The Nick Spinelli Romance Mystery Series

Chapter 4

Spinelli stepped through the doorway of his precinct to find Walker and Marsh gathered around their open-case board. He stood behind them taking in their conversation and he watched as Walker hung photos of a dead body on the board.

Spinelli leaned forward and studied the photos. "You gotta be kidding me. Is that Santa Claus?"

Walker turned to face Spinelli. "Sure is. He took a 22 round to the back of his head. The medical examiner put the time of death at about 11:00 last night, about two hours after the mall closed."

Spinelli crossed his arms over his chest as he continued to study the photos. "What do we know?"

"Motive looks like robbery. His wallet's missing. Mall security identified him as Roland Hudson, age sixty-eight. They said he's been playing Santa at the mall for years," Marsh added.

Spinelli was about to ask more questions when he heard the shrill voice of Captain Jackson yelling his name. He squeezed his eyes shut and wished himself anywhere but in the office at that very moment.

"Yeah Cap. What's up?" he asked in his smooth self-assured voice.

"In my office now!" she demanded.

Spinelli exchanged glances with Walker and Marsh and headed toward his death sentence. The second he entered the Captain's office she met his gaze. She hadn't said a word but he felt like he'd been scolded and beat to a pulp. He took a seat in the chair opposite her desk and watched her large nostrils flare in and out. Jackson ran her hand through her thick short black hair and cleared her throat. "What did you do to Ms. O'Hara? You've been upstairs less than half a day and her boss is already calling down here looking for a replacement for you. Fontaine said she's never seen O'Hara so upset."

Jackson leaned forward and placed her elbows on her desk, resting her chin on her fingers as she stared down her nose at Spinelli. Though she only stood about five-foot-five and weighed all of one hundred thirty pounds, she managed to scare the hell out of him at times. He shifted his body in the chair leaning back to make himself more comfortable. "I don't know. I just helped her take a few kids out of a crack w***e's home. I guess maybe she didn't like how I did it."

Spinelli flashed his lady-killer smile at Jackson to try to loosen her up a bit but it didn't work. "Spinelli, I don't have time for this crap. Why can't you ever just play nice with people?"

He opened his mouth to speak but Jackson cut him off. "I told Fontaine that you are all that is available right now and she'll just need to make due. I told her I would talk to you and that you would do whatever she and Ms. O'Hara instructed you to do. Have I made myself clear, Detective?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now get your ass back out there and work with Walker and Marsh on the Santa Claus case until Ms. O'Hara needs you. You're going to give her the rest of the afternoon to simmer down. She doesn't need your services again until tomorrow. And Spinelli, try to soften up a bit."

He fought to not roll his eyes as he lifted himself from his chair. Well, on a good note at least he got to work on something productive for the remainder of the afternoon.

Spinelli arrived at the precinct bright and early Friday morning in hopes to study Walker and Marsh's Santa board before reporting to Ms. O'Hara.

He nudged his way between Walker and Marsh. "Anything new on Santa?"

"His blood alcohol level came back at .06. No sign of struggle. Just the .22 to the back of the head," Walker replied as he flipped open the manila folder and scanned the medical examiner's report. Spinelli leaned toward him and craned his neck to review the report as well.

Spinelli finished reading the report and took a couple of steps toward the Santa board then he looked back at Walker and Marsh. "So, he played Santa until 9:00 p.m., the coroner put his time of death at about 11:00 p.m., his blood alcohol level came back at .06, and they found him in the mall's parking ramp a few stalls away from his vehicle. So, he drank alcohol at the mall? Any reason he would still be at the mall two hours after his shift ended? And where, when, and with who did he drink?"

Walker closed the folder then tossed it onto his cluttered desk. "Marsh and I questioned the security guards that were on duty between 9:00 p.m. and the time he was found and nobody seems to know anything. We're going back over to the mall again today to review more security tapes and talk to more mall employees."

Spinelli noted the time. He raked his hand through his hair and willed his feet to move in the direction of the stairwell leading to the fourth floor.

Within minutes, he found himself knocking on Ms. O'Hara's office door. Before she could even look up from her desk, he strapped on his lady-killer smile hoping it would smooth things over. "Good morning, Ms. O'Hara. Reporting for duty."

Shannon looked up from her desk and spoke through her clenched jaw. "Morning, Detective Spinelli."

Spinelli kept his gaze fixed on her. She looked angry and she looked as though she wanted to say more but he wasn't sure he wanted her to. He cleared his throat to speak, to take control of the moment, but she beat him to it.

"Well Detective Spinelli, Ms. Fontaine tells me we're stuck with each other. And just for the record, I'm well aware of the fact you don't want to be here and I'm sure you are aware of the fact that I don't want you here, but I promised Ms. Fontaine that I would do my best to work with you for the next several weeks. So how about we start fresh today and put yesterday behind us?"

Spinelli thought for a moment. He knew he didn't have a choice in the matter. Jackson would string him up if he screwed up again. Oh, how he missed Mad Dog. This is all Mad Dog's fault. If he hadn't retired, I wouldn't be in this predicament. Spinelli offered a crooked smile and nodded. "Okay, fresh start it is."

"Great then, and just so we're clear, your behavior yesterday in the Washington home was completely out of line. And in order for this arrangement to work we need to just stick to the plan which means that you need to keep quiet and do as you're told," Shannon replied, unable to hide the disdain in her tone.

Ouch.