Bitter Sweets

papers on his desk.

    “A pain in the rump. Nothing makes sense.”

    “What’s the problem?”

    He lit up a Camel and blew out a long, frustrated stream of smoke. Away from Savannah. With great effort, she had finally taught him some of the finer points of smoking etiquette.

    “The problem,” he said, “is that everybody hated Earl Mallock and wanted to kill him, but, other than her ex, nobody would have killed Lisa Mallock. She was a really nice person, and everyone loved her. Even Earl, in his own sick way.”

    Considering Vanessa, Savannah didn’t necessarily agree about Lisa being loved by everyone, but she decided to keep her observations to herself for the moment. Dirk was exhausted, and when he was tired, he wasn’t known for being receptive to new ideas.

    “So, I’m figuring it was somebody who didn’t really know them all that well,” he said. “I think it’s the brother.”

    “Brian? What reason would he have to hurt his sister and her ex?”

    “The oldest reason in the world: Money. He just inherited pretty big bucks from his dad, and he has to split it down the middle with a sister that he hardly knows.”

    He pointed to the avalanche of papers on his desk. “I’ve been doing some checking, and Daddy Dearest was a real bastard for the last five years of his life. Brian and his wife took the old guy in, nursed him, put up with a lot of grief off him.”

    “Brian seems like the sort of guy who would do that without complaining.”

    “I would, too, if I thought I was going to get a nice inheritance at the end of it all. But by the time he divides it with sissy and pays Uncle Sam, he’s not going to have much left. That would tick me off, and I’ll bet it did him, too.”

    Savannah silently speculated that maybe Brian was a more generous and mature individual than Dirk. Ninety percent of the population probably was. But some things were better left unsaid.

    “I checked the details of old man O’Donnell’s will,” he continued. “With the sister gone, the money would go to the kid. The kid is underage, so it would go to her legal guardian...which would be Earl if Lisa was out of the picture.”

    “So, you think Brian O’Donnell killed Lisa, then Earl, and the girl, too?” She shook her head. “He has children of his own. I can’t imagine he would kill anybody, let alone a child.”

    “I don’t know if he offed her, too.” He blew a snort of smoke out both nostrils. His “dragon routine,” as Savannah called it. “I guess we’ll have to hope to God we find her, or else wait for her to turn up. She will sooner or later, alive or dead.”

    “Think alive , Dirk. Keep looking and thinking, alive, alive, alive .”

    CHAPTER SIXTEEN

    “Burning the midnight fluorescent?” Savannah asked as she entered the county morgue’s examination room.

    Dr. Jennifer Liu sat on a high stool at the counter, peering down into a microscope. A petite Asian woman with exotic eyes, a full, sensitive mouth, and lush black hair pulled back with a colorful scarf, Dr. Jenny didn’t fit Savannah’s preconceived notion of what a coroner should look like. She was far too pretty, much too sexy...and wasn’t even a bit “crusty around the edges” as Savannah had once thought all forensic experts would have to be.

    “It was a busy weekend here in San Carmelita County,” Jennifer said, putting her hand to the back of her neck and rubbing the stiff muscles. “The bodies are starting to stack up around here, and Barry is on vacation. I’m getting behind.”

    “I’m getting quite a behind these days, too, but I’m not here to talk about my body.” Savannah pulled a two-pound box of See’s candies from her tote and handed them to Jennifer. “Here, assorted creams. You can apply those directly to your hips. I’ve always said, wear only the best.”

    “Ah, Savannah, you shouldn’t have. But I’m thrilled you did.” Instantly, she dug into the box and sampled one. A look of ecstasy crossed her face.

    “Good?”

    “Orgasmic.”

    The two women had often swapped war stories about the therapeutic qualities of chocolate on the PMS female human. Both were avid believers.

    Savannah sat on a stool nearby. “Whatcha working on?”

    “Lisa Neilson-Mallock. Such a sad case. Some of them get to you more than others. I had nightmares about this one last night.”

    “What have you found?”

    “Mostly that she really suffered. That sadistic bastard sure put her through it