Dead Shot by Jack Patterson (adventure books to read .TXT) 📕

he was going to be re-elected this fall, complying with his request made sense.

He hung up the phone and began filling out a new form. He slid his old report to the bottom of his clipboard, wanting to investigate on his own for curiosity’s sake. He would present the fake report to the Sheriff’s Department and media, but their deaths were too bizarre to not investigate.

Kevin then wrote a short email to the lab in Boise, canceling the tox screens of the victims’ blood.

The cover-up was almost complete—and then he heard his cousin calling his name down the hall.

“Kevin?! Are you here?” Kelly shouted.

He knew she was working her way down the short hallway, looking for him in each room.

Kevin pulled sheets over two of the victims in his exam room. He shoved his clipboard out of sight and prepared to sell his cousin on the fact that he was leaving the room and should join him in his office.

Their hands both gripped the door knob on opposite sides at the same moment. Kelly let go. The door flew open and she was staring her cousin – Dr. Kevin Mendoza, the county coroner – in the eyes. They were eyes of guilt.

Chapter 14

Cal had decided to let Kelly take the lead on this final investigative stop before returning to The Register’s office to face an irritable Guy. Kelly suggested he remain in the vehicle until she convinced her cousin to let them take a look at the bodies. But he was too impatient to wait for Kelly’s signal, which may or may not come. Besides, all those mountain lion rumors made him want to squelch them by seeing the bodies with his own two eyes.

After Kelly disappeared into the coroner’s office, Cal stepped out of the car and headed for the entrance.

He was 30 seconds behind Kelly as he slipped into the building that lacked a secretary or front desk attendant. Cal was just in time to see the door shut before the two disappeared into Kevin’s office. He heard Kelly pleading with her cousin as he slipped past the door in the hall.

“Come on, Kevin. I won’t take any pictures. Just let me look at the bodies.” Kelly’s plea filled the hallways.

“No, Kelly. I’ll release my final report to the sheriff and you can obtain a copy from him.”

Kevin’s stonewall began to irritate Kelly. She paused and then went on the offensive.

“What are you hiding, Doctor Mendoza? I want to know!

“I’m not hiding anything and you aren’t authorized to be in there. Those bodies are evidence in an official law enforcement investigation.”

“Oh, so it was a murder?”

“I never said that. I’m investigating what happened to these boys. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve still got a lot of paperwork to get to today before I can go home.”

The doctor was forcing Kelly to take one step into the hallway. In the dimly lit hall Kelly could see Cal out of the corner of her eye standing in front of the door to the examination room. She immediately knew what the daring reporter was up to so she redoubled her efforts to keep Kevin in his office.

“Isn’t there an election coming up soon?” Kelly asked.

Kelly knew how much he loved his job but how much he hated the campaigning portion of it. Kevin usually ran uncontested. But in the last election, Gerald Bachman made life uncomfortable for him. Bachman nearly pulled a stunning upset in a town where a Mendoza had served in the coroner’s position for more than 50 years.

Kevin hesitated but refused to yield to Kelly’s demand. She stepped back into his office and pressed him further.

“It’d be a shame for Bachman to come across a few photos that would give people the wrong idea about what you might do with their dead relatives.”

Kevin froze. He stared at Kelly in horror. In the hall Cal worked feverishly to pick the lock to the exam room.

“I still have pictures from when you and some of your friends got drunk one Saturday night. Remember the night you came up with the brilliant idea to break into the morgue and take pictures of the sheriff’s dead brother with a wig on, among other things”

“Seriously? You’d do that to me?”

“Yeah. You bet I would. Playing dress up with the sheriff’s deceased brother may seem like hours of hilarity when you’re 17. But when you’re 32 and an elected city official, frolicking drunk in the morgue becomes a skeleton in your political closet – especially when the press knows about it.”

Kelly let that last sentence hang in the air before making her point clear.

“My brother was with that crowd of Einsteins and just so happened to catch it all on his film. One night while rummaging through his keepsakes, I found some of those pictures from your juvenile humor. I kept a few of the snapshots and asked him about it one day. Let’s just say, his recollections are far worse than the photos and would be the least of your concerns.”

Kevin retreated slowly back to his desk. He supposed there was no way to thwart her threat – but he decided he would take his chances with her.

“Look, Kelly. You have no idea the amount of pressure I’m under. But losing an election pales in comparison to being dumped into Cold River Canyon by some goon. So, do what you’ve got to do, but I’m much more afraid for my life than I am from people seeing some embarrassing pictures of my teenage indiscretions printed in the paper.”

Kevin hung his head low and plopped down in this chair He wasn’t giving in to her demands.

***

The man in the F-250 lit a cigarette and took a long drag. He tapped the steering wheel and looked at his watch.

What is taking them so long?

The phone rang. It was the voice.

“Have they left yet?”

“Nope. They’re still inside. What do you want me to do?”

“It seems like Cagney and Lacey need more than