Free Stay by Victor Gischler Page B

face and alert blue eyes. The sergeant’s stripes on his sleeve were the result of sixteen years on the force. That was some kind of accomplishment anyway.
    Amy introduced David, and he shook hands with Roy.
    â€œRoy, I can’t thank you enough,” Amy said. “This whole situation has just been so upsetting.”
    When Amy had called Roy, she’d kept the story simple. As deputy DA it was her job to put away bad people. Naturally some of the bad people didn’t appreciate this, and Amy now had reason to believe that some of these people wanted to cause trouble for her and her family. The situation wasn’t to the point that it was appropriate to fill out an official complaint, but some steps needed to be taken for Amy’s peace of mind. Her old high school friend Roy had happily stepped up to the plate.
    â€œI’m happy I can do this for you,” Roy said. “I mean, it’s the least I can do after—oh, here they are now.”
    About half a block away, a squad car slowed and parked across the street. A second squad car parked at the end of the street in the other direction.
    â€œJust the sight of police vehicles will keep most of the assholes—er, sorry.” Roy’s eyes darted to Amy, embarrassed. “Jerks, I mean. Anyway, most of the bad guys will move along if they see a police presence.”
    â€œThanks,” Amy said. “I feel better already.”
    â€œI hope this isn’t putting you out,” David said.
    Roy waved the idea away. “As long as the captain doesn’t look too close at the duty roster, I’m fine. And I run a pretty tight ship, so he lets me run the precinct my way. Fact is I owe some of these boys some easy overtime, so that’s for starters. But the fact is I owe your wife here a big one. Didn’t see how I could refuse her a favor like this.”
    â€œOh, really?” David raised an eyebrow at his wife. “I hadn’t heard about this.”
    â€œDavid, don’t pry into the man’s business,” scolded Amy.
    â€œWouldn’t dream of it.” David smiled and tried to look harmless.
    â€œIt’s okay,” Roy said. “When my kid sister graduated from NYU a few years ago, she celebrated pretty hard, drank a bit too much, and got into some trouble. I called up Amy and begged a favor. She didn’t even hesitate. Fact is, Little Sis did need to learn a lesson, but maybe not to the point of having something on her record if you know what I mean. Your wife understood. She’s good people, Mr. Sparrow.”
    David put a hand on Amy’s shoulder, gave it a light squeeze. “I think so, too.”
    â€œBut it’s just for a few days.” Roy looked apologetic. “That’s about all I can swing.”
    â€œThat’s fine. I figure we’ll have things sorted out by then. You don’t have to rush off, do you?” Amy asked. “Come in for some coffee.”
    Roy smiled. “I’d like that.”

 
    CHAPTER NINE
    The next two days crept by in seemingly normal fashion. Amy went to work in the city. David took the kids to school and tended house.
    But underneath the facade of normalcy there was tension. David was the primary culprit. He knew what a criminal like Payne was capable of and kept thinking something bad was going to happen. His anxiety infected Amy, and even the kids seemed out of sorts, sensing there was something wrong in the house.
    Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Payne doesn’t even care. With the witness dead, he’s off the hook. Maybe he’ll forget about us .
    David knew he was kidding himself.
    He picked the kids up from school and brought them home as usual. He forced himself to engage with them, helping with homework. He cooked dinner, did the dishes afterward. He felt like a fraud. The daddy robot going through the motions as the more active part of his brain thought about the perimeter of the house, how somebody