Free Jason Deas - Cameron Caldwell 01 - Private Eye by Jason Deas

belonged to was still alive. He said while he was on the phone with them and Blanca was gathering her wits he paced the side of the road. He’s a Vietnam vet, so he’s seen ugly before. The bloody hand didn’t bother him. As he did, he noticed the morning sun shining on something near, and when he checked it out, he found a bloody knife.”
    “Did he describe it?” Cam asked.
    “Yeah. He said it had a long blade with a seated back.”
    Images of Billy stabbing Chief Lee shot through Cam’s mind and the knife matched.
    “That’s Billy’s knife!”
    “How do you know?” Daphne asked.
    “He was wearing it on his belt yesterday when he came to my office.”
    “He took it out for you to see?” Daphne asked, before it hit her that Cam had seen the knife in his mind.
    “I know knives,” Cam lied.
    “Oh,” she said, recovering, “right. Well, this should be an exciting day in Miner’s Bluff.”
    “Especially for you,” Claude said, to Daphne.
    “And why’s that?”
    “Blanca heard you didn’t make it in to work today and she wants to talk to you as soon as you surface.”
     
    Daphne beat Blanca to the punch and drove straight to the police station after breakfast. She didn’t want to give her the pleasure of finding her first.
    Daphne walked into the station and spotted Blanca. “Feeling better?” she asked.
    “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
    “I heard you were sick this morning and I was just checking,” Daphne said, feigning innocence.
    “Have you ever seen a bloody severed hand?” Blanca asked defensively.
    “Can’t say that I have. I heard you wanted to talk with me.”
    “Let’s go to my office.”
    Blanca’s office had absolutely no personality. No pictures, no color, just bricks and mortar.
    “Where were you last night?”
    Daphne wanted to tell her more than anything that she was in Cam’s bed, but decided to play hardball for a while instead.
    “With a friend. Why?”
    “Why? Really? Why? Well, I’ll tell you why. Your number one enemy is dead. That’s why.”
    “So you found a body?”
    Blanca gave her a sinister look. “No. But let’s be real about this. We found Billy’s hand, but not Billy. We’ve called every hospital within a hundred miles. He’s dead.”
    “As long as we’re being real, tell me this. If I was going to kill Billy Prescott, why would I leave his hand and his knife in the middle of town? I don’t like him, you’re right about that, but I don’t hate him enough to cut off his hand and leave it in the middle of the road. This sounds to me like someone was trying to send a message.”
    “Why don’t you let me be the detective here and you can just answer questions.”
    “As long as you promise not to throw up on me.”
    “That’s low, Daphne. Low. What have I ever done to you to deserve that?”
    “How about suspecting me of a murder?”
    “Fine. Point taken. Let me be blunt then. Do I really think you did it? No. Do I have to do my job and cover all my bases? Yes. And unfortunately, you are one of the bases I have to cover. Billy was putting the hard-court press on you and your brother to sell land you didn’t want to sell, and he was also incredibly close to uncovering the secrets of your moonshine business.”
    “Fine. I spent the night with Cam.” Daphne watched her face. If she cared, she didn’t show it.
    “The new guy in town?”
    “Yes.”
    “And he’ll vouch for that?”
    “Yeah. It wasn’t planned. I dropped him off at home and had a drink and then another, before I knew it I had too many to drive.”
    “Are you two in a relationship?”
    “No.” Daphne swore she saw Blanca’s face ease.
    “The reason I ask is because people in relationships will lie for each other.”
    “Sure. I understand.”
    “Do you have anything else you think I need to know at this point?”
    “Like what?”
    “Like, who do you think did it?”
    “If I had to guess, I’d guess his ex, Alice.”
    Blanca nodded in