Free Dirty Deeds by Sheri Lewis Wohl

"No, but I didn't expect to. Like I told you yesterday, I'm really the last person Jamie'd come to."
    "Come on." She unlocked the rear entrance to the offices and held the door open. She caught a whiff of cologne as he walked by. Not bad. "I'll make us some coffee."
    He made a face. "Thanks, but I don't drink coffee. It about killed me in that restaurant last night."
    She stopped and stared. "How you can live in this part of the country and not drink coffee? That's just wrong."
    He shrugged. "Never acquired the taste. Now beer is another story altogether, even your wimpy American beer." He smiled and raised his eyebrows.
    She shook her head as she led him into her section of the office. A smile pulled up the corners of her mouth. She bypassed Harry's door, went right to her office and flipped on the overhead lights. Harry, a night owl, wouldn't show his face for hours. Of course, it seemed as though most of the calls for his services came during either the late night or wee hours of the morning, so it was probably a good thing.
    Louie, on the other hand, was a morning girl. She liked nothing better than the early hours of the day when the sun kissed the hills with golden light. She adored the quiet and the solitude, the hope that came with the dawn of each day. For a person who often saw the worst side of people, she was perpetually hopeful.
    And, speaking of solitude, she'd been counting on a couple hours of it when she rolled in. A few calls to friends who were still with the Spokane Police Department might provide the edge she needed. She even had a friend or two with the feds and hoped to tap them as well. She might've walked away from a promising career in law enforcement, but she was bright enough not to have burned any bridges. Not that she went out under any kind of cloud or had even wanted to burn bridges. Her reason for leaving the job was one-hundred-percent personal.
    Pretty much everyone had understood her decision, and for the most part supported her. Her hands would've been tied if she'd stayed on the force. Independence provided her all the freedom she required these days. She still earned a living with the time she needed to investigate. Oh, she knew no one had really given up on her brother's case, despite its status as a cold case, and that was all fine and good. If they found the bastard who left Christopher for dead before she did, great. If not, she'd be the one to take the son-of-a-bitch out. She'd take great satisfaction in doing it, too.
    In meantime, she worked on jobs like the search-and-return mission of young Mr. McDonald. She wasn't above hauling him back by the ear if necessary. Usually it wasn't a tall order. After last night, she wasn't so sure about this one. Normal hunts didn't include dead bodies. At least not here in Spokane.
    After she and Paul had left the house last night, she'd called 9-1-1 with the location of the murder. At the time, that was about all she could do. Today was a different story. Later she'd call her brother's former partner and see what info she could pry out of him. She really wanted to know what, if anything, the techs found during their sweep of the house. Not now, but after Paul left. Some conversations didn't need to be overheard.
    Reaching into the small refrigerator next to the counter, she pulled out a bottle of water and tossed it to him. "Kind of boring but it's the best I can offer besides coffee."
    He caught it and nodded. "Thanks."
    "Did you sleep at all?" All things considered, he looked and smelled pretty good. Except around his eyes. Most people probably wouldn't even notice. She did.
    He sighed and tipped his head back. "No."
    A note in his voice caught her attention. When she first approached him yesterday he'd sounded irritated. A big brother who was sick and tired of little brother's annoying antics. This was different. Now she heard fear.
    "Look." She came around from behind her desk to crouch in front of him, her hand on the arm of his chair. It