Free Casting Bones by Don Bruns Page B

him?’
    â€˜Don’t give me any shit, Q.’
    â€˜How long, Strand?’
    â€˜We’ll see. Ex-con with a gun? Dead judge? I think we’ve got some time to work him.’
    â€˜You’re still pretty sure, aren’t you?’
    â€˜I want it to be him, Q. Makes our world a lot simpler.’
    â€˜And justice?’
    â€˜It will be served.’
    Archer just shook his head.
    â€˜Look, Q, I’m not looking for a bad collar. Last thing I want is six months down the road we find we nailed the wrong guy. But right now, I like this kid for the murder. He ran. He walked out of that restaurant right after we questioned him. We need to hold him till we can work the case.’ Shrugging his shoulders he said, ‘Besides, I wasn’t the one who found the gun.’
    â€˜Sergeant Sullivan talked to me this morning. He said he doesn’t believe the kid is guilty.’
    â€˜He’s singing a different tune now.’ Strand walked into the hall, then turned and looked at Archer. ‘You know the old saying? When you want someone’s attention, you pull a gun. I think we’ve got this kid, Q.’
    â€˜And I think it goes further than the kid.’
    â€˜All right, what have
you
got, hotshot? Interviews today, talking to his colleagues. What did you learn?’
    â€˜The guy was a bit of a jerk.’
    â€˜We knew that, man. Come on, you want me to believe, give me something, Quentin. What do you have?’
    â€˜He was rough on offenders.’
    â€˜Yeah, yeah. What’s new?’
    Archer shrugged his shoulders.
    â€˜I’ll send you the report.’
    Turning away from his partner he continued keying in his notes. He was angry and he was hungry and it was going to take an hour or more to put this report together. Time was slipping away, the killer getting further from the crime, and all they had was a planted gun, and an ex-con who never killed anyone.
    Detective Adam Strand was pushing just a little too hard. And if someone did plant the weapon, it was just like the killings on the bridge after Katrina. The cops had planted guns then too. Hadn’t they learned anything? It was just Archer’s luck to have drawn Strand on this case.

13
    H e checked his watch, knowing he only had a small window of time to make the call. They had offered him a nice bonus if he gave them something solid.
    â€˜Hello.’ The voice on the other end was quiet and the ‘hello’ almost a soft question.
    The caller didn’t recognize the voice. ‘You wanted to know about the murder investigation. Where it stood. You’re going to make it worth my while if I give you good information?’
    â€˜What have you got?’
    â€˜We’ve got an ex-con with a gun. This ex-con, he was sentenced by Lerner.’
    â€˜Anything else?’
    â€˜A detective is interviewing other judges. He’s not convinced yet.’
    â€˜What’s your take?’
    He hesitated with his answer. ‘The ex-con with a gun. I don’t think we can prove it’s the murder weapon but it’s a pretty good lead. We’re hoping to wrap it up soon.’
    â€˜Call me with any updates.’
    â€˜I will.’
    â€˜Oh, and find out who he’s talking to, this detective. I need to know what judges he’s contacting.’
    The informant hesitated. ‘Should I stop by the restaurant? Compensation and all that?’
    â€˜I think something a little more solid would justify payment. We’ll try to accommodate on your next phone call.’
    The line went dead. They weren’t going to pay him for this information. Damn. Maybe when he had a little more juice. He’d tried to trace the number he was calling, but to no avail. With all the technology in the world today, there were still ways to hide.

14
    Y o Mama’s Bar and Grill was headquartered on St Peter’s between Bourbon and Royal. It was close to his home and the burgers were