Free Mama Said by Wendy Byrne

gave her a slight smile. “You think those who are supposed to serve and protect might have taken matters into their own hands? I thought I was the one who didn’t trust cops.”
    “I’m just saying…well…I don’t know what I’m saying. I guess that it seems awfully coincidental.”
    “We’ll never know. It’s not like any of the boys in blue are going to admit it.”
    “But maybe if you filed a report—”
    “That’ll only give them satisfaction. The way I see it, no harm no foul.” He shrugged. “Besides, I already had the window fixed—A1 Glass Company. Good as new.”
    “But—” Why couldn’t he see that not every cop on the force was bad, or that going through channels might be a good option?
    “Forget it, princess. Not going to happen.”
    Considering that for once he was in the mood to talk, she thought she’d try another tactic instead of arguing with him. “Do you often work with a defense lawyer?”
    It took him a couple of beats to respond. “Sometimes. Garrett and I did investigative work for Vince when we got out of the army and were working on getting our degrees. He works with the Innocence Project out of Northwestern Law School, so he takes in a few pro bono cases. Most of the time, he’ll ask us to track down some potential witnesses, that kind of thing.”
    She nodded as she tried to think of something else to say. He looked as if he wanted to keep talking, but she was way out of her league. She didn’t know where to go with her questions. As it turned out, she didn’t need to go anywhere with the conversation. For once, he was the blabby one.
    “Something’s been off about the evidence from the beginning. Everything is too neat and tidy, like it was planted. Crime scenes never work that way. And the deeper I dug, the more confusing the whole thing got. The person supplying the ironclad alibi for the defendant suddenly turned up missing. Then Tony gets attacked in prison.” Lost in thought, Shane stared into space.
    “Maybe I could help you.” All right, she was stretching her luck, but it seemed like a noble gesture. She was caught up in the moment and wanted to help out. But then he laughed. And suddenly, she wanted to choke him.
    “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Shane struggled to keep his laughter contained. The guy barely knew how to crack a smile, but found the idea of her playing the part of a detective oh-so-amusing.
    “Why?” Though she could think of a hundred different reasons why she’d be the last person anyone would want help from, she didn’t need him to agree with her assessment.
    “This isn’t like singing or flirting or shopping.”
    “Duh.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m not an idiot.”
    “I never said you were. But sometimes these things can get dangerous.” He was talking to her in that patronizing tone her brother Enrique used, and since she felt some kind of lecture coming on, she decided the sliver of peace between them must have come and gone.
    “Singing at a blues club can get dangerous, but you don’t see me running away.” Except for now. She grabbed her usual water with lemon from behind the bar, along with one for Donna, and went in search of her. Right now she needed a friendly face to soothe her bruised ego.
    Before she made it to the back, two men came inside. At five forty-five, the place wasn’t technically open for business even though the door was unlocked.
    She suspected Shane was about to tell them that when he stopped short, a scowl on his face. “What can I do for you, officers?” He gave her a quick glance that said, ‘Didn’t I tell you this would happen?’
    She felt guilty, especially when she remembered she had left a message for Patrick a few hours earlier. Suspecting it might be the reason for their visit and wishing to circumvent even more trouble, she walked back up to the front. “Good evening. May I help you?”
    The rounder of the two men studied her for a second or two with the patented