be here a little longer.â
He looked around, made one of those sounds that meant wow, and said, âItâs hard to believe it comes this clean.â
She handed him the Ziploc bag. âWhere thereâs a will thereâs a way.â
His typical comeback wasnât forthcoming; he was too busy visually examining the lens or whatever the hell it was.
âWeird, huh?â Alex couldnât help feeling a little vindicated by his apparent interest.
Too preoccupied to respond, he squinted to make out more details. Finally he said, âIt looks almost like some kind of computer chip.â His gaze met hers. âYou say this was on the guyâs eye?â
She nodded. âStuck on the surface, over the iris, just like a contact lens.â Sheâd forgotten that Henson was big into the whole electronics-techno world.
âIâll have it checked out. Iâve got a buddy over in Morningside whoâs deep into computer technology. Stays on the very edge of whatâs new and hot. Maybe he can at least identify what it is. Heâs done this kind of thing for me before. He loves this stuff.â Henson arrowed a knowing look at Alex. âThe kid should be working at the state crime lab. Heâs that good and heâs fast.â
Sheâd done her good deed for the day and wanted to get on with her work and get out of there. âLet me know what you find out.â
Clearly still in a world of his own, Henson nodded as he turned away. âWill do.â
He left without another last-ditch attempt to entice her to go out with him, without even a see ya around. That was just like a man. No matter that for months heâd endeavored to woo her to go on another date, he could still be distracted by a new toy.
After a few more minutes of elbow grease and a final look around, Alex decided it was as good as it was going to get. The only thing she hadnât been able to rectify was the bullet hole in the paneling. It might not have been so noticeable if the forensics tech hadnât gouged the bullet out of the two-by-four it had lodged itself into. Drywall she could repair; paneling, that was a whole other problem. Maybe the landlord could hang a picture on the wall to cover the damage or fill it and just paint the whole room.
Now for her least favorite part of the job; collecting payment. This business was cash-and-carry, no thirty days to pay, strictly payment due at time of services. She did accept Visa and MasterCard, though, and, if she knew the individual well enough,personal checks. As much as she disliked this part, it was essential to get payment as quickly as possible since it was all too easy for money to end up spent on the living.
She dropped the hazmat bags containing the refuse, all the cleaning rags associated with the job, as well as the suit, gloves and shoe covers sheâd worn, at the disposal center then headed to the landlordâs property office. With her payment collected she was done for the day.
Maybe sheâd stop by the office on the way home and maybe she wouldnât. Right now a shower and then a long hot bath sounded far too inviting to waste time sparring with her crew. It was past closing time anyway. Most would be out of there already.
Tomorrow was another day, and in a teeming city like Miami, as well as all its suburbs, where drug deals went wrong and gangs got even, there was always plenty of job security for a woman in her line of work.
Cleaning up after the dead wasnât exactly a market one had to fear would dry up.
CHAPTER 2
Twelve miles of calm waters, clean sands and swaying palm trees. Alex breathed deeply of the late-summer evening air as she cruised along Ocean Boulevard, allowing that saltwater essence to clean the stench of death from her lungs. God, she loved everything about Miami Beach. Maybe she didnât live in one of the upscale art deco homes in this world-renowned neighborhood, but she didnât care.
Gene Wentz, B. Abell Jurus