Page 36 of Dirty Looks

I felt eyes on the back of my neck as Martinez and I crept our way toward the cottage and up the porch steps.

“Police,” Martinez yelled, announcing himself and then pushing the door open wider.

Whatever he saw had him hesitating for only a second, but he trained his weapon straight ahead.

“Drop your weapon,” he commanded.

He’d opened the door wide enough so I could see the scene inside. Astrid Nielsen stood with her hands up, a gun still in her hand, and Alan Goble was propped like a broken doll against the hearth of the fireplace. His chest covered in blood.

“I need to get to him,” I said, softly. “He could still be alive.” I was already digging in my bag for gloves, wondering how far out the paramedics might be.

“Astrid,” Martinez said again. “Put your weapon on the ground.”

The color was gone from her face and her eyes were wide with shock. But she nodded stiffly and lowered the weapon, so it landed with a thunk on the wood floor.

Martinez moved in quickly and kicked the gun out of the way before putting her in handcuffs. And I ran straight for the victim, feeling for a pulse in his throat. His skin was still hot beneath my fingers and the blood oozed from his chest. I checked his eyes and searched one more time for a pulse. But he was gone. And there was no bringing him back.

I looked at his wounds. “Three gunshot wounds center mass,” I told Martinez. “An excellent grouping. You could fit a playing card over all three bullet holes.”

There was a sob from behind me and I turned to face Astrid.

“I had to do it,” she said, her face contorted with rage. “He did it. I knew as soon as I found out about Evie that he was responsible. He killed her, and if I didn’t kill him he would have gotten away with it. He would have disappeared and gotten away with it. You don’t know his background. His skill set. I didn’t have a choice.”

“We always have a choice,” Martinez said. And then he started reading her Miranda rights.

I pulled out my phone and texted Lily to meet me for retrieval.

“Guess we’re not going to get to question him after all,” I said.

“Is this your house?” Martinez asked, looking around.

Astrid nodded but didn’t speak.

“What was Alan doing in your house?”

I was half listening to Martinez’s questions while I looked over the victim. He was dressed in jeans and a thin gray T-shirt, and he was barefoot. I looked around the room, but didn’t see his black anorak. But his level of comfort seemed curious, and it gave us an answer for why he hadn’t been at the guardhouse. I patted down his pockets, looking to see if he was carrying anything.

I found his wallet in his back pocket and pulled it out, flipping it open to see his ID. “Alan Goble,” I confirmed. And then I felt something familiar at the small of his back and pulled out a small, snub-nosed revolver similar to the one Martinez had given me.

“It just gets more and more interesting,” Martinez said. “It’s curious that old Al here was comfortable enough to not only be inside your house, but to walk around barefoot, especially since he was supposed to be on duty. I guess our questioning up at the house interfered with your personal time.”

Astrid shook her head again, but didn’t say anything. She just kept staring at the man she’d killed in cold blood.

I bagged the weapon, and stayed kneeling by the victim until I heard sirens. I knew Lily wouldn’t be far behind.

“So you’re telling me that lady just shot that guy in cold blood, while the house was swarming with cops?” Lily asked on the drive back to the funeral home.

“Yep,” I said. “That’s a first for me.”

She fiddled with the radio and my lips twitched as she chose country music. Cole was indeed rubbing off on her. “Did she think she would get away with it?”

“I don’t think she did,” I said. “I think she fully expected to get caught and didn’t care in the slightest. She just said Alan was responsible for Evie’s murder and that if she didn’t do it he’d get away with it.”

“Vigilante nut job,” Lily said.

“Certifiable,” I agreed. “There was something off about her from the beginning, but I couldn’t put my finger on it other than the fact that she wasn’t telling us something. She and Alan obviously had some kind of relationship and maybe she found out more about him than she wanted to know. He’s obviously got some kind of sexual addiction. That’s the first thing everyone we’ve talked to has told us. He makes his rounds through the ladies.”

“But just how young does he start?” Lily asked darkly.

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