Chapter 8

By the time Detective Cooper arrived home, he had forgotten all about the encounter with the crazy, red-haired woman. As far as he was concerned Jennifer Marsh was a nuisance, just another one of the bothersome nutcases he dealt with as part of his job.

The moment he stepped in the door of his townhouse he was greeted by joyous barks and furious antics from his companion, a full-sized dog of mixed breed he called Hugo. The dog rushed at him, almost knocking him over in the process.

Cooper pulled a beer from the fridge and sat on the back steps and drank it while throwing a ball for Hugo to fetch. After supper, he put him on a leash and took him for a run, then turned his attention to his pride and joy. A candy apple red, 1965 Mustang convertible. He loved tinkering around with antique cars, and he had restored this one to its original condition. He was entering an antique car show tomorrow so he spent time washing and polishing it until its interior was spotless and its body shone like new under the lights of his garage.

The rest of his days off were a blur of activity, but he was back to work Tuesday morning, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.