Read Online A Perfect Life by Mike Stewart - Free Book Online Page A

Tinelle felt a jolt of adrenaline. “You got a flag?”
    “Got a ‘must contact' from Boston PD for him. Just a second.” Static hummed through the silence. “We'll radio your situation to Detectives Tandy and Cedris. Hold your position.”
    “Ten-four.”
    Only eight minutes passed before Marcus Tinelle's radio filled with the calm voice of Lieutenant Victor Cedris. “You got a cell phone, Tinelle?”
    “Sure.”
    “Gimme the number.”
    Seconds later, Tinelle's phone vibrated in the palm of his hand.
    Cedris asked, “What's happening?”
    “The vic, Scott Thomas, called 911 at eight-thirty-three A . M . and reported two intruders inside his garage apartment on Welder Avenue. We arrived on the scene at eight-forty and entered the living room of a two-room apartment. The room had been trashed. Looked like maybe somebody was looking for something. Thomas was inside his bedroom, armed with a softball bat. He came out. My partner and I followed him back into the bedroom. There was no apparent damage to the bedroom. No one, other than Thomas, was present in the apartment.” Tinelle hesitated. “I understand Thomas is a suspect in a murder investigation.”
    Cedris said, “But we don't care about that now, do we?”
    “We don't?”
    “You've got a burglary to solve, Tinelle. I'd consider it a personal favor if you'd pull out all the stops. Get a forensics team out there. Get fingerprints. Catalog everything in the apartment. You get my meaning here, Tinelle?”
    Marcus Tinelle glanced at the steps leading up to Scott Thomas's apartment and grinned. “Got it.”
    The homicide detective's calm voice never changed. “I look forward to reading your report, Tinelle. And, remember, I owe you one.”
    An hour later, Cedris had just spread cream cheese on half a sesame seed bagel when the phone on his desk rang. He sighed and tossed the bagel on a wrinkled square of waxed paper. “Cedris. Homicide.”
    “This is Tinelle.”
    “Got something for me?”
    “Well, yes and no. We're still here on Welder. Nothing's jumping out at us, but you're not gonna believe what Thomas is saying.”
    The patrolman paused for effect. Cedris was not impressed. “Am I supposed to guess?”
    “Uh, no. Uh, well, the thing is that Thomas is claiming that these two burglars—who he never saw, by the way—had some kind of conversation with him through a closed door.” The patrolman hesitated again. Cedris rubbed at his eyes with thumb and forefinger and sighed. Tinelle went on. “Thomas claims the burglars confessed to murdering the Hunter woman.”
    “What?”
    Tinelle laughed. “Can you believe that?”
    “No,” Cedris said, “I can't.”
    “Graduate student at Harvard. Unbelievable. Guess they can't teach common sense.”
    “Even smart guys get punchy on three hours' sleep. We had the boy at the hospital until almost sunup. And, if Thomas did kill the Hunter woman, the boy's had a hell of a night. Best thing we can do is keep him talking. Don't wanna give him time to stop and think. We don't wanna give him a chance to get his shit together, if you see what I mean.”
    “Yeah. Right. He's also got some screwy story about using the microphone on his computer to record some of what the burglars were saying.”
    “Did you listen to what he had?”
    “Nothing to listen to here. Claims he somehow used his computer to call voice mail where he works. Says if the mike picked up anything it'll be recorded as a voice message down at the hospital where he's some kind of student shrink.” Tinelle hesitated again, and the thought flitted through Cedris's brain that there are worse traits than thinking before you speak. Tinelle said, “Thomas says he wants to talk to
you
.”
    It was Cedris's turn to think. He asked, “Is the forensics team on site?”
    “Been here half an hour.”
    “Good. Didn't want it to look like I called 'em in. They know they're supposed to swarm over that place like ants at a picnic?”
    “They know.