Dead Shot (A Cal Murphy Thriller Book 1)

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

When Cal turned on his phone in the exam room he noticed one missed call from Guy. After he showed Kelly the pictures, he saw a notification for three new voicemails awaiting him, presumably all from Guy. He flipped through the pictures again.

Both were silent for the first few minutes of the ride, mulling over the day's events and trying to make sense of them.

Questions mounted in Cal's head. Was a serial killer on the loose? Was there something in the water? Could there be a real Statenville Sasquatch? Did those boys simply kill themselves in a bizarre way? Or did they belong to a cult and take their devotion too far one day? He barely had time to consider a theory or an idea before he had to draw a more definitive conclusion and move on to the next one.

It gave Cal a new appreciation for those days when his biggest assignment was taking grip-and-grin photos at the latest service club meeting. Covering these three bizarre deaths was like living in an episode of the X-Files. He glanced at Kelly... she had begun to remind him of Scully. Then he snapped back to reality. Maybe they were murders. Maybe they were accidents. Maybe no one would ever know. Cal was determined to uncover the truth.

Guy's mug shot replaced the photo of Cody Murray's body on the screen of Cal's iPhone. The phone kept buzzing, but Cal remained frozen.

"Kelly, it's the boss. What do you suggest that I tell him?" Cal asked.

"Tell him the truth."

"Are you nuts? Have you seen what kind of mood he's in today? We'll be not-so-suspicious deaths four and five if we do that."

"And you think lying now only to get found out later is better? You know he'll find out Cal... sooner or later. The man has eyes and ears everywhere."

"You're probably right."

"Look, just don't tell him about your photos. Don't tell anyone, OK? It's for your own good. Just think of those photos as your insurance.

The phone quit buzzing. Their conversation prevented Cal from answering until he knew they were on the same page about their story.

He dialed Guy's number.

"Where have you been?! I told you to come straight back to the office. That was over an hour ago!"

"Sorry, boss. We had to pay a little visit to the coroner."

"The coroner? Who do you guys think you are? Starsky and Hutch? It's not your job to investigate a murder - it's just your job to report it."

"I understand, boss. But almost no one has been giving us straight answers today."

"That's because you're acting like a gumshoe cop instead of a journalist! Did you ever think about that, boy wonder?"

Kelly stomped on the gas pedal.

Cal knew what she was doing. He mouthed a "thank you" to her while continuing to cringe from the verbal tirade Guy was on. Guy was never this cruel in person and Cal was eager to get back in order to stop this nonsense.

***

Trailing about one hundred yards behind Kelly's car was the F-250. The driver carefully calculated where he would make his move.

But there wasn't a chance just yet. Kelly was driving through a main road that led back to downtown. All the local businesses on either side of the road made it very difficult to fulfill his mission.

He eased off the gas. He knew where they were going. Tonight would give him a better chance. He would finish his assignment then.