A Touch of Death Ch. 01

"New York?" Ty asked. "Why not Miami?"

I'd forgotten he was standing behind me. "Because I can't stand that red-haired guy. I think my ex-husband has more personality."

Cooper nodded. "We'll look at every bit of evidence. I found a shoe on the dock that sounds like a match for the one still on Mister Armstrong. There's some grease on its sole. Like I said, it's not certain but it is one possibility."

I didn't like the direction this seemed to be going. It might look like an accidental death to everyone but me but they _had_ to look into it as a murder.

I was considering the best way to move the conversation that way when a voice I detested called from behind me. My skin crawled. It was like knowing Darth Vader was standing right behind you.

"Deputy Cooper." Calvin's voice was smooth, like pond scum.

I forced my expression into a pleasant fa‡ade and turned to face him. I was less than overjoyed to see he had Dora with him. Whoever said 'no good deed goes unpunished' was dead on the money. I winced mentally at my poor choice of words.

Some might describe Calvin as a distinguished looking man in his mid-thirties, typically dressed in slacks and a yuppie sweater. His brown hair was prematurely graying at the temples and he looked like a perfect gentleman.

I usually described him in less exalted terms.

In a fashion blunder of the first order, Dora was dressed in an outfit matching her slime husband, my ex, Calvin. Sad to say, she looked better over-dressed in her usual designer trash. She overshadowed me by six inches and one look at her chest would convince anyone she was a proponent of body enhancements. I plastered a fake smile on my face for Cooper's benefit.

Calvin pointedly ignored me. No doubt determined to raise my blood pressure. Dora shot mental death rays in my direction.

"What brings you out so early?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid so," Cooper said with a nod to Dora. "Ma'am. Does the name Steven Armstrong mean anything to you?"

Calvin and Dora exchanged glances. "He's a guest," Calvin admitted. "Why?"

"Well," Cooper said slowly, "I'm afraid there's been an accident."

"We don't know that," I said.

"What are you blathering about?" Dora asked, her eyes narrowing at me before skewering Cooper. "What's going on here?"

"I'm afraid that Mister Armstrong is dead," Cooper said. "There's some indication he went in the water here."

Dora's eyes widened and she rounded on me. "And you're trying to spin this as something other than a terrible accident? You spiteful bitch!"

She started for me; her fingers extended like claws. Calvin yanked her up short like a dog that had reached the end of his chain when by grabbing her jacket. She snarled at him wordlessly but subsided.

Calvin stared at me with lordly indifference. "Candy never got over me leaving her, you know. It's made her bitter." He turned back to Cooper. "This is terrible news. I'm horrified. We'll cooperate in any way you need."

I stared at him, astounded beyond words. That was the most _outrageous_ thing I'd ever heard. The getting over business, anyway. Leave it to the self-centered jerk to turn someone's death into a chance to take a shot at me.

It was par for the course, though. We made the Hatfield's and McCoy's seem like a girl fight after school. This, however, was going too far.

Ty stepped between us before I got over my shocked outrage and throttled either one of them. "Everyone take a deep breath," he said calmly. "No one's saying there was foul play. Candy's just saying nobody should rush to judgment."

Calvin dismissed Ty with a look. "You don't know her like we do, Mister Walker. She'll do anything to get even with us. She's a small woman in every respect. Take my advice and steer clear of her. In any case, this is none of your business so stay out of it."

Ty smiled benignly but I could see a gleam in his eyes. If Calvin had gone to school with Ty, he'd have known he'd just made a serious mistake. Too bad for him.

Calvin spared me another glance. "Why are you here again, Candy? Don't you have something else to do? Someone else to bother?"

Deputy Cooper shook his head tiredly. "Don't get your shorts in a twist. I brought her here as part of my investigation. She stays till I'm done with her."

I'd said my piece so it was time to let it go. "I've told you what I know. If you have any other questions give me a call."

Cooper nodded and slipped his hat back on. "Thanks for your help, Miss Kane."

I nodded as graciously as I could and let Ty steer me around my ex and his skank while considered and rejected making another lunge for her. That superior smirk on his face just made me want to scream.

We were almost past when Ty's right foot abruptly slipped sideways and he staggered heavily to the left. I grabbed him but all that did was get me dragged along with him as he started to go down.

He would have fallen, except his shoulder rammed into Dora's and sent her crashing into Calvin. Calvin shot off the side of the dock and into the water with a tremendous splash before he even knew what was happening. Dora teetered on the brink for a moment, her arms wind milling frantically for balance, before she followed her husband into the cold water with a scream.

Ty stood there with an artful expression of consternation on his face. "Oh, dear." He shrugged to the deputy. "I must've slipped on something." He looked over at the drenched couple. "Sorry about that. You really need to clean up this dock. So many slipping incidents might cause a lawsuit."

I stood there in awe of him as Cooper began trying to fish them out while they screamed at us. "Let's go to the Lodge and get some breakfast. I'd like to catch up."

"Good call. You need a lift home and you'll love my car."

The morning was looking up after all.