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    The Old Blue Line: A Joanna Brady Novella
    The Old Blue Line: A Joanna Brady Novella
    The Old Blue Line: A Joanna Brady Novella
    Ebook80 pages1 hour

    The Old Blue Line: A Joanna Brady Novella

    By J. A. Jance

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Butch Dixon has been taken for a ride …

    Not a jump in the car, see the sights kind of ride. He's been taken for everything he has. He's lost his house, his restaurant business, his savings, his car, his best friend, his faith—all to his conniving ex-wife. But that was seven years ago. He picked himself up, left Chicago, and started over in Peoria, Arizona, running the Roundhouse Bar and Grill. He doesn't look back on those bad years; there's no point. Not until two curious cops show up at the Roundhouse.

    Faith, Butch's ex-wife, has been murdered, and the evidence points to him. Stunned, Butch quickly realizes that the black-hearted woman is going to ruin him again, from her grave. Lucky for Butch, the Old Blue Line, a group of retired—but still sharp and tenacious—former legal and law enforcement coots, have taken it upon themselves, as a favor, to make sure he doesn't cross that thin line. After the dust settles, Butch's life is again upended—when a little red-haired ball of fire, Sheriff Joanna Brady, takes a seat at his bar.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 17, 2014
    ISBN9780062366917
    Author

    J. A. Jance

    J. A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, the Ali Reynolds series, six thrillers about the Walker Family, and one volume of poetry. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, she lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington.

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    Reviews for The Old Blue Line

    4.5/5

    19 ratings5 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Quick story to introduce Butch into Joanna's life as the Old Blue Line moves in to rescue him from being framed for the murder of his former wife.
    • 4/5
      In this novella, Jance describes a bit about Joanna Brady's husband's background. and how the two met. He had been accused of the murder of his ex-wife, and was clearly framed by a land developer who wanted to buy his restaurant. Following the clearing of his name, he met Brady when she attended the nearby police academy.
    • 4/5
      J.A. Jance writes a number of series, but my favourite is Sheriff Joanna Brady. The Old Blue Line has been marketed as 15.5 in the series, as it is a novella. (The newest novel, Remains of Innocence has just released.) The Old Blue Line is actually Joanna's husband, Butch Dixon's story. Jance takes us back to the days before Butch met Joanna. Butch lost everything to his ex-wife seven years ago. He's made a new life for himself and no runs the Roadhouse Bar and Grill. But when the ex-wife is found murdered, Butch is the prime suspect. Even in death, Faith is out to get him. But Butch has friends - namely The Old Blue Line gang - retired cops and lawyers that are determined to clear Butch's name. Butch has always been a great supporting player in the Brady books, but we really don't know too much about his background. This little novella is told completely in Butch's voice. ( Joanna only makes an appearance in the last few pages.) The mystery in this case is short and sweet, as is the book, but it's still enjoyable. It was more about getting to know Butch better. Although, I'd like to see more of The Old Blue Line gang in future books. I actually chose to listen to The Old Blue Line. The reader was James Eckhouse. Eckhouse's voice is pleasant and easy to listen to, with clear diction. He's an expressive reader, using his voice to good effect. Eckhouse works as an actor and is good 'performer' in audio format as well.
    • 5/5
      This has to be one of my favorites, thanks to Ms Jance. Looking good
    • 4/5
      The OLD BLUE LINE by J A JanceThis novella gives us the back story for Butch Dixon, Sheriff Brady’s husband in many of J A Jance’s books that take place in Arizona.Butch becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his former wife who had remarried and changed her name after divorcing Butch. How he defends himself is the plot. Although short this is a well-developed story with interesting characters and a layered plot.Part of the book is a portion of Jance’s next book – REMAINS OF INNOCENCE.4 of 5 stars

    Book preview

    The Old Blue Line - J. A. Jance

    Title-Page.jpg

    Dedication

    For Dale

    Contents

    Dedication

    The Old Blue Line

    Announcement Page

    About the Author

    Books by J. A. Jance

    Copyright

    About the Publisher

    The Old Blue Line

    I KNEW THE

    two guys were cops the moment Matty walked them over to their booth. I usually work the bar in the afternoons and early evenings, but the daytime cook had turned up sick. In my experience, it’s easier and better for my customers to bring in a substitute bartender than it is to bring in a substitute cook. Besides, that’s where I started out in this particular restaurant—­as a short order cook—­and it wasn’t much of a hardship for me to be back running the kitchen. As the two newcomers walked past, I had just put up an order and was waiting for Danielle to come pick it up.

