Read Online Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Karin Slaughter
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detective’s not making a peep.”
Jeffrey finally understood. “She hasn’t said
anything
since you found her on the field?”
“No, sir. Not one word. Didn’t ask for a drink of water or try to find out how her medical condition was doing or when she was gonna get out of here. She wouldn’t talk to her court-appointed lawyer, wouldn’t answer the judge when he asked if she was guilty or not guilty. She just laid there in the bed staring at the ceiling. Avery was so annoyed—Avery is the judge—that he denied bond and ordered a psych evaluation.”
Jeffrey felt his mind reeling. Lena could certainly be obstinate, but her silence made no sense. Someone had died in that fire. How could she sit there watching the car burn?
Sara finally spoke. “Maybe her throat was damaged during—”
“Doc said there’s no medical reason she can’t talk,” Valentine interrupted. “Problem is, she won’t even make the effort.”
Jeffrey still could not see the logic behind Lena’s silence. “What did the shrink say?”
“She wouldn’t talk to him, either,” the sheriff answered. “Far as I know, she hasn’t said one dang thing this whole time. Just lays there staring at the ceiling. I even tried to get Darla to draw her out. Nothing.”
“Could be post-traumatic stress? Shock?” Jeffrey suggested.
Valentine looked as dubious as Jeffrey felt.
“Did you tell her I was coming?”
“Nope. Thought it’d be best to let her sit and stew for a while.”
Jeffrey tried to put himself in the other man’s shoes, to look at the case from all angles. “Do you have an ID on the corpse?”
“The car was too hot to tow off the field until this afternoon.”
“Has your coroner seen this kind of thing before?” Jeffrey asked. The burned corpse was crucial; the body was the only thing that might offer an explanation of what had happened on that football field. In Georgia, the job of county medical examiner was an elected position usually held by the local funeral director or anyone else who wasn’t afraid to touch a dead body. The fact that Sara, a medical doctor, had taken the job in Grant County was very rare. There was no telling who the local body handler was.
Valentine offered, “Fred Bart’s a good man. He’ll let me know anything he finds. I gotta say he wasn’t too optimistic. Body like that—it’s hard to even say whether it’s a man or a woman, let alone how they died.” He shrugged, gave a goofy smile. “What am I saying? I’m sure you know how this works.”
Valentine hadn’t exactly answered the question. Jeffrey tried to tread lightly as he fished for Bart’s qualifications. “Sara’s the coroner back home. She’s a pediatrician, too.”
“Oh.” Valentine shifted away from the shelves, flashed a smile at Sara. “That’s nice. My wife’s a schoolteacher. All she does is correct my grammar and tell me to sit up straight.”
Jeffrey had more questions, but something told him Valentine wouldn’t answer them. “What made you call me?”
“Common sense,” Valentine answered. He had seemed ready to leave it at that, but then he added, “I’ll be straight with you, Chief. Your detective’s just a little thing. Doesn’t seem like she’d hurt a fly. I can’t see her doing this. There’s gotta be something more to the story. I figured if I couldn’t get it out of her, maybe you could.” He paused. “At the very least, you can save us a lot of time and money if you’d find out who’s in that car.”
Jeffrey doubted he would prove to be any help, but he said, “All right. Let me see her.”
Again, Valentine let Jeffrey and Sara go first. Sadly, Jeffrey guessed this was more because the younger man’s parents had always told him to respect his elders than out of any deference to rank.
As they walked toward Lena’s room, Jeffrey tried to process what the sheriff had just told them. The facts were simple. Lena had been found at a crime scene where a car was torched and a
Jeffrey finally understood. “She hasn’t said
anything
since you found her on the field?”
“No, sir. Not one word. Didn’t ask for a drink of water or try to find out how her medical condition was doing or when she was gonna get out of here. She wouldn’t talk to her court-appointed lawyer, wouldn’t answer the judge when he asked if she was guilty or not guilty. She just laid there in the bed staring at the ceiling. Avery was so annoyed—Avery is the judge—that he denied bond and ordered a psych evaluation.”
Jeffrey felt his mind reeling. Lena could certainly be obstinate, but her silence made no sense. Someone had died in that fire. How could she sit there watching the car burn?
Sara finally spoke. “Maybe her throat was damaged during—”
“Doc said there’s no medical reason she can’t talk,” Valentine interrupted. “Problem is, she won’t even make the effort.”
Jeffrey still could not see the logic behind Lena’s silence. “What did the shrink say?”
“She wouldn’t talk to him, either,” the sheriff answered. “Far as I know, she hasn’t said one dang thing this whole time. Just lays there staring at the ceiling. I even tried to get Darla to draw her out. Nothing.”
“Could be post-traumatic stress? Shock?” Jeffrey suggested.
Valentine looked as dubious as Jeffrey felt.
“Did you tell her I was coming?”
“Nope. Thought it’d be best to let her sit and stew for a while.”
Jeffrey tried to put himself in the other man’s shoes, to look at the case from all angles. “Do you have an ID on the corpse?”
“The car was too hot to tow off the field until this afternoon.”
“Has your coroner seen this kind of thing before?” Jeffrey asked. The burned corpse was crucial; the body was the only thing that might offer an explanation of what had happened on that football field. In Georgia, the job of county medical examiner was an elected position usually held by the local funeral director or anyone else who wasn’t afraid to touch a dead body. The fact that Sara, a medical doctor, had taken the job in Grant County was very rare. There was no telling who the local body handler was.
Valentine offered, “Fred Bart’s a good man. He’ll let me know anything he finds. I gotta say he wasn’t too optimistic. Body like that—it’s hard to even say whether it’s a man or a woman, let alone how they died.” He shrugged, gave a goofy smile. “What am I saying? I’m sure you know how this works.”
Valentine hadn’t exactly answered the question. Jeffrey tried to tread lightly as he fished for Bart’s qualifications. “Sara’s the coroner back home. She’s a pediatrician, too.”
“Oh.” Valentine shifted away from the shelves, flashed a smile at Sara. “That’s nice. My wife’s a schoolteacher. All she does is correct my grammar and tell me to sit up straight.”
Jeffrey had more questions, but something told him Valentine wouldn’t answer them. “What made you call me?”
“Common sense,” Valentine answered. He had seemed ready to leave it at that, but then he added, “I’ll be straight with you, Chief. Your detective’s just a little thing. Doesn’t seem like she’d hurt a fly. I can’t see her doing this. There’s gotta be something more to the story. I figured if I couldn’t get it out of her, maybe you could.” He paused. “At the very least, you can save us a lot of time and money if you’d find out who’s in that car.”
Jeffrey doubted he would prove to be any help, but he said, “All right. Let me see her.”
Again, Valentine let Jeffrey and Sara go first. Sadly, Jeffrey guessed this was more because the younger man’s parents had always told him to respect his elders than out of any deference to rank.
As they walked toward Lena’s room, Jeffrey tried to process what the sheriff had just told them. The facts were simple. Lena had been found at a crime scene where a car was torched and a
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