Page 18 of Vanish From Sight
“That’s because I was working in the Big Apple. We got word they were needing a detective up here to deal with all the crap. So far, the only crap I’ve dealt with is folks like that moron.” He pushed through into the office. “Meant to retire in five years, thiswas supposed to be a sweet gig. I’m starting to think I might take that early package.”
Callie cracked a joke about all that package containing was coupons to the local Piggly Wiggly, a grocery chain store.
“Aye, I expect so. But hey, at least I can take you out, sweetheart.” He winked at her.
She laughed. “In your dreams, McKenzie.”
“Aye, a man can dream.”
Callie excused herself to go speak with the sheriff while Noah followed the Scotsman as he stormed into the break room to get himself a coffee.
His face immediately darkened with anger as he noticed there were no more capsules for the coffee maker. He let out a frustrated growl and slammed his iron fist down on the counter, causing a spoon to fall and clatter on the floor.
“What is this, a game?!” He charged to the doorway where he shouted out to no one in particular but seemingly addressed the entire office at once. “Where the hell is all the coffee?” he demanded to know, his accent becoming thick as his annoyance grew. “I can’t work in this shit hole without my evening cupper.”
Noah observed him with curious amusement.
He’d worked with all types over the years. Hard-nosed guys who hardly ever broke a smile, jokers who saw their shift as nothing more than preparation for a future career as a stand-up comedian, through to those who walked the line, nervous that one mistake would be their last.
But this fella. He was a wild card.
McKenzie clenched his fists at his sides and returned to the coffee maker. “In my day they used to have coffee vending machines. It might have squirted out sludge but in all my years I never saw them run out. This. This right here, is government cutbacks. Why pay for a machine when you can get this cheap piece of Chinese crap! This is unacceptable.” He went to thedoorway again, as if expecting someone to rush in with the solution. “I’m paid to solve crimes. That requires a proper caffeine boost. Where do I get that now?”
“The local café,” Maisie said.
“On my salary?”
She shrugged.
“You know how much they charge?” He grumbled, returning to search the cabinets, and letting out a string of curses that would make a sailor blush. He finally fished out a dirty-looking tea bag that someone had already used and plopped it in a cup. He turned on the kettle and retreated to a table where there were a few chairs and slumped down with a defeated sigh, realizing that he’d have to make do with weak seconds.
Noah exchanged a look with Maisie who lifted her eyebrows and stifled a laugh before he turned to the Scottish detective who was fuming.
Noah figured he would throw fuel on the fire of his foul mood. “I didn’t see you last night down at the dock.”
“No, because that would require local PD doing their job and picking up the phone.”
“So, you’ll be tackling the case?”
“Haven’t been assigned it.”
“But when you are?”
McKenzie got up as the kettle reached boiling point, a smile dancing. “When, when, when. That’s an interesting word, sums up this place quite nicely. When will I be asked to help? When will I have answers to another crime? When will there be a report on my desk?” He raised his voice, yelling toward the door. “I’ll tell you when… when you stock the bloody coffee box!”
Noah figured he wasn’t going to get much more from him while he was feeling short-changed so he queried him about the guy he’d brought in.
“The suspect you brought in. What’s the deal there?”
“A woman in the community asked us to look into her dogs being taken. As if we don’t have enough on our plate. Anyway, I get a report of someone acting suspicious around a local park. I headed out there expecting to find you know, some pervert spying on single mothers, only to find out that he’d apparently taken off with someone’s dog. I drove around for a while and ended up finding the little rascal walking three dogs in some field over on the south side. He said he hadn’t stolen them. That he came across them without any owner and planned to drop them off at the shelter in town.” McKenzie threw up his fingers, creating quote signs in the air. “That he was just ‘giving them a walk’ before he did that. Anyway, I was able to confirm one of the dogs inside belonged to a couple back at the park. They’d taken their eyes off the dog for but a second and turned around and it was gone. So you do the math. I figure the other two are someone else’s, perhaps the woman who phoned in.”
“Have you called the shelter to confirm his story?”
“Aye, you’re a pushy little bastard, aren’t you? I just got in the door.” He took out a pack of smokes and tapped one out.
“Um,” Noah pointed to the wall to where a No Smoking sign was.
He pulled a face. “I wasn’t going to light it. It just eases my nerves. I haven’t lit one in two years.”