    Given that the Arizona Police Academy is just up the street, we get a lot of cops at the Roundhouse Bar and Grill. There’s always a rowdy crew of newbies—­the trainees. They tend to show up in groups and hang out together in the bar in the evenings after class. Next come the instructors. They’re mostly older guys, some of them long retired from active police work, who tend to arrive for meals mostly in ones or twos. Not thrilled with retirement, they’re glad to get out of their houses for a while and have a chance to hang out in the restaurant, drinking coffee, chewing the fat, and talking over old times.

    These two gents looked to be somewhere in the middle—­too old to be trainees and too young to be instructors. They were both middle-­aged and severely overdressed for Peoria, Arizona. It may have been the beginning of November, but it was still plenty hot in the Valley of the Sun. These guys were decked out in a way that set them apart from the rest of my regular customers—­white shirts, ties, and jackets, the whole nine yards. Yes, and cop shoes, of course. I can spot those a mile away.

    After they were seated, one of them said something to Matty—­a question, most likely. She looked at me over her shoulder before she answered. When she gave the men their menus, they glanced at them, shook their heads, and immediately handed the menus back. As Matty headed for her hostess station she rolled her eyes in my direction. I knew what she meant. ­People who come into restaurants at lunchtime and occupy booth space without ordering anything more than coffee are not high on anybody’s list in the restaurant biz.

    I had taken a new order down from the wheel in the pass-­through and was starting on two plates of burgers and fries when my cell phone rang. After answering it, I perched it on my shoulder and held it in place with my jaw so I could talk and still use my hands to cook. It’s not easy doing two things at once, but in restaurant kitchens, sometimes you have to.

    They’re cops, Matty explained unnecessarily. Said they’d like to have a word with you.

    In my experience, cops who want to a word usually want a lot more than that. What did they order? I asked.

    They’re just having coffee.

    Right, I said. I thought so. It’s lunchtime. In that case, they can take an old cold tater and wait until I’m good and ready to deal with them.

    It was almost an hour later before the kitchen finally slowed down. I ventured out into the dining room, wiping my hands on my apron as I went. My overdressed friends were still drinking coffee.

    You wanted to see me? I asked.

    Just then one of my model trains zipped by overhead. In keeping with the Roundhouse name and theme, multiple trains run on tracks laid on a shelf that a previous owner had hung high on the walls of both the dining room and bar. The tracks come complete with tunnel entrances painted on the partition that separates the two rooms. There are three trains in all—­two freight and an old fashioned passenger—­all of them running at the same time. ­People often worry about the trains colliding, but they needn’t. That’s because the shelf holding the tracks is built so close to the ceiling that it’s impossible for an onlooker from below to see that there are actually three separate tracks.

    What’s the deal with the trains? one of the visitors asked.

    I happen to like trains, I told him with a shrug, and so did one of the previous owners. That’s why he named the joint the Roundhouse, that and the fact that the bar in the other room is actually round. I was told you wanted to have a word. What about?

    The guy who was evidently the lead reached into his pocket, pulled out an ID wallet and held it up for my inspection, allowing me to see both his badge and his name—­Detective Andrew Jamison of the Las Vegas Police Department.

    I’m Detective Jamison and this is my partner, Detective Shandrow, he explained, pocketing his ID. We’re here investigating the death of a woman named Katherine Melcher.

    Never heard of her, I said.

    I believe you and she were married at one time.

    Then there’s some kind of mistake, I told him. My ex-­wife’s name was Faith.

    She changed it, Jamison replied. As I said, her name was Katherine, but she mostly went by Katy.

    She’s dead? I repeated. Faith is dead? You’re kidding. What happened to her?

    She was murdered, Mr. Dixon, Jamison said. This is a homicide investigation. Are you sure you want to discuss it here?

    I looked around the room. The biggest part of the lunch rush was over, but there were still plenty of diners in the joint, most of them watching

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