    When Rick walked in, Lacey recognized the bartender who’d
served her a burger earlier that day. A big guy, Rick looked like a young John
Goodman. He did a double take when he saw her and Jack, instant recognition
crossing his face, and his eyebrows narrowing. “Terry, how’s it going?” He held
out his hand to the chief.
    “Thanks for coming in, Rick. This is Dr. Lacey Campbell from
the medical examiner’s office, and Jack Harper.”
    Rick shook their hands. “I remember you two from lunch
today.”
    “Excellent burgers,” replied Lacey as the man took a seat at
the big table.
    “How long has Patty been working at The Anchor?” Terry
asked, his pencil and notepad ready.
    Rick glanced at Lacey and Jack before he answered, clearly
uncomfortable that strangers were sitting in on his interview. Jack stretched
his feet out under the table and relaxed into his chair, his body language
stating that he wasn’t going anywhere, so Rick needed to get over it.
    “She’s been there about five years. Started off waiting
tables. Asked to move behind the bar. She liked it better. All the customers
enjoyed her.”
    “She work last night?”
    “She worked until nine. It slows down considerably by then.”
    “Did she leave right at nine?” Terry questioned.
    “I checked the records this morning. She came on at noon and
clocked out at nine fourteen. I asked around and no one remembers her hanging
around after she was finished, so I think she probably headed right home. She
doesn’t usually hang out after work unless some of her girlfriends are in the
bar.”
    “You have any cameras outside your business?” Jack asked.
    Rick gave a sad half smile. “No. Is her car missing?”
    “There’s a white Corolla parked at the house she shares with
Will. That’s what she drives, right?” Terry asked.
    Rick nodded. “Will has a Dodge pickup. He was at the bar
yesterday, you know.”
    Terry’s chin jerked up. “What? No, I didn’t know that.
When?”
    “Early afternoon,” Rick said. “He came in and had his usual
argument with Patty and then left.”
    “Usual argument? What’s that?” Lacey asked, remembering her
own ex-husband’s usual arguments . They ran the gambit of accusing
her of cheating on him to complaining about her clothing.
    There were many reasons he was her ex.
    Rick looked at her. “Whatever had set him off that day. He’d
come in, looking for a reason to bitch at her, she’d calm him down, and he’d
leave.”
    “So he was