Ember Flowers Read Free Page B

his hand.
    She groaned
inwardly. Hopefully the older woman wouldn’t complain about the
accident. An eavesdropping cadet was the last thing she
needed.
     
    ***
     
    The scuffling
of the rookie in her passenger seat was adding to her anxiety. He
adjusted his clips and straightened his shirt, asking her questions
he already knew answers to. Barely eight a.m. and already she’d
been startled, puked on, and now had to rehash her embarrassment.
By the time she pulled in to the small parking lot her sunglasses
were firmly on as much as the scowl.
    She forced a
smile as she opened the driver’s side door. A quick glance at the
nearby work ute, black duct tape patched over the back bumper, she
cringed. Footsteps over gravel, the brunette was visible as she
hung up a call. She had a blonde man with her, he was checking his
watch. Obviously impatient to start his day too. A quick inventory
of the things she needed, forensics would come later if there was
anything to be gleaned from the scene.
    In her dark
cargo pants, well shined black boots and cornflower blue uniform
shirt she probably looked imposing. The brunette greeted her
amiably with an extended hand. Her blonde colleague followed suit.
The public sometimes found her intimidating, that or the opposite
reaction. She shirked off unwanted interest with a pointed barb.
Usually sending curious parties away to sulk.
    Her black wrap
around glasses went into her breast pocket. The rookie stood
nervously beside her as Jo made their introductions. To her relief,
the dark haired woman made no mention of their prior dealings.
Instead she motioned them toward the broken glass.
    “Thought you
were going to send someone out?” A glance over Jean’s shoulder as
the blonde stepped cleanly over the shattered window of her
reception.
    Grey eyes
flicked to her as she made a quick note on her clipboard. “Good
opportunity to show one of our newer Officers how to attend a crime
scene.” Curt and to the point, policing was a business and she was
efficient. Her competitive nature had served her well, often at the
expense of being labelled aloof. It wasn’t the worst gossip to be
bandied about in the locker room. Already a lot on her mind, she
blocked it out and focused on the job at hand. She looked at the
shorter woman.
    “So who got
here first?”
    “I did.”
    Scott nested
his hands in his denim pockets, he sported a tan version of the
polo Jean was wearing. It sat well over his broad shoulders,
needing to be comfortable enough to work in.
    “OK, so this is
how it looked when you got here?” Her voice hinting at an expensive
education.
    Another crunch
as her weight shifted, moving around the overturned chair as Scott
showed her around the office. Jean watched the rookie shadow them
firstly to the door, still locked, then to the trailing cords where
equipment used to sit. All the while she could hear the policewoman
ask questions and take notes. Creating a thorough inventory of what
was taken.
    A momentary
interruption as the Officer’s cell phone went off. Clear polished
nails pulled out the device, before it was ignored and put back in
her pocket.
    Jean cast a
silhouette against the natural light flooding into the room. “You
can take that if you want to? Won’t be offended.”
    A shake of the
blonde pony tail and pursing of curvy lips, occupied by her work.
“No, they can call back.”

    The gardener
nodded to herself over crossed arms. She looked around the dirty
rain soaked floor. The broken window had let it all trickle in,
along with the mud from the garden bed outside. Joanne scribbled a
last few notes as she approached. Handing her another card, with a
reference number written on the back.
    “Did they leave
any prints, anything you can use?” The brunette looked at the card,
then dark almond eyes settled back on Joanne. They walked together
back out into the car park
    The Sergeant
did feel sorry for her, any kind of invasion like this always left
people feeling