Expert Witness Read Online Free

consciousness again, Josie Bates thought she heard something else.
     She thought she heard someone crying.

CHAPTER THREE:
    Hermosa Beach Police Department
     
    “Oh, for God’s sake, Archer. Give it a rest. It’s not even seven. I haven’t had my coffee, I need to take a leak and traffic was a bitch.”
    Detective Liz Driscoll straight armed Archer. She couldn’t have pushed him out of the way if he stood his ground, but he knew fighting with her would hurt more than help. Archer raised his voice so it would follow her into the ladies room.
     “If you can’t hold it for an hour then maybe you should move closer to where you work.”
    Liz did an about face, ripped open the door and gave him a look that would stop an elephant in its tracks. Obviously, she could hold it long enough to give him a piece of her mind.
    “This from a guy who inherited his prime piece of real estate with the ocean view? Real sensitive, Archer.”
     He rolled his eyes. Those sharp little teeth of hers were embedded in her favorite two-course meal: those who have and those who don’t. She stepped back into the hallway, her bladder now completely forgotten.
    “I’m fifteen years younger than you, been on my own since I was sixteen, and didn’t have the good fortune to be born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so buying into this pricey little piece of heaven just isn’t in the stars, my friend.  Oh, wait. You own that pretty pink building right there on the beach. Lower the rent on one of those primo units, bucko, and I can move in this weekend.”
    “I’ll give you the damn building if you’ll get serious.”
    Liz’s nostrils flared, her jaw set. She turned on her heel and was gone. Archer would have sat in the next stall to get her attention, but this lady wasn’t like other women or other cops.  No amount of begging, pleading or rational discussion could sway her to dig into work before she was ready. Only immediate and present danger could do that, and according to her there wasn’t any.
     The door flew open again. He gave her props for being quick and a few more for being single-minded. Liz didn’t even drop a comma in the conversation as she burst out of the john and headed down the hall.
    “Josie is a big girl, Archer. Just because she didn’t spend the night with you doesn’t mean that she didn’t spend it with someone.”
    There were times when Liz should think before she spoke and this was one of them. A foot shorter than Archer and a hundred pounds lighter, he almost pulled her off her feet when he grabbed her arm. Her hair was so short she could be mistaken for a young man from the back. Head on she looked years younger than thirty-five unless you were up close and personal. Then you could see the set of her jaw, the creases on her forehead, and the history in her eyes.  She glared at Archer, putting him on notice that he wasn’t going to put the fear of God into her. Someone else had tried to do that long ago, and that was when Liz learned if God couldn’t scare you nothing could.
    “That doesn’t feel too good, Archer.” Liz gave a nod toward his hand. He let her go and stepped back.
     Liz wasn’t exactly his cup of tea. She carried a chip on her shoulder and thought she knew a little more than she did. Still, he didn’t want to date her, he needed her help. Liz moved in tight, put her hand on Archer’s back and steered him into the partitioned area she called an office.
    “Little raw there, cowboy.” She pointed him toward a chair. Liz planted herself on the side of her desk. “I didn’t mean Josie was sleeping around on you. It’s just that she doesn’t exactly answer to you. How often has she gone hunting for Billy Zuni because his mom locked him out and he’s sleeping under the pier?  That’s a lousy way for a teenager to live.” Liz shook her head like she couldn’t believe a mom could do that to her own child. “Anyway, Josie’s been out looking for him like a thousand times.