Dead Shot (A Cal Murphy Thriller Book 1)

Chapter 14

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 a simple scare. You know what to do."

The man smiled as he scrawled out a threatening note, thinking less about the note and more about the green light to do some damage.