Rest of it's after the break.
The first step in trying to figure anything out is collecting all the facts. It was pretty obvious to me that the material facts were going to be difficult to overturn in their stark appearance. I did witness my client pull the trigger. Not that anything I would be able to do would help her in the civil courts, but I kept thinking about that to-do shopping list that she left on my desk. I’m not quite certain it was left by accident, but more certain that it was left on purpose the more I gave it thought.
Depending on the order of operation the list could mean two very different things. The best way to sort that out was to figure out what time she visited the morgue yesterday. I grabbed my jacket off the rack to keep the brisk autumn winds from cutting to the bone and making the day miserable, slotted my sonic screwdriver into it’s easy to retrieve location that I’d sewn into the inside and grabbed the keys to my jeep.
The county morgue is on the east end of downtown near the stadium. The foot traffic was light, and the bureaucracy and police presence was thick. It was going to be a difficult thing establishing the time when my client was in the morgue yesterday. You see, unlike the early part of the previous century it was no longer as easy as slipping the attendant a few dollars for his trouble. Now there was paperwork and even then they may not tell me. I didn’t want paperwork. Anytime I had to deal with paperwork with the government it left a trail that sooner or later the police would follow and then there would be more questions asked than possible to answer. Interaction with the police wasn’t a strong suit of mine. It would work if there was a mutual agreement to just leave each other alone, but they had this sense of honor or duty or something that kept getting in the way. That and I don’t think they liked hearing that I was doing my job with magic and not being able to prove it. Magic and law enforcement don’t get along when proof is required, which is to say, always.
I parked in the lot and entered the door of the squat and monotone government building. It was still relatively early in the day and like the desk attendant I hadn’t had my coffee yet. Good thing I had the forethought to grab a couple of coffees on the way downtown. I set one down on the desk and brought up my best smile. A moment or two later the attendant came around the corner. She wasn’t one that I’d seen before, so either this would go really well or sour very quickly.
I raised the second coffee and motioned it towards her. “Hello,” I squinted for the name tag, “Maggie. I was wondering if you could help me with something this morning.” I really was trying to smile, it probably came out more as a half scowl than a smile, but that was genetics and the lack of caffeine, not my overall disposition. I was feeling somewhat cross at being dropped into the middle of this mess.
Maggie was dressed in scrubs so just must be a little more than the receptionist. The light blue was worn as if it had been washed many times and the clipboard she was carrying perhaps suggested as if she was a little more important that receptionist. She couldn’t have been far into her thirties though. Sort of an odd career choice, but she must have the stomach for it. I had maybe caught her unawares. The morning hadn’t caught up with her completely either as she reached out a hand and grabbed the coffee. “Are you here to see someone or identify someone?” Straight to business was her tired and melodic voice. She sounded tired as if the morning had already been very long.
“Look, I can see you’re busy, so I’ll jump straight to the point. I’m a private detective of sorts and need to double check what time my client was here yesterday. A Mrs. Rachel de Levine? She was wearing a red dress and left me her itinerary but I need to double check the time. Is that possible to do quickly?” I hoped my sense of restricted time for her and my awareness of that would work to my advantage.
“I’m really not sure if I’m supposed to tell you or not, but today I really don’t care. I figure if the police are around and asking then someone who works on the other side of the fence should be able to ask as well. She was here at about 2:30 in the afternoon. I remember because I was just getting ready to perform an autopsy on her late husband, Bernard. She had to come in to identify the body.” I smiled and nodded my thanks. “Hey, you wouldn’t by chance know what exactly the police were asking about? My client didn’t really have much time to elaborate on the phone before I started putting the timeline back together for her.”
Maggie tipped the coffee at me. “Can’t help you there. I listen to them as much as they listen to me when I’m explaining something.”
“And that means?”
“It means I have no idea. Look, I’m sympathetic if it was some sort of lover’s dispute, but I really didn’t listen. Sorry.”
“Are you sure you don’t remember anything they said? That’s too bad I was hoping to get everything squared away so that she could go home today.” I flashed my best smile and gave her the come hither look that I’d been trying to perfect for years and hoped for the best.
“Look, you’re kinda cute with the hair and the doe eyes, but I can’t tell you what I don’t know. Why don’t you give me your number and I’ll call you if I hear anything.”
“Doe eyes? Damn, and here I was thinking that was a sexier look.” I tried to not pout. “Here, take my card and if you hear anything I really would appreciate it.” I passed over one of my business cards and watched her read it. A single eyebrow raised as she almost assuredly got the part where it said wizard. “And if there’s anything you ever need sorted, you just give me a call and I’ll see if I can help.” I flashed a smile again and didn’t give her a chance to respond before leaving the morgue. It was time for a trip to my least favorite building in the city - the jail. At least it would have been had I not walked out the door and straight into the arms of Detective Jules Morgan.
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