“Well, I’m glad we have that settled.” She laughed. “Are you going back to the office now?” she asked, gathering her purse from the booth.
“I think I might for a bit. Then I’m going to go home and see if I can spend five minutes with Max before falling asleep.” I laughed sheepishly. “This case is exhausting. The people are exhausting.”
She gave me a sympathetic nod. “Well, don’t work too hard, Sheriff.”
When I got back to the station, I was glad I’d only had soda water. I was tired, and a drink would’ve just made me even more tired. Before I left for the day, I wanted to try and track down the limo driver named Marcos, who Archie had fired. I wanted to bring him in for an interview, but the only address I had for him was in Alabama. His phone number had an Alabama area code too.
I decided I had nothing to lose trying to call Marcos. I dialed the number, and it picked up on the third ring.
“Hello?” said a gruff voice.
“This is Sheriff Callum from Rainy Dale, Texas. I’m trying to locate a Marcos Grover?”
“Speaking.” He sounded wary.
“Great. How are you this evening, Mr. Grover?” I asked politely.
“Fine,” he said curtly. “I doubt you called me just to ask me that.”
I laughed. “I guess you don’t want me to waste your time.”
“I’m just not sure why you’re calling. I don’t live in Rainy Dale anymore.”
Frowning, I asked, “Is that right?”
“Nope. I live in Alabama now. I have family here.”
“Mind telling me when you moved?”
“It’s been over a month now. Why do you ask?”
I grimaced. “I guess you haven’t heard?”
“Heard what?”
I hesitated. “Your old boss, Archie Brady, was murdered.”
There was a thick silence. Then after a few moments, “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I heard you and him didn’t part on good terms.”
“Says who?”
“It doesn’t matter who. Is it true?”
He growled, “Did that little shit Thomas tell you that? That kid was always poking his nose in where it didn’t belong.”
Since he’d guessed my source, I didn’t see the point in hiding it now. “Thomas didn’t accuse you of anything. He simply mentioned that you and Archie had a falling-out.”
“Oh, it was slightly more heated than that.”
“I appreciate your honesty.”
He sighed. “I’ll admit, I lost my cool.”
“Is it true you threatened Archie’s life when he fired you?”
He gave a harsh laugh. “Yeah, I was pretty pissed. He shouldn’t have fired me. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
