Sharon Sala - A Place To Call Home

Judd started to laugh again. “It wasn’t so bad. It’s better than the barrel of a .45, any day.”

Charlie grimaced. “You cops have a weird sense of humor. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll leave you to your sleep.”

Judd stretched and yawned. “Never was much good at sleeping in,” he said. “If you don’t mind, I’ll make some coffee.”

Charlie’s pulse gave a leap as the sheet slipped down toward his belly. It was all she could do to answer.

“Uh…yes…I mean, no, I don’t mind. Make yourself at home. Wade is in the shower but he’ll be out in a few minutes.”

Judd glanced down at her ankle as she moved toward the door. It was still swollen and starting to bruise. Without thinking, he started to get up and help her, then remembered he had nothing on. He waited until they were gone, then got up and dressed, keeping it casual. He put on his last pair of clean jeans and a slightly wrinkled T-shirt bearing the logo of the Tulsa P.D.

As he headed for the kitchen, he could hear Charlotte’s voice, soft and coaxing as she helped her daughter dress, as well as the occasional rumble of Wade Franklin’s voice. From what he could hear, the police chief was already on the phone, dealing with the business of the day. Just for a moment, he regretted the fact that he wasn’t getting ready for the job, then reminded himself that it was because of the damned job that he was here. Somehow, he was going to have to find a way to forgive himself for not dying along with Dan Myers.

A couple of minutes later, he was digging through the cabinets for the coffee when Wade walked into the kitchen. He turned.

“I asked Charlie if it would be okay to make coffee,” he said.

Wade shrugged, obviously preoccupied. “Have at it,” he muttered.

Judd filled the carafe with water then measured out the coffee, all the while keeping an eye on Wade. Once the coffee was on and brewing, he turned.

“Got trouble?” he asked.

Wade nodded. “Probably.”

“Want to talk about it?”

Wade reached for a bottle of painkillers. “Bad knee,” he said, and downed a couple without water.

Judd waited. If the man wanted to talk, he would do so when he was ready. Then Wade looked up, and Judd felt himself under sudden scrutiny.

“I talked to your captain,” Wade said.

Judd grinned wryly. “What did he say?”

“That he was glad to know the son of a bitch was still alive and to tell him to get his ass back to Tulsa.”

Judd shrugged. “He loves me. What can I say?”

Wade almost grinned, but there was more on his mind than Judd’s defection.

“He also said you’re a hell of a detective, which brings me to my question.”

Suddenly, Judd sensed he wasn’t going to like what was coming.

“Looks like I’ve got myself a problem in Call City,” Wade said, then poured them each a cup of coffee before continuing. “A man named Raymond Shuler, who is president of the local bank, is missing. His wife said he went to a meeting last night and never came home. My deputy found his car, still parked at the town hall where the meeting was held, but Shuler is nowhere to be found.”

Judd frowned. “This ever happened before?”

Wade shook his head. “That’s just it. Shuler isn’t the type to pull any stunts. It’s obvious something has happened.”

“Like robbery, or maybe another woman?”

Wade shrugged. “Could be any number of things. I’ll find out more when I get to the office.”

“What’s that have to do with me?” Judd asked.

Wade paused. Judd could see the hesitation on his face.

“It’s just that my deputy, Hershel Brown, is getting married tomorrow and leaving on his honeymoon. He won’t be back for at least two weeks, maybe more. I can hardly ask the kid to postpone his wedding because of this, and I’m damned sure not going to tell him he can’t go on his honeymoon, but I’m going to be real shorthanded until he gets back.”

Judd stiffened. “How many other deputies do you have?”

Wade grinned. “None, and since you’re going to be stuck here until your Jeep is fixed, I thought you might consider helping me out with this case. I could probably work a small consultation fee into the budget, although it wouldn’t be much.”

Judd sighed. This wasn’t what he’d planned to do, but like the man said, what other options did he have?

Then Wade added the kicker. “And, since you’ll be staying on here until your vehicle is up and running…”

“Okay,” Judd said. “But no fee is necessary. Technically, I’m still employed in Oklahoma.”

Wade grinned. “Thanks, man, I really appreciate this.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Judd said.

Wade shrugged off the warning, but before he could comment, someone honked outside.

Wade refilled his coffee cup and then motioned with his chin. “That will be Tooter Beel.”

“Tooter?”

Wade grinned. “Don’t ask.” Then he added, “He’ll tow your car to the garage in town, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to talk to the mechanic.”

Judd frowned. This meant another day’s delay added on to the rest. Then he sighed. Why wasn’t he surprised?

“Why tomorrow?” he asked.

“Because today is Monday and Harold doesn’t open the shop on Mondays.”

Judd knew he shouldn’t ask, but the question came out, anyway.

“And why doesn’t he open on Mondays?”

Wade’s grin widened. “Because he’s usually sleeping off a weekend drunk. Even if he came in and unlocked the shop, you wouldn’t want him working on anything. He’s real mean until the liquor wears off.”

“So, all that’s going to happen today is my Jeep gets parked in town?”

“That’s about the size of it.”

“Fine. Then I’ll stay here and help Charlie.”

Wade looked nervous. This wasn’t what he had in mind.

“Uh, I don’t think…”

“Is there anyone…maybe a neighbor, or a friend, who can come stay with her?” Judd asked.

Wade frowned. “No.”

“Maybe you were planning to stay here and help her?” Judd asked.

“Not with Shuler missing. In fact, I should already be at the office,” Wade said.

“So, what’s-his-name can tow my car and I’ll stay here and help. Maybe by tomorrow the swelling in her foot will be down.”

The horn sounded again. Wade was out of excuses. He set his coffee cup down and headed for the door.

“Fine,” he said shortly. “I’ll tell Tooter to hook ’er up and pull it into town. You can talk to Harold tomorrow about repairs.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Judd said, and wondered why he’d been so bent on baby-sitting a woman and a kid. It wasn’t like him. In fact, it wasn’t like him at all.

Judd couldn’t remember ever wanting to touch a woman as much as he wanted to touch Charlotte. Her skin, an even golden tan, was glistening with a faint sheen of perspiration as she crawled around on her knees, weeding the flower garden in front of the house. She wore her hair in a thick rope of braid, and the warm chestnut color glowed from the heat of the sun. The braid hung over her shoulder as she worked, and each time she straightened to rest her back, it would bounce against the thrust of one breast. Her shorts were old and frayed at the hems, the denim fabric faded by countless washings, and the logo on her T-shirt was completely illegible. He kept staring at the slender curve of her neck and the high, delicate instep of her small bare feet, and telling himself to focus on something else. He didn’t listen.

Beyond the sandstone walk, the baby played, carrying a small bucket of dirt from one pile to another, then scooping it up and doing it all over again. Overhead, a lone turkey buzzard circled high in the sky, looking for something to eat. Judd glanced up, past the buzzard to the jet trail far above, and thought of the faceless people in that plane. They didn’t know it, but at this very moment, they were flying over heaven.