Ashes to Dust (Las Vegas Mystery)

partner I ever had,” Harris declared. “We had our differences at times, but we worked together like a needle and thread.”
    Alice glanced at Snow and rolled her eyes. Shifting her eyes back to Harris, she said, “Yeah, it used to bother me at first—until I realized Mel needles everyone.”
    Harris’s eyes popped wide. He pointed a finger at Alice and then reached into his front pants pocket and produced a small notepad and pen. He began to scribble. “I think I can use that,” he said.
    With paper and pen back in Harris’s pocket, introductions were made to his junior partner. The two of them went to the counter and ordered, and then they returned to the table and sat down, each of them with a cup of foamy milk.
    When they were seated, Snow reached across the table to Harris, offering a thin stack of folded twenties. “By the way,” he said, “here’s the two hundred I owe you.”
    Harris arched his eyebrows for a moment and then lowered them, smiling. “Oh yeah. Thanks.” He took the bills and leaned back, shoving them into his pocket.
    “That’s the right amount, isn’t it? Or was it more?”
    Harris winked and offered a thumbs-up.
    “I appreciate your referral,” Alice chimed in. “I was a little surprised by it.”
    “No reason to be,” Harris insisted. “You’re both good detectives. We’re all friends here. Besides, I was more than happy to get the guy off my back. He’s a pain in the ass and a loose cannon primed to fire.”
    Snow frowned. “Why do you say that?”
    “He’s been on my butt twenty-four hours a day from the beginning of this investigation. Every two or three hours he calls me, wanting to know if we’ve arrested Miller yet. Threatening to go to the section chief and get me pulled off the case. Even alluded to the possibility of taking care of matters himself.” Harris turned his head toward his partner for confirmation, who returned a solemn nod.
    “Who is Miller?” Snow asked.
    “Kevin Miller,” Alice said. “He’s the ex-boyfriend of the deceased. He was stalking Laura right up until the time of the murder.”
    Snow leaned forward, pulled his notepad out of his back pocket, and began to scribble.
    Harris shot a look at Alice. “He wasn’t stalking her,” he snapped. “He was trying to win her back. No different than what he went through with her the other two times they broke up. They’ve always gotten back together; he had no reason to expect they wouldn’t again. Everybody goes through that with women.” He looked at Snow. “Right?”
    Snow shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’m different. I’ve never gotten back together with anyone I broke up with. There has to be a good reason for breaking it off in the first place, and nobody ever changes. They just act nice for a while, and then they get back to their usual self after they begin to feel comfortable.”
    Alice frowned and shook her head at Snow. “What was your good reason for breaking it off with me?”
    Snow rolled his eyes. “We only had three dates, Alice. And I don’t think this is an appropriate time or place to discuss our personal lives.”
    “Don’t mind us,” Harris interjected. “This is interesting. I’d like to hear the answer.”
    Snow met Alice’s gaze. “It was just bad timing,” he said, “plus, the fact that we have a great relationship. Why ruin it by getting involved with each other?” He turned his eyes toward Harris. “I look back over my life, and I realize the best relationships I’ve ever had were with the women I never dated.”
    Harris nodded and grinned. “You mean hookers?” He pulled his pad out and wrote it down, chuckling.
    Alice took a sip of her coffee. “About Kevin Miller, Mel. So, you are investigating him. Right?”
    Setting the pen down on his notepad, Harris looked up at her. “Of course. We questioned him, searched his house, and checked his truck for fibers, hair, and blood—with his permission. Found nothing. If you want my opinion—my gut feeling on this—I don’t think Miller had anything to do with it.”
    “Who do you think did?” Alice asked.
    “Off the record? I wouldn’t toss out Laura’s father as a possible.”
    “Why do you say that?” Snow asked.
    “Just the way the guy is. The way he’s been acting. He’s almost in a panic to push us onto Miller. He’s been acting kind of guilty.”
    “Do you have anything on him?” Alice asked. “Any motive?”
    Harris shook his head. “It’s still early. But