Last Chance Harvey-Part 16 (Blogophilia 37.11)

Angela’s stomach was a giant knot as she rushed into the Ladies Room. One of the desk girls was at the counter and waved as she stepped into the stall. There wasn’t time to wave back. It was a race what would hit the floor first. The panties won, fortunately. Finishing quickly, she found the girl gone when she came out. Good. She wasn’t in the mood for chit-chat.

Looking into the mirror, she undid the pony tail. The air conditioning was out again and she needed airing out. The cool air was refreshing as the curls fluffed out. It had been such a long day and it wasn’t over. As she gathered everything back into the band, she noticed a gray hair. Hmm...Maybe she should take a couple of days off. Do a spa trip.

Yeah...Maybe when she retires.

The meeting had been a waste. Lieutenant Nowhere and his “all inclusive” style made her want to scream. The case wasn’t hers and she needed to work on the missing girl. Six months of these nowhere plans and not once did it help a case. Just let us concentrate on what we have and ask if something comes up. It worked for years before.

Ray had left early, so there were only a couple of people left. The Night Sergeant was surfing the internet waiting on the inevitable late call. The officer on desk duty stared blankly into space. It was going to be a lonely night.

The top left drawer had the answer. Two pills came tumbling out of the bottle into her hand, chased by a slug from the flask she kept for these late nights. It was bad to drink at work, but gin kept her sane. No matter what the frustration was, Lieutenant Nowhere Man, Mark with the hooker, or crazy witnesses, a quick slug made it bearable.

Giving into gravity, she sunk in the chair and let the warmth take over. As the lids dropped, the loop played again. She was seeing them play racehorse. When it happened it had been both exciting and infuriating. Mark was in fine form, weight shifting slightly with every beat. The hooker’s short, low growls were sexy. A woman taken by the wind. Mark’s free hand popping her flank as they sped toward the finish line. Place your bets! Bubble Butt is in the lead in the third turn, while Latin Lover bides her time. It’s going to be close, folks.

It wasn’t until they finished before they saw her. Angela maintained her silence as the girl yelled obscenities at the intrusion. Really, Hon? It’s my apartment. Mark slunk out the door after her without saying a word, leaving Angela to clean up.

Bastard.

Couldn’t she just forget him and move on? Nah. She had been in the hooker’s place and knew exactly what she felt. The memory of his scent, Halston and sweat, tickled her nose. If she was into sharing...

A vague realization came through her fuzzy mind as the loop wound down.

The Schiffer report wouldn’t write itself.

With a sigh, she opened her eyes to the picture on the screen. The mugshot was a few years old, taken in Broward County for a bad check charge. Corinne Schiffer’s face was unremarkable, a bad dye job framing flat features. Yet, somehow she ended up with Harvey Lloyd. A sad smile came across Angela’s face. Probably slept her way through life. It didn’t matter, She still need to find out what happened.

Angela toggled up the case file and skimmed what she had so far. When the request first came in, Angela discovered theft warrants outstanding for Schiffer in Florida and New York. She was also a person of interest in the death of Harvey Lloyd, who’s body was found next to a dock at Bahia Mar. In the process of the death investigation, the detectives there came up with the houseboat called “Last Chance Harvey”, where they had been staying on and off for about eighteen months.

According to Karen Hardaway, Ms. Schiffer was last seen at the end of March in the company of Lloyd on the boat as it pulled out of the Marina. Ms. Hardaway stated prior to leaving, Schiffer and Lloyd were arguing and may have become physical. The boat was reported stolen a few days later and possibly sunk in Naked Lady Cove, approximately four miles north of the Marina. Her guess was the boat and the girl were now in the same place, at the bottom of the lake.

The witness also stated that she saw Jerry Holden and Jim Herrington in the vicinity of Naked Lady Cove with scuba gear. Ms. Hardaway indicated she was drunk at the time of the encounter and couldn’t remember if they had said what they were diving for, but it was her belief they knew the boat was there. The interview ended at that point.

Angela switched over to the interview with Holden and Herrington, looking for discrepancies. Other than not mentioning the dive trip, everything was consistent. Neither she or Ray would have known to ask about that. It was something to follow up on at the Marina tomorrow. Before the update briefing, Ray looked up all three witnesses. All had minor contacts with the law. Holden had the most serious one, an Assault charge from a bar fight a year and half ago, plead down to Misdemeanor Battery. All Herrington had were traffic offenses.

Hardaway was another matter. Two felony hits for drugs and a mail fraud arrest that was dismissed before trial, not to mention several public drunkenness stints. She was the least reliable source, but you never knew. With a few taps, this information was put into the appendix of the case file.

Ray had also confirmed the stolen boat report. It had been made by Lloyd on April 4, or about five days after Hardaway said she saw it pull out. Angela wasn’t familiar with the lake, but was told the cove would be deep enough to scuttle a big boat and have it not be discovered. Satisfied, she sent the update to Nowhere Man and logged off.

It all sounded bogus, but leads were leads. It all needed to be checked out.

Tomorrow.

Right now, all Angela wanted was a hot bath and to forget she even existed.

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Topic-Barbara Kausteklis

Pic-Dahlia Ramone

Pic guesses: Taken by the wind (in blog), fairy, love in the air, music in the air, dreamscape, roses,