Chapter 10

Detective Cooper was not in a good mood. By the time he got to Jennifer Marsh’s apartment building he was furious. He had been embarrassed in front of a room full of fellow police officers, and he blamed all his current problems on her. He turned into the parking lot behind her building and noticed her car was still there. Which was good. It meant she hadn’t gone far. He got out of his unmarked police car, and strolled over to it. Through the windows he saw that the pile of old newspapers, clothes, and junk food wrappers looked undisturbed, which signaled it hadn’t been driven since the last time he’d checked it. That was good news because it indicated that Marsh was on foot. If she weren’t home he’d check out that restaurant again because it appeared to be her regular hangout.

When he turned to look at the building, wondering which suite she lived in, a small object sailed by his head and banged off Marsh’s car. He looked around in confusion, wondering why somebody was throwing rocks at him. When another one landed at his feet, he surveyed the roof of the building, looking for its source.

Silhouetted in the deep blue, cloudless, summer sky he discovered his witness peeking out from behind the chimney. Jennifer Marsh pretended to shoot at him with a crooked finger and then pointed downward with her finger. At the same time, a man’s face appeared in the fourth-story window facing the parking lot. It disappeared only to be replaced by a small handgun.

Cooper cursed and dodged behind Marsh’s car. When a bullet pinged off it, he cursed again and wondered what kind of trouble the woman had gotten herself into. He keyed his mike and called for backup.

Minutes later the air was filled with the sound of sirens and Cooper used his mike to issue directions. He waited until police cars covered the front entrance and the back entrance which led to the parking lot, before he hollered up at the face in the window. “Give yourself up. We got you surrounded.”

Moments later two men in wrinkled suits exited the building with their hands in the air. They were quickly frisked, had their guns confiscated and whisked away in the back of a police car.

It was only then, that Marsh reappeared from her hiding place behind the chimney. She smiled and waved at Cooper from the rooftop. He watched her slide down to the eave, swing down to the balcony railing, and crawl into her open window.

Moments later she exited the back door carrying a knapsack. She wore a sweatshirt, denim jeans with rips down both legs, and a pair of beat-up sneakers She strolled across the parking lot towards Cooper with a big smile on her face, acting as if nothing had happened.

“Thanks a lot. You arrived just when I was beginning to think I might have to hide on the roof all day.”

“And just what the hell were you doing? You almost got me shot. And who were those men?” Cooper asked. His eyes were blazing in anger.

“Oh that. Some men broke into my apartment so I crawled up on the roof to escape. They seemed to spend hours in my apartment looking for something. I tried to warn you. That’s why I threw those pebbles at you. I was almost out of them before you noticed.”

Cooper glared at her. She was the most irritating woman he’d dealt with. He’d run into some real crackpots, but this one took the cake. “They looked like thugs. What have you done to get them interested in you? If they had caught you, you’d have been in a lot of trouble.”

Marsh shrugged. “But they didn’t. The only thing I’ve been working on since I lost my newspaper job is a story about Nick James. When I’ve dug up enough to prove he’s a phony I intend to write an explosive story and publish it on my blog. It’ll make it the best read blog in the city. Maybe then some newspaper will want to hire me.”

Cooper sighed. “Hasn’t digging into the personal life of Nick James gotten you in enough trouble? Come with me, get in the car and we’ll get this straightened out downtown.”

“Why? Am I under arrest? If so, I want to know what the charge is. I just told you I had nothing to do with those guys who shot at you. I’m the victim here too.” Jennifer pointed at her beat up Honda. “Look what happened to my car. There’s a bullet hole in it. What are you going to do about that?”

Cooper yanked open the back door of his police car. “We can worry about that later. Just get in. We’re taking a trip downtown. You cause me any more trouble and I’ll cuff you.”

Jennifer rolled her eyes and refused to obey Detective Cooper. “Handcuffs, really? Why are you treating me like a criminal when I’m the victim? I know my rights, and what are you going to do about the bullet hole in my car?”