Read Online The Kill by Jan Neuharth - Free Book Online

happened to Richard.”
    Manning nodded, then shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, rocked back on his heels, and lowered his gaze. “It’s haunting me, too. In fact, there’s something I want to talk to you—”
    Margaret cut him off. “What’s that Duchess has in her mouth?” She squatted on one knee as the dog wiggled to a stop in front of her. “What do you have there, girl? Give it to me.”
    The Lab opened her jaw and dropped the article in Margaret’s gloved hand.
    “Dear God. It’s Richard’s wallet.”
    “Are you sure it’s Richard’s?” Manning asked, eyeing the buttery London-tan leather, now blemished with rust-colored mud and wet blotches from Duchess’s mouth.
    “Absolutely. I gave it to him for his birthday to replace that god-awful one he’d been carrying. It was so old the tan leather had turned brown. And I don’t mean a nice, well-oiled saddle kind of brown. For a man who loved fast cars and well-bred horses, Richard could be downright miserly about spending money on himself,” she said affectionately.
    Manning knelt next to her and draped an arm around Duchess. “Wonder where Duchess found it.”
    “Based on the mud, I’d guess maybe it was dumped in the shrubbery surrounding the stewards’ stand. I edged and weeded that area last week, so there’s plenty of fresh soil exposed. I haven’t gotten around to mulching yet.” She turned the wallet over, holding it gingerly by the edges. “I can’t imagine they’ll be able to get much evidence off it.”
    “Everything all right?” a man’s voice called from behind them.
    Margaret looked over her shoulder and saw Thompson about twenty paces away, jogging toward them. “Duchess found Richard’s wallet.”
    Thompson huffed to a stop beside her. “You’re kidding.”
    She rose and held out her hand. “It’s a little the worse for wear.”
    Thompson lifted it gingerly by the corner and examined it. “You never know. Forensics are pretty good these days. They might be able to get some prints off it.”
    “Yeah. Like yours, now that you’ve touched it,” Manning said, rising to his feet. “Smart move.”
    Thompson arched an eyebrow. “Where does your expertise on criminal investigations come from, personal experience?”
    “Fuck you, Thompson. The only criminal investigation I’ve been involved in was when I borrowed the hunt truck and
you
reported it stolen.”
    The incident with the hunt truck had happened months ago, but it was still a sore spot with Manning. He maintained that Thompson had known full well who had taken the truck, and that he’d reported it stolen just to cause trouble for Manning. Margaret didn’t really believe Thompson had done it deliberately, but it had resulted in an embarrassing situation for Manning. He’d had horse customers from California in the truck with him when he’d been pulled over and hauled away in handcuffs to the sheriff’s office. “All right, put your personal differences aside,” Margaret said. “We don’t have time for bickering.”
    Thompson pressed his lips together, yanked a handkerchief from his back pocket, and wrapped it around the wallet. “We should notify the sheriff’s office right away. Would you like me to make the call, Margaret?”
    “I suppose. Although they’ll want to come out and interview me. Fill out a report.” She eyed the racecourse. “Who knows, they might decide to extend the restricted area. Or ask us to leave the property altogether. We’ll be in a real pickle if that happens. I don’t see what difference it would make to delay calling for a couple of hours. Buy us some time to get some work done.”
    “I think the prudent thing to do is to report it right away,” Thompson said. “What if there’s evidence on the wallet linking Reyes to the shooting?”
    “You’re right.” Margaret sighed and peeled off her gloves. She dug her cell out of her coat pocket. “I’ll call Lieutenant Mallory.”
    Manning stared at