Lady Justice and the Bounty Hunter

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     Walt teams up with bounty hunter, Georgia Peach, to bring down drug dealers, wife beaters, kidnappers, grave robbers, jewel thieves, and an ex-con looking for revenge.

    In the process, Walt discovers that Georgia and her family are ‘unusual’ in more ways than one.

    Walt thought he has seen it all as a cop for five years and a P.I for five more, but he had no idea how bizarre things could be until he met Georgia Peach.

CHAPTER 1

    My partner, Kevin McBride, and I were in my office when the phone rang.

    “Walt Williams Investigations. How may I help you?”

    “Walt, this is Carl Clark. David didn’t show up for his court appearance this morning. I think something terrible has happened to him.”

    David was the son of Carl and Marjorie Clark, a good kid who fell in with the wrong crowd. Before falling under the influence of Sonny Skaggs, David had been an honor student, hoping to earn a scholarship at the University of Missouri.

    It had all started innocently enough. Hoping to sustain his high grade point average, David, like so many of his other classmates, started using Adderall to enhance his performance on tests. Also, like many of his classmates, David became dependent on the drug.

    Sonny Skaggs was, of course, the dealer who supplied the drugs.

    As David’s addiction grew, he needed more Adderall to stave off withdrawal. He began doing small favors for Sonny to pay for the drug.

    His undoing came the day Sonny coerced him into helping him break into a home that was supposed to be unoccupied. Unfortunately, the homeowners had cancelled their plans to be away for the evening. When the homeowner confronted the two, Sonny panicked and shot the man. The boys fled, but police, alerted by a silent alarm, caught them two blocks from the crime scene.

    Fortunately, the homeowner recovered, but both boys were charged with breaking and entering and armed criminal action.

   The Clarks hired a good friend of mine, Suzanne Romero, to handle David’s defense. Once Suzanne convinced the prosecuting attorney that David had been coerced into the act, and that he had no know way of knowing that Sonny was carrying a weapon, he was willing to make a deal. The goal was to put the drug-dealing Sonny behind bars. If David agreed to testify against Sonny, he would get off with probation and admission into a rehabilitation program.

    David agreed. Suzanne contacted me and hired us to find out as much as possible about Sonny Skaggs.

    We had done our job and I had forgotten that this was the day both boys were to appear in court with David testifying against Sonny.

    “Mr. Clark, when was the last time you saw David?”

    “This morning at breakfast. He was supposed to be in court at ten o’clock. Ms. Romero wanted to meet with him at nine to go over his testimony. Marjorie and I were supposed to meet them at the courthouse a little before ten. Ms. Romero called and told us that David never arrived at her office. We’re so worried about David. What should we do?”

    I thought for a moment. “Stay there for now in case David tries to contact you. I’ll give Suzanne a call and get back to you.”

    I had just hung up when the phone rang again. It was Suzanne.

    “Walt ---!”

    “I know. I just hung up from Carl Clark. He said David didn’t show for court. I hope he’s not running.”

    “I wouldn’t think so,” she replied. “He’s got a sweet deal. Probation and rehab in return for his testimony.”

    “Then there’s one other possibility,” I said. “Sonny Skaggs made bail too. Maybe Skaggs intercepted him on his way to your office. Skaggs doesn’t have a lot to lose. Eliminate the snitch, then disappear.”

    “That’s what I was thinking,” Suzanne replied. “If that’s the case, David’s life is in danger, but either way, we have a problem.”

    “What do you mean?”

    “If David took off on his own accord, his parents could lose their home. David’s bail was $25,000. The Clarks put their house up as collateral for the bail. If David doesn’t have a good excuse for missing his court date, a warrant will be issued for his arrest and the Clarks will have to come up with the money or forfeit their home.”

    “Holy crap! How much time do we have?”

    “Nothing happens immediately. We still have time to find David and have him come in to reschedule a court date, but one way or the other, we need to find him. Are you and Kevin available?”

    “Of course. But if Skaggs has David, we may not have much time.”

    I had both calls on speaker phone, so Kevin heard the whole thing. “Well, what do you think?”

    “I agree with Suzanne,” he replied. “I don’t think David skipped. I’d bet my Social Security check that Skaggs grabbed him. We find Skaggs, we find David.”