Chapter 170

"Well these days I try to stay out of trouble," I said.

"I certainly hope so. You know it's hard to live on that pension. A lot of early retirees try to supplement it."

"Well honey, all my income is reported. I don't hide anything. so feel free to check it out," I said.

"How about I check it out personally?" she asked.

"Feel free to come around anytime. I'm always glad to have a cop stop by," I said. Since she was in the club first, I didn't expect it had anything to do with me.

"If you aren't here to check on me, what brings you up here," I asked.

"Your sheriff invited us to come up and help with an investigation. I really can't say any more." It was a teaser statement. The kind of thing a cop says to find out how much a citizen knows.

She was waiting to see if I would ask, whether she was working on a certain case. I really didn't care. I knew they weren't going to tie me to anything. That was for sure my hope.

If I over played my hand, it might look like I was trolling for information on the Mary Ellen investigation. She was sure to find out, if she didn't already know, that I knew her.

"Well good luck to you on whatever brings you here," I said moving away from her. If she followed, I would be a person of interest. Well it could be for a different reason than strictly business. Going to bed with a suspect, was totally a bad idea.

Playing up to one in a bar was good police work. So if she came at me again, I would see how far she was willing to go. Otherwise I had said all I was planning to say to her. I moved down the bar making it obvious that the conversation had come to an end.

"Hi there you new here," A guy asked.

"Well I've been here before, but it was a couple of years ago, and I only came a time or two. You a cop?" I asked.

"Well not exactly, I'm a highway patrolman." he said.

"Oh you ride up and down the roads," I said.

"Yeah something like that, what do you do?" he asked.

"You ever see that show on TV storage wars?" I asked.

"Yeah, you do that," he asked.

"I'm retired on disability. I do that to earn a little extra money now and then," I said. I didn't try to hide it, since it was better if I told it, than if they sprung it on me. I had no idea whether he was working on the Mary Ellen thing and didn't care. It was my cover story, even before I had to kill Mary Ellen.

"So you have a store somewhere," he asked.

"No, I resell the thrift store stuff to a guy who does flea markets. I just deal in estate jewelry. Sometimes I go to festivals, but I sell a lot of it online." I said.

"That sounds like a sweet deal," he suggested.

"Well, I don't get rich, but you never know it could happen one day. One of those pieces of jewelry, or art, could be worth real money." I suggested.

"Damn Silvia, is that really you," I nodded to the guy who approached me. "I thought that was you." the young man said. He was obviously a cop.

"Do I know you," I asked.

"Damn, I'm that easy to forget," he said it with a laugh. "I'm Deputy Bobby Ellis. I worked for Warren County at the same time you were there. I guess it was natural you wouldn't remember me. I came in just a month before you went UC with the state."

"Sure Bobby, you still with Warren County," I asked. trying like hell to place him.

"You don't remember me at all. Don't feel bad, I'm with the crime lab and yeah I'm still there." he said.

"Of course the crime lab," I said. "They were just cranking it up when I went UC. So how is the Sheriff these days. Is he going to run again." I asked staying the hell away from Mary Ellen.

"He had his posters printed. He said this is the last term for him. He has some health issues. There was some speculation, you might run against him. You know you are are pretty well known. You got a lot of press over the years," he said.

"Well you never know. How do you think you would feel working under a woman," I asked.

I noticed the Highway Patrolman drifted off. I also noticed he didn't go sit with Morris the SBI agent.

"Depends on what kind of work you are talking about," he said with a laugh.

"Well it might have been Monkey business before I knew you were a Warren County employee. I can't have you getting the wrong idea, just in case I do end up your boss," I said.

"Okay, I'll leave you alone then," he said.

If I was a person of interest I could imagine them saying, "I got to give it to her. The woman has balls. Her walking into a known cop bar would take big ones."

If I were a person of interest they would expect me to be trying to gain information about the investigation. I acted as if I didn't even know Mary Ellen was dead. That had to confuse them at the very least.

I finished my beer and had another one. I side stepped more than one advance. Some where smoother than others, just like they would be in any other bar. When I saw Morris go to the ladies room, I went behind her. I took a chance and forcefully pushed her against the wall and kissed her hard. Lots of tongue and heat. She didn't return it at all.

"You know that is assault," she said.

"And you would seriously take that to court," I said with a laugh.

"No," she said as she pulled me back to her. That time she was the aggressor. My submissive side was getting the better of me when next she spoke. "This wouldn't be good for either of us."