Dogwood Read Free Page A

sandals, relaxed, holding a frosty glass of tea, smiling at both of us. I long for that dream to become reality, but I know it’s only a dream.
    Someone moves behind me and I jerk around, a reflex developed for survival.
    “Take it easy,” the guard says, his hands out. “Just got the word that they’re here.”
    I nod. “Thanks.”

B obby R ay
    This was not what I expected. I walked into the station and found a dark green desk that looked like something shipped back from Vietnam.
    “Your uniform is down at the cleaners,” the secretary said, a brunette turned blonde turned redhead. Maggie looked like one of those girls from high school who threw herself into food and hair coloring with equal gusto. She could be pretty, but now she is just cleavage and wide hips and jokes about her weight to protect herself. In the days to come, I would learn that she didn’t get much help from the others in the office, especially Wes, a patrol officer who worked nights. He was thin, had eyes like a weasel, and walked like he owned the world.
    “Ought to come with me tonight over to the Blue Moon,” Wes said to her. He winked at me. “They’ve got a wet T-shirt contest, and there’s no doubt in my mind—”
    “Just stop it,” Maggie said, sorting through the mail on her desk. “You ever heard of sexual harassment?”
    “I’ve never heard a sexual harassment I didn’t like.”
    The door opened and a bell jingled. Two men walked in, the older with the presence of Moses. He had a slick, lizardlike face,and from the Barbasol smell I guessed he’d just had a shave at the barbershop. The silver at his temples gave way to light brown hair that looked like the color of some barn cat I used to toss in the pond behind our house. Something between an orange tabby and the tail of a calico. The man had a chest as wide as the door, it seemed, and he carried himself like a prizefighter.
    The second man was younger but had the same barrel chest and stout build. His hair was short, and he had a dark mustache.
    “Morning, Chief,” Maggie said. “Guess that’s the last time I’ll be saying that.”
    The older man put a hand on the counter and leaned against it, draining a spent piece of spearmint gum. “Now, Maggie, I’ll always be chief to you, won’t I?”
    She smiled. “I guess you will.”
    “You won’t mind that, will you, Son?” he said, turning to the man behind him.
    His name was Eddie. I’d met him when I interviewed for the job a month ago. He flipped through letters and papers in his mailbox, disinterested. “As long as they up my pay, I don’t care what you call him.”
    The chief turned and smiled, his eyes shining. “Wes? Everything go all right last night?”
    “Hardly a peep, sir. Caught two kids going at it in the backseat of their Focus over on Virginia Avenue.”
    The chief laughed, the gum sticking to his teeth. “Those don’t have much room in the back. Sounds painful. You write them up?”
    “Nah, it was a friend of mine’s little brother. I put the fear of God in him and told him to wipe the steam off the windows and leave.”
    The chief stepped toward me. “You must be Bobby Ray.”
    “Yes, sir. It’s an honor to meet you, sir.”
    He shook my hand. His skin was cold and surprisingly soft. “You’re Cecilia and Robert’s boy, aren’t you?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “You have a sister, a little older than you. Right?”
    “Karin.”
    “How’s she doing?”
    “Fine. Thanks for asking. She has her ups and downs, of course.”
    “Well, we all do, don’t we?”
    “Yes, sir. We do.”
    He took a Hershey’s Kiss from a jar on Maggie’s desk and unwrapped it. “Well, I’m passing the baton to somebody you can trust. Wouldn’t have retired if I didn’t know I could leave this place in good hands.”
    “Got that right,” Wes said.
    The chief nodded. “Yeah, Eddie here learned from the best, if I do say so myself.”
    Eddie had his sleeves rolled up, a smirk on his face, as if he