Page 11 of Dead O’Clock

5

Ronan

The Robinson house was at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. There wasn’t the usual gang of kids riding bikes or shooting hoops like Ronan expected for this sort of neighborhood. He supposed the couples who lived here had raised their kids and were now empty-nesters.

“You ready?” Ronan asked. “It’s been a while since the two of us worked a case without Fitz.”

Jude rolled his eyes. “I guess that means you think you’re in charge.”

“That thought never crossed my mind.” Ronan waggled his eyebrows and got out of the SUV. He held the door open for Ten and helped him out.

“Yeah, sure it didn’t.” Jude snickered and followed behind.

“Are you getting anything?” Ronan asked. He hated when Ten’s gift wasn’t working at full power. Not only did he feel behind the eight ball, but didn’t like how upset Ten got when he felt like he wasn’t pulling his weight.

“Not really,” Ten said. “Seems like a pretty quiet morning.”

“That won’t be the case for long with Ronan around.” Jude chimed in.

Ronan noticed the Robinsons’ front yard was neatly mowed in precise lines. Blooming hydrangea bushes with their bright blue flowers lined the front of the house on either side of the stairs. He rang the doorbell and pulled out his badge.

The door was opened by a woman wearing white capri pants and a bright pink shirt. Her blonde hair hung to her shoulders in soft waves. “Aren’t you all a little old to be selling popcorn for the Boy Scouts?”

Ronan held up his badge. “I’m Detective Ronan O’Mara and these are my partners, Detective Jude Byrne and Tennyson Grimm.”

“You’re with the police?” She took a step back, a hand fluttering to her mouth. “Is it Trina? Is my daughter okay?”

“Your daughter is fine, Mrs. Robinson, but we do need a minute of your time. If we could come in?”

“Yes, of course. Let me guess, this has to do with my ex-husband?” Not bothering to wait for an answer, Janet ushered them into the house. “Steve! Put on some pants. The police are here to see us.”

“The police?” a voice shouted from the second floor. “Jesus Christ, again?”

Ronan heard thumping and seconds later, heavy footfalls on the stairs.

Steve Robinson was a heavyset man with salt and pepper hair and blue eyes. “What’s going on? Is it one of the kids?”

“No, Mr. Robinson,” Ronan said. He quickly introduced Ten and Jude. “Why don’t we all have a seat?”

Janet led the detectives into the dining room. “Can I get you coffee or tea?”

“No thank you,” Jude said. “The reason that we’re here has to do with Paul Jones.”

Steve sighed. “Of course it does. What’s he saying I’ve done this time? Am I kicking puppies and pushing old ladies into traffic?”

Ronan narrowed his eyes. “Explain that to me. Has Warden Jones been making false accusations against you?”

Robinson nodded. “It’s been going on for about six months now. He wants Janet to leave me and figures she’ll go back to him if I end up in jail.”

“I won’t,” Janet said. “Paul was a workaholic when we were married, which I could have lived with, but then he started treating me like I was one of his inmates. He’d search my things, order me around, take away privileges. Or at least he tried to. That act got old real fast. I took our daughter and left him. Steve and I met at a high school softball game. It turned out our girls played on the same team. We kept things low-key until the kids graduated. We’ve been married for ten years now and have two grandkids.”

“I don’t mean to contradict you, Mr. Robinson,” Jude began, “but we ran you and your wife through our database and found nothing but a few speeding tickets. There was nothing about charges being filed against either of you.”

“That’s because the cops saw through the warden’s bullshit the minute they spoke with us. No charges were ever filed. The last time the police were here they advised us that we could file harassment charges against Paul. We considered it, but with him being a former prison warden, we figured the deck would be heavily stacked against us.”

“We have copies of all the police reports Paul has filed. Would you like to see them?”

“Yes, please.” Ronan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Warden Jones was employing a smear campaign against his ex-wife’s husband. “Are you getting anything?” he asked Ten when the couple got up from the table.