“Whoa, wait a minute. You called Uttley? You didn’t say that before.”

“Yeah, I figure he’s my lawyer. I better call him, too.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he’d be right here. I’m surprised he’s not here by now.”

“He lives right across town,” I said. “I had to come all the way out here from Paradise.”

“He must be putting his lawyer suit on,” he said. “Anyway, you were the first person I thought of, Alex. I hope you take that as a compliment.”

“Remind me to send you some flowers, Edwin.”

“And also, you know, on account of you being a private investigator and working for Uttley.”

“Right.”

“Not to say that I think you work for me, Alex,” he said. “Just because you work for my lawyer. That’s not what I’m saying.”

“Uh-huh.” I could be home in bed, I thought. I could be home right now underneath my blanket.

“And then also on account of you being so close with the county sheriff, I thought that might be a good thing, too. Although like you say, this isn’t a county thing because it’s in the city. I guess I didn’t think that one through, either. I’m sorry, Alex, my mind is a mess right now.”

A Soo police car pulled into the lot, its lights flashing silently. “It’s showtime,” I said.

They were a couple of young cops, no more than twenty-five years old. I remembered being on the night shift myself the first couple years in Detroit. The night shift was all young cops breaking in and old ones putting in some overtime before retirement.

“Good morning, Officers,” I said. “This is Edwin Fulton. He discovered the deceased.” I tipped my head toward him. He looked pitiful standing there next to my truck with his hands jammed in his pockets. “I’m Alex McKnight.”

“Where is he?” one of the cops said.