Coke with a Twist (A Mercy Watts short) Read Free Page B

donation.
    “Here’s a twenty.” I reached for the kitten, but he stopped me.  
    “Take the box. Easier to carry,” he said, eyeing my mocha.  
    I handed it to him and took the box.
    On the way home, I stopped at Target and bought cat supplies. The kitten started hacking and spewed more phlegm all over his box. He smelled horrible too, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had the ABC at eight and no vets were open anyway. I set up his stuff in the bathroom, showed him the litter pan a dozen times and said a prayer that he’d use it. From the look of him, he’d be in rigor by the time I got home.  
    The bar was a study in boredom that night. Byers didn’t show and neither did Pete. When I got home, the kitten, skanky as ever, was alive and sleeping on my bed. I thought the comforter might have to be burned. On the upside, he’d used the pan. After much debate I decided to sleep in my bed. The beer and cigarette smell in my hair blocked out most of his stench and I slept well.  

The next morning I made a vet appointment and cleaned my bathroom in an effort to avoid calling my cousin Chuck. He was the detective in charge on Lara Haven’s case and I needed an update. Chuck was my cousin by marriage. His mom married my Uncle Rupert. Since we’re not blood related, he thinks we should date. The thought makes me want to scrub my skin raw with a loofah. He wasn’t above blackmail and dealing with him was better left to Dad or Morty. Since neither of them were answering my texts, I was out of options. I had to call. First, I cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed. It was 11:30 and if I called then he would ask for lunch. Not going to happen. It was either that or clean the fridge. I had half the condiments on my counter when the phone rang. It was Chuck. Just my luck.
    “Hey Mercy. It’s been a long time,” he said.
    “Not long enough,”
    “Don’t be like that. I hear you’re helping out with the Haven case. Got anything for me?”
    “Nothing you don’t already know. I am curious about Byers though. Have you shown Lara Haven a photo of him yet?” I asked.
    “No need. She knows him,” he told me.  
    “What? Dad didn’t tell me that.”
    “He doesn’t know. We interviewed her again yesterday. Couldn’t get much out of her before. And now the Havens are getting nervous.”
    “About what?” I asked.
    “About how we don’t have a suspect in custody yet. I’m surprised they haven’t been crawling up your dad’s tailpipe.”
    “You could’ve told me this earlier.”
    “Yeah, I always try to keep you up to date,” he said.  
    “How does she know Byers?”
    “Forget it.”
    “You’d tell Dad.” I hated using the Dad card, but sometimes it was a necessity.  
    “Maybe and maybe not.”
    “Come on.”
    “Well, it depends,” he said.
    “On what?”
    “Dinner tonight?” Chuck asked with his smoothest voice.
    “Does Dad date you for information?”
    “Not lately. So?”
    “Just tell me. You know you want to,” I said.
    “That’s where you’re wrong. I don’t care whether you know or not.” He’d lost the smooth voice.
    “Then it won’t hurt to tell me.”  
    He paused and thought about it. I could hear him cracking his knuckles in the background. “Byers dumped his girl for Lara, but she wasn’t interested. Been chasing her for a few months.”
    “Are you telling me that you didn’t know this until this last interview? What happened to interviewing friends and family? You asleep at the wheel?”
    “Of course we knew. Couldn’t get Lara to confirm until yesterday though. Doctors had her pretty doped up. Byers is a strong possibility for the GHB.”
    I gave the phone a couple of quick raps on the breakfast bar.
    “Ow. That hurt my ear.”
    “He’s not a possible. He’s the one,” I said.
    “Could be,” Chuck said.
    “Who’s the girlfriend?”
    He rustled some papers and mumbled, “I have it here someplace.”
    “Becky Strattman?” I suggested.
    “How’d you