Firebreak (Josie Gray Mysteries #4)(50)

“What’s the word, boss lady?” Juan asked.

“A missing person. But it’s a little more complicated than that.”

“Ah.” He rubbed his hands together and gave her a grin. “Fill us in.”

Otto pointed to the live oak tree on the courthouse lawn. “Let’s get out of the sun here first.”

The five officers moved into the shade and Josie filled them in on the homicide and the probable identity of the victim.

“You guys know anything about Ferris?” Josie looked at Juan and Dave.

Juan smirked. “Ferris is a whore dog. Man, woman, or beast.”

“Come on, surely he’s not that bad.”

Dave laughed. “Yeah. He’s that bad.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“’Cause I’ve seen him at Mickey’s. If nothing’s going on at the Hell-Bent he’ll go down to Mickey’s to find somebody to buy him drinks. If it’s a lucky night he follows somebody home.” Dave made a face as if he were gagging. “Let’s just say he’s not too discerning.”

“You ever hear anything about Billy hooking up with Ferris?” Josie asked.

Dave made a face like he thought she was crazy. “What? As in Billy and Ferris together?”

“Hey, if I had to go home to that sourpuss wife every night I might look for another option too,” Juan said.

“I don’t know,” Dave said. “I can’t see it.”

“Hey, I’ve known Billy for a lot of years,” Juan said, “and he’s not exactly Mr. Motivation. You know what I mean? If he didn’t have his wife barking at his backside he’d still be pulling grunt work at the sanitation department. That’s what Billy was doing when Brenda convinced him he could be a megastar. But she’s a drill sergeant. She cuts that guy no slack. Maybe he liked Ferris saying nice things to him on the side.” He raised his eyebrows as if to say, You never know about people.

Josie let the innuendo slide. “Is he known for taking off when things get rough?” she asked.

The two officers glanced at each other and shrugged.

“Brenda said Billy took off in the middle of the night to go get a drink and never came home. The car’s still parked in front of the motel. None of their friends or bar owners have seen him. He called two friends last night while he was out drinking somewhere. Hank and Slim Jim. That was at about two this morning. Both guys told him to go back to the motel and he told them he would. But he’s not shown up yet. I wouldn’t think much of it, except we found a dead person in Billy’s house.”

“Still no ID on the body?” Juan asked.

“Not yet,” she said.

“So we’re doing a walking sweep of downtown?” Dave asked.

“We’ll each take an area within a few blocks of his motel. Think like a drunk.”

Juan socked Dave in the arm. “Ain’t no problem, is it, buddy?”

The officers split up, focusing on dumpsters, alleyways, and corners where Billy might be sleeping off a bad drunk. Josie walked north of the courthouse, behind the police department and into the nearby neighborhood. Drunks had wandered into this neighborhood before, searching aimlessly for their homes, wanting nothing more than a bed, and waking the next morning having no idea how they ended up passed out beside some kid’s swing set.

Josie walked down the alley that ran behind a row of homes, searching beside and behind garages and toolsheds. With the sun as hot as it was, she couldn’t imagine Billy would still be passed out. She imagined he had most likely called another friend last night, too ashamed to call Brenda, and was sleeping off a massive hangover in someone’s spare bedroom. Billy’s life was spiraling out of control and Josie predicted that Ferris Sinclair was probably linked to whatever mess Billy was currently in.

Marta, who had taken the street south of Manny’s Motel, called Josie.

“It’s not good.”

“Did you find him?”

“I think so. I’m not sure yet.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m in the little park area behind the trauma center.” Josie could hear scratching sounds in the background and then Marta’s intake of breath. “I found him, Josie. It’s him. Oh, dear God. I think he’s dead.”

“I’ll be right there. I’ll call the trauma center and get a doctor out there.”

Josie and the other officers reached the trauma center within a few minutes. A nurse and the ER doctor, Mike Begley, were bent over Billy, who lay on his side underneath a bench covered by an arbor and shaded by trees.

Josie looked at the other officers, all of whom appeared as shocked as she was at finding Billy’s lifeless body sprawled out in the open. There was little dignity in death. The muscles relaxed and body functions loosened, allowing bodily fluids to escape, and then within hours the body’s muscles contracted and became locked in place, causing rigor mortis. It was clear by the awkward positioning of Billy’s stiff legs and arms that he had been dead for several hours. Josie bent down to examine his face and saw that the blood had already begun to pool in the soft tissue in his face. His cheek, lying against the ground, was already turning a maroon color. After several minutes Dr. Begley stood and turned around to face the officers.