chapter 7

There was no answer at Sarra's front door but an impressive sounding dog began barking the minute they rang the bell.

"Bring any of those special milk bones?"Brian asked and dropped off the porch. He wandered to the gate over looking the backyard, the air smelling of freshly urned soil and flowers. A plastic wheelbarrow and a little size rake shovel and gloves were stacked in the corner of the brick patio.

Sarra Jane was in the middle of planting flowers teaching her kid how to garden. A daughter Brian decided.pink and purple wheel barrow pink flowers on the mini gloves.

His heart gave a tug.

"Think she bailed?"Phil asked, coming from up behind him.

Brian flared his nostrils."Doesn't feel like it The gardening isn't done, but things are kinda put away not like she dropped everything in a hurry."

"Lets go talk to the neighbors.Maybe they know her schedule.Deed says she has owned this house for three years."

"No husband.Right?"

"All in her name."

Single woman with at least one child.Dog .Ginger bread house complete with flower beds and ruffled curtains.Boyfriend who cuts up woman? Brian had to admit that didn't seem to fit.

"Whoa there she is.:" Phil said

He nodded to the street where a dark gray durango slowed. The driver paused spoke to a kid in the back seat then slung the rear of the durango down to the garage door. She popped the locks than got out.

Things are as Never pretty as they seem.

Phil walked toward her."Mrs Jane Sarra Jane?Im Lieutenant Phil Davis this is my partner Brian Swartz with Panama city police department. We would like to have a word with you."He pulled out his badge letting her see it.

Her glance fitted to Brian and he crossed his arms, accustomed to the once over six foot three man with an ugly scar always got.

"You need to talk to me?"she asked a little tension in her voice. "Why?"

"Mommy who is that?"

The kid the little girl wearing a baseball cap with dora on it had unbuckled and climbed out of the vehicle.

"Abby" Mrs Jane said. "Why don't you go let justice out? It sounds like he is ready to leap out the window."

"Justice is our dog." The child glanced at Brian but spoke to Phil. Scary and Mean

Phil bent to his knees. "Is he friendly?"he asked.

"If your not a cat." Abby snickered "Hey why did the cat cross the road?"

Phil didn't miss a beat"Because the chicken had a day off?"

"No she scolded wagging a finger at him."To prove he wasn't a chicken."

"Oh man you got me " "Hey how does a chicken tell time?"

The little girls eyes danced with joy."one ocluck 2 ocluck 3 ocluck

Phil chuckled and Brian had to admire is method. Phil could make anyone like him.make them tell there deepest secrets.

"Abby " Sarra said. holding out a key to her daughter."Go let the dog out."

Abby took the key but stood there in front of Phil. "Hey what did the three legged dog say when he walked into a salon?" she jammed her fist against the sides of her waist "I'm looking for the man that shot my paw."

Phil laughed out loud. Brian wanted to. A surprise that."Hey Mrs Jane interjected, "What happened to the girl who ignored her mother?"

"Its OK " Phil said. while Abby humped and trotted to the side door. "I could use some new material I have a nine year old who thinks he is a comic.

"Will this take long?"sarra asked "I can't leave this furniture out here too long."

"Its a queen Anne Highboy." the little girl called out heading out the side door."its worth alot of money Mr Jones is right but mommy says he lies through his tee-

Abby"!

Jones. A mental list began forming in Brian's mind. Names to check on clues to follow. An instinct not quite dead after all. Another surprise.

Some Pitt bull charged out and Abby squealed The dog flew from person to person, gathering scents than circled Abby until she said the magic word."cookie" and they both trotted inside.

"Great watch dog" Phil said kissing ass a little more and no it shouldn't take long."

"Okay" Sarra reached into the back seat of the durango and Brian took her in. She was a small woman wearing jeans Nike's and a white tee under one of those Fuzzy sweaters that open down in the front. Her build was slender tight like an athlete Dark hair fell past her shoulders. She turned and the sunlight struck her face.

Brian blinked A scar a wide inch and a half long hyphen marched high across her cheekbone. It didn't make her less attractive it wasn't bad or twisted . It gave her depth character a story.

She popped the button on the garage door lifted. It was enormous two car garage affair enlarged in a finished basement. and brightly lit. Furniture dishes baskets toys quilts and boxes filled a counter and a ink jet printer sat beside a computer filled with twenty or so pages of printouts. The page was a picture was of an old fashioned doll and beside it a real version of the image in the picture lay partially open box, the ups label dated yesterday. The doll itself cushioned with tissue paper and Styrofoam peanuts, stared at the ceiling.

Brian picked it up. It was Fourteen or fifteen inches tall, with silky hair and a penetrating wide eyed gaze."Antiques," he said "Your an antiques dealer?"

"I'm a researcher for Fosters Antiques. Would you like to know why my research says about the value of that doll you are holding"?

He arched his brow."Six months of my salary?"

"I doubt you make that much."

Brian bit back a smile setting the doll down. Sarra came over and tucked it deeper into its packaging an oddly protective gesture, and his gut lurched at the sight of her hands.

He skimmed her throat neck face- any bare flesh that was visible. No injuries buried under her make up no defensive bruises or scrapes. Just fresh abrasions on her knuckles. He thought of Abby than dismissed that possibility as quickly as it surfaced. Little girls who take beatings from their mothers don't play T ball the next day or roll around with big dogs, and tell chicken jokes to total strangers.But something or someone had been at the other end of Sarra's fit recently.

"I need to get upstairs with Abby," she said. "We can talk in the kitchen."

They followed behind her to the stairs and into her family room where Brian braced himself for priceless figurines and ancient rugs, and Louis the whatever furniture he'd be afraid to touch. He wasn't even close. It was warm and homey might have graced the cover of home and garden magazines you see in the groceries stores, It was neat but not compulsively so, with barbie dolls and plastic horses frozen in action on the coffee table.

An unexpected attack warm fuzzies dimmed Brian's hope Phil was right. This woman lived beaver cleaver land though Brian couldn't recall wishing Mrs cleaver to take her sweater off to give him a better look, Sarra Jane wasn't the type to know the murderer The best he could hope for was that she actually knew Jessica Davis.

He nursed that hope and strode past Abby and justice on the sofa. Followed Phil in to the dining room.

"Whats this about. asked Sarra

Phil took over "Do you know a woman named Jessica Davis?" he asked showing her Jessica's drivers license picture.

Her brow wrinkled as she looked."No I don't think so"

"You sure?"

"I've never heard that name before." she said looking genually truthful.

"What about Gloria Micheal's?" Brian asked, and again she shook her head.

"Just after midnight on Wednesday night." Phil said "You received a call from Seattle. Who was that caller?"

For a fraction of a second she froze. Then her eyes darted down and left, and Brian ground his jaw at how classic it was.

Damn her anyways Beavers mom was about to lie.