Page 76 of Blood Moon

The middle-class neighborhood into which Carla Mellin had relocated was a tract development at least fifty years old. Some of the houses had been updated; most needed to be.

Carla’s was one of the latter. The house wasn’t terribly unkempt, but it signaled desolation, as though the bitter unhappiness of its resident had seeped through its walls from the inside out.

The officer who’d done the research for John had told him that Carla was currently staffing the admissions desk at a twenty-four-hour medical emergency care center. Her shift was from four o’clock in the afternoon until midnight.

It was early to be calling on someone who probably slept late because of her work hours, but he and Beth were never going to have a welcome mat rolled out for them, and this was their best chance of finding her at home.

He turned off the car. “Well, here goes nothing.”

“Maybe I should go first. Alone. She’ll be caught completely off guard. I’ll be less—”

“Mean-looking.”

She smiled. “Intimidating.”

He gestured her toward the house and wished her good luck.

As she made her way up the walk, he took a phone from the plastic bag and called Mitch. As soon as his friend answered, John said, “Guess who.”

“A fugitive from justice.”

“So you’ve heard?”

“Deduced. You’re on the lam? Someone from the PD called my office, said the matter was urgent, left a number for me to call back. I haven’t yet. What do you want me to tell them?”

“To fuck off.”

“Happy to oblige.”

He imagined Mitch’s grin through the dreadful mustache, but in all seriousness, he said, “The warrant’s for assault. I think that’s a formality. Barker’s unleashed the ogre. Be careful.”

“Same goes, bro.”

“Later.”

During the rushed exchange, John had watched what was playing out at Carla’s front door. It seemed an age between the time Beth had rung the doorbell and it was answered.

Carla opened the door only a quarter of the way. Through the crack, she scowled at Beth. He could tell the instant Beth introduced herself. Carla’s reaction was swift and hostile. She was about to close the door in Beth’s face, but whatever Beth said caused her to hesitate.

She listened, then looked beyond Beth toward the car. Beth said more, Carla said something back, then closed the door. Beth returned to the car, and when she got in she was slightly out of breath.

“No soap?” he said.

“She’s agreed to see us, but I think I woke her up. She wasn’t dressed. We’re to give her a few minutes. She’ll let us know.”

“That’s better than I expected.”

“Yes, but I warn you, she’s spoiling for a fight. With me because of the show. With you because of what she called the botched investigation.”

“She has every right.”

“It’s not you she resents as much as Tom Barker. She asked if you still worked for ‘that jackass.’”

“Did you relieve her of that worry?”

“No. I left that for you to tell, if you choose to.”

“Word of the arrest warrant is out. I called to give Mitch a heads-up that they would undoubtedly try to contact him, looking for me. They already had.”