Free Wave Good-Bye by Lila Dare Page B

memories, made me want to bawl like a baby. After Mom’s pronouncement, I didn’t trust myself to speak. I kept swallowing and swallowing, but nothing would dislodge the lump in my throat.
    “Y-Y-You’re honestly thinking about quitting? Closing the shop forever?”
    “I’m getting older.” Mom spoke in a whisper. “My back used to hurt at the end of a day. Now it starts aching around ten and keeps paining me until I crawl into bed. My hands are arthritic. Have you noticed I can barely get my fingers into the handle of my good scissors? I’ve got a lot less patience than I used to have. Once upon a time, if a customer like Mrs. Everly told me I was cheating her, I would have laughed it off. But yesterday, I went into the bathroom and bawled my eyes out. The truth is, Grace Ann, I’m tired. Maybe it’s time for me to retire. I never did get my cosmetology license, and maybe there’s a reason. Maybe in my heart of hearts, I knew I didn’t want to do this for the rest of my life.”
    With the back of my hand, I flicked the tears out of my eyes. It took all my strength to hold back, to keep from breaking into sobs. Mom handed me the box of tissues she always kept in her top drawer. “I don’t know what to say,” I stuttered.
    I was mopping my eyes when the door flew open and Hank Parker, my ex-husband, walked in.

Chapter Fourteen

“GRACE ANN? I NEED TO TALK TO YOU.” HANK hitched his thumbs in his utility belt, all the better to show off his nightstick and his gun. Behind him stood his partner, Officer Ally Qualls, a short, dark-haired woman about my age, who seemed interested in Hank romantically. I wanted to tell her she was welcome to him, but I hadn’t figured out how. Today, Officer Qualls stayed in Hank’s shadow, giving me the impression she wasn’t totally on board with his visit.
    Her hair needed cutting and styling. Badly. She also needed a good exfoliant, because her skin was muddy and rough.
    “You ever heard of knocking?” I stood up and faced him. “You can’t just barge in here like you own the place.Didn’t your mother teach you any manners, Hank? Wait don’t answer that.” His mother was one of the reasons I divorced him. She’d spoiled him beyond all reason. Betty Parker was a major pain in the backside. Truth to tell, Hank couldn’t have learned manners from Betty because she didn’t have any.
    “I’m here on official business.” Hank narrowed his eyes in his best Clint Eastwood imitation.
    “I don’t care if you are here on orders from the president of the United States,” said Mom, adding her voice to mine as she stood up. Even though she’s only five foot two, she could stare Hank down in a heartbeat. “You can still knock when you’re on my property. Are we clear, young man?”
    “Yes, Mrs. Terhune.” The tips of Hank’s ears turned pink.
    “What is it you need, Hank?” My mother crossed one arm over the other and glared at him.
    “I’m conducting a murder investigation.”
    “I thought only homicide detectives conducted homicide investigations. Or marshals from the GBI.” After living with a cop for three years, I had naturally absorbed a bit about law enforcement protocol.
    “Right. I was the first responder. I’m following up.” In a low voice, he added, “This could make my career, Grace Ann. I plan to crack this baby wide open.”
    “Good for you. You want a medal or a chest to pin it on?” I said. Because I still had tears in my eyes from Mom’s announcement, I was a bit grumpier than usual with him. Not that he didn’t deserve it. Hank seems to think I’m his private property.
    “A medal or a chest to pin it on? Ha, ha, ha. That’s so old, even my grandmother knows that one. Nice try, Grace Ann. But I’m not here for fun and games. I’m taking you down to the St. Elizabeth Police Station.”
    “What? Why there? Why not to the GBI office?” Mom and I had been there once before when we found a woman dead in a parking lot.
    “They’ve