All The Way Down

Chapter 16

I got some change off the night stand and went along the balcony outside my room to the vending machine by the stairs to get another soft drink. I pulled the drapes on the window to let some light into the room. I needed to do laundry badly. My dirty clothes and the threadbare carpet made the room smell musty and old.

I pulled the door open to let some air in. The heat flowed in with the noise from the highway but I didn't care. I'd be out of there in a few minutes. I'd move into Brick's house for a while until I could sort some things out. I stood out on the balcony for a while, leaning against the wrought iron railing. I sipped my drink and watched the traffic on the interstate. I spotted a cruiser in traffic a couple of minutes later and waited on the balcony while it pulled into the lot and parked.

Sandy Burroughs had on her black and grey uniform and wore a pair of wraparound mirrored sunglasses. Her mouth was set in a tight grimace. She looked lean and tough, like a smaller, meaner version of Bullard.

She came up the stairs and walked towards me along the veranda. Her grimace turned into a tight smile as she approached.

"We meet again," she said.

"Sorry. I didn't ask Bullard to send you over here."

"No problem. I wanted to see you again anyway." She held out the keys Bullard had given her to deliver to me. "Bullard said you yanked his chain on the phone. Told me to tell you to watch yourself."

"He's a complete ass. But you already know that."

She took her sunglasses off and leaned against the rail beside me. I noticed that she didn't wear any makeup.

"I wanted to ask you a couple of things. Off the record," she said.

"Okay".

"How long were you in the house before Bullard showed up?"

I shrugged. "Half an hour or less."

"Where did you spend the time? On the sofa? Back yard?"

"I looked around out in the garage, went through the bedrooms. I checked out the camera stuff in the bathroom. Why?"

"Did you touch anything?"

"Sure," I said. "Doorknobs, handles on a few drawers, light switches. I probably put my hands on the countertops. I didn't know it was going to be fingerprinted or I wouldn't have been in there. Bullard told me on the phone that my prints were all over the place." It struck me at that moment that I had never seen a camera, just the set-up for developing film. I wondered where the camera was.

Sandy was still for a second. Then she stood straight and arched her back like she was stretching out a kink. A hot breeze blew past us on the balcony, and she pulled a stray strand of hair back from her forehead. She watched my face while she talked.

"I didn't find any useful prints in the house or on the car," she said. "I pulled Bullard's prints off the aquarium glass, and I found a few of yours on a big wrench in the garage, and that's about it. The rest of the place and the car had been wiped totally clean."