Free For Old Crime's Sake (Chase Charley Mystery Book 1) by Rose Pressey

messages. But the third number I called led me to the New Orleans Police Department. Specifically the desk of one Officer Phillip West. I’d gotten a voice message, so hung up right away and prayed that he didn’t call my number back.
    How was Officer West connected to this case? Who lived at this address and how did they know the cop? I knew he was up to no good. Of course the dead body he’d dumped into his car had certainly been a pretty big clue. I refused to believe that Officer Marquez didn’t know his partner was bad. This changed things.
    As I walked home, I had time to reflect on all that I’d learned. There were more clues, but no answers. If anything, I felt I was even further from finding out what was really happening.
    I hurried my steps because now I was definitely paranoid. Going to the police and telling them what was happening wasn’t an option, because honestly there was nothing concrete to even tell them. Plus, look what had happened when I’d met Marc. Officer West had shown up. It wouldn’t be safe for me to tell the police. For all I knew they were on to my investigation of their overtime scam.

Chapter Eleven
     
    The next day, I decided to meet Courtney. We’d have lunch and maybe I could clear my head by talking about everything. Before we met, I bought a coffee. No, I wasn’t expecting to run into Dangerfield. However, I was on the lookout for Doug and Russ.
    As I sipped on my coffee, I spotted a woman I knew. She wore her brown hair in big curls that bounced down her shoulders. Her beige slacks and white blouse looked immaculate. She tapped her foot against the tiled floor and her arms were crossed in front of her waist. I wasn’t sure that she’d seen me yet.
    When she spotted me, it would turn into a scene right away. If I was wise, I would leave before she noticed me. But I decided to take my chances and confront her.
    April Benson had been the target of a recent investigation. It hadn’t ended well for her, but the clients she’d ripped off at least had gotten most of their money returned.
    When we made eye contact, she recognized me. Her reaction wasn’t much of a surprise though. After all, I had gone on TV demanding that she right her wrongs. I swallowed the lump in my throat and wondered if I had the nerve to confront her. I had to know if she was the one leaving the voodoo in front of my door.
    April hadn’t taken her eyes off me for a second. She stared a hole right through me. I remained strong, trying not to let her intimidate me.
    There was only one way to find out if she was behind the voodoo. I had to go over to her. Of course that was a risky move. She would probably want to punch me in the face.
    I pushed my shoulders back and headed over to the woman. She placed her arms at her sides and folded her hands into fists as if she was ready for a fight. That was the last thing I wanted. She stared at me as I walked toward her.
    “What do you want?” April snapped when I was near.
    At least she hadn’t punched me right off the bat. Her red face told me that she wanted to though.
    “I have a question to ask you.” I stood straight in front of her.
    “Haven’t you asked enough already?”
    “I know you are upset with me, but you wouldn’t actually do anything, right? You said that you would get revenge.”
    April glared at me. “You deserve everything that you get. Now if you will please excuse me, I don’t want to talk with you.”
    “Well, I’m not having a great time talking to you either,” I said.
    She weaved around me and moved closer to the counter. “I don’t want to talk with you. Now will you just leave me alone?” She tapped her foot as she waited for her coffee. “Could you hurry up back there?” she yelled at the barista, who didn’t move any faster after being yelled at.
    Once she had her coffee in hand, she stormed around me and rushed toward the door. That hadn’t gone well, but had I really expected a different outcome?
    The woman walked