Free Stiff Penalty (A Mattie Winston Mystery) by Annelise Ryan

kills them. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
    “Anyway, my parents split up eight years ago, and my dad moved out to California and married some hottie who’s younger than I am. I’m the only family my mother has left, and I didn’t feel I could leave her here alone, so I had to pass on the job offer.” She sighed. “For now I’m stuck here with this job, and I’m just trying to do the best with it that I can. So give me a break, okay?”
    She stared at me with pleading eyes that tore down any remaining defenses I might have had. “I’m truly sorry about your mom and your job, Alison. But I have to be careful. Besides, the police are the gatekeepers for releasing facts when they feel it’s appropriate and won’t compromise the investigation. You really should be after them, not me.”
    “But they never tell me anything. I thought it might get easier when Steve Hurley left town, but Bob Richmond isn’t any better. In fact, if anything, he’s even more tight-lipped than Steve was. If I have to rely solely on them for information, I might as well quit my job. I need someone who will open up to me more. I was hoping that would be you, Mattie.”
    I saw Bob Richmond exit the Ames house and glanced at my watch. “I have to go, Alison. I’ll do what I can for you, but I’m not making any promises.”
    “Thanks, Mattie. I knew I could count on you.”
    I turned away from Alison and walked the rest of the way to my car, feeling like a heel. I was truly sympathetic to her plight and felt bad for her and her mother, knowing what lay ahead for them. I would do what I could for Alison, but I feared she might be expecting more than I was willing or able to give. I wasn’t going to do anything that would compromise my job or any of our cases.
    Normally the drive to my office would have taken five to seven minutes, depending on whether the two stoplights on Main were red or green. But on this particular night it took me a little longer because I noticed a car that fell in behind me as soon as I turned off Truman Street.
    As a test, to see if the car really was following me, I detoured from my usual route and drove up and down some residential streets, turning aimlessly, with no set destination in mind. Sure enough, the car behind me followed me turn for turn, though it did fall back some.
    After a half dozen random turns, I tired of the little cat-and-mouse game and headed instead for a nearby strip mall that had a small, well-lit parking lot. At least that way, if my pursuer continued to follow, I’d get a good look at the car and maybe even the driver.
    I headed down River Street—aptly named since it runs along the river that cuts through town—and approached the strip-mall parking lot. The car behind me continued to follow, closer now, and I flipped on my indicator and turned, only to watch with disappointment as the car revved up and passed me by.
    I caught a brief glimpse of the vehicle, but it was of little help. All I could tell was that it was a dark-colored sedan. I wasn’t even sure if it was the same car I’d seen earlier. That the car had been tailing me, I had no doubt. There was no other rational explanation for why it had followed the same zigzag route I’d driven. And after that pointless meandering through the neighborhood, I figured whoever was behind the wheel—and by now I was convinced that it had to be my father—had probably figured out I was on to him. Clearly he didn’t want to reveal himself yet for reasons only he knew, but I figured that eventually he’d make face-to-face contact and offer an explanation.
    Some other niggling part of my mind suggested that maybe the person making the calls and tailing me in the car wasn’t my father at all, but I rejected the thought almost immediately. At the time it was the only answer that made sense.
    As it turned out, I was wrong, and it was a mistake that nearly cost me my life.

Chapter 7
    I drove to my office, parked in the attached