another installment

Apologies for the delay (health issues thankfully resolved)

The lights were on in house six, a crowd of four cops, Darby and the Coroner were standing around a seat in the seventh row. Dixon walked down the aisle to the second row above the seventh and began crossing the house. When he reached the middle, he sat down in a seat and waited for the coroner to finish. Jan came in and walked over to his row. She brought him a cup of coffee and Dixon took it with thanks.

“Sorry about the mix up on the phone.” He whispered.

“It’s okay,” she said, whispering as well. “You are not the only one doing it.”

“I am still sorry about that.”

Darby looked up and spied Dixon and Jan. He frowned, turned back to the coroner and nodded. The coroner shook his hand taking his leave. Darby looked back to Dixon.

“Hey Dixon, what are you doing up there?”

“I didn’t want to go where I was not welcome.”

“Jan, would you tell Weyr that he can bring in the body bag now.”

“Sure Darby.”

She left.

Dixon stood up.

“So who’s the stiff?” he asked.

“You mean you don’t know? No one told you?”

“Nope.”

Darby laughed.

“What? What’s so funny?” Dixon demanded.

Darby stopped and shook his head, holding up his hand.

“This is rich, no one even bothered to tell you. Well this-“ Darby pointed to the barely visible head next to him. “This is an old friend of ours, the guy who got you to quit the force. It’s Paul Murray, Dix.”

Dixon dropped his coffee.

The cup his the seat in front of him, splashing coffee backwards onto Dixon’s abdomen. Dixon danced around, first with whelps of pain then curses until he sat back down.

“Aw shit.” He pronounced. Dixon threw up his hands.

Darby stood there observing the tirade with a puzzled expression on his face. He walked over to the left aisle and came up Dixon’s aisle until he sat down next to him.

They sat there awhile.

            “Dix, I didn’t know that you were friends.”

            “We aren’t, I mean we weren’t.”

            “Then why are you so upset?”

            “Murray had hired me because he was afraid that some one was stalking him.”

            “Why didn’t he just go to the cops?”

            “Because he was sure that his stalker was a cop.”