Read Online Heartsick by Chelsea Cain - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Chelsea Cain
Tags: Fiction, General, Suspense, Psychological, Thrillers, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Detective, Crime, Mystery Fiction, Police, Police Procedural, Women serial murderers, oregon, Women Journalists, Portland (Or.), Police - Oregon - Portland
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cruisers parked out in front of the large institutional-looking brick school. She easily found a spot to park her car on a side street and walked the block back toward the campus, notebook in hand. There was some local news activity. Charlene Wood, of Channel 8, was standing on the corner, interviewing a huddle of teenage girls in tight jeans and puffy coats. About half a block behind her, a man in a bright orange windbreaker was yammering into another microphone. Several teenagers, presumably fresh from extracurricular activities, loitered on the steps of the school, a nervous energy permeating their practiced insouciance. A uniformed police officer and two crossing guards waited with them for parents or friends or buses or some other vessel of safety. On the other side of the river, the sky over the West Hills was ablaze with deep pinks and oranges, but on the east side it just looked gray.
Susan traced a line of vehicles up ahead to a police checkpoint, which was set up at the first intersection past the school. She could see a uniformed officer talking to the driver of the car at the front of the line. Then the officer waved the car through and the next car rolled forward. A large placard was set on a metal easel near the checkpoint. On it, Susan could just make out a photograph of Kristy Mathers and the words HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL?
“Thanks for the question.”
Susan spun around. Archie Sheridan was standing a few steps behind her. He had his badge clipped to the breast pocket of his corduroy blazer and was carrying a red spiral-bound notebook and a paper cup of coffee. He was walking toward the checkpoint.
“I thought you were very convincing,” she said. “With the speech. You’re very intimidating.”
Archie stopped and took a sip of the coffee. “A little posturing can’t hurt.”
“Do you think he’ll see it?”
He shrugged a little. “Probably. It’s a funny tic about serial killers. They generally enjoy the attention of your profession.” A trio of tall teenage boys walked by, and Archie and Susan stepped aside to let them pass. The boys reeked of marijuana.
Susan watched Archie for a reaction. Nothing. “I don’t remember the pot I had in high school being that good,” she said.
“It probably wasn’t.”
“You going to arrest them?”
“For smelling like a class C controlled substance? No.”
Susan surveyed him playfully. “What’s your favorite movie?”
He didn’t have to think about it. “ Band of Outsiders. Godard.”
“Shut up! It’s French. Your favorite movie is French?”
“Is that too haughty?”
“A little, yeah,” Susan said.
“I’ll come up with something better for tomorrow.”
“She’s dead, isn’t she?”
If it was supposed to trick him into reacting, Susan had to admit it didn’t work. But there was a chink. Archie glanced at his shoes so quickly that she would have missed it if she hadn’t been looking so hard at his eyes. He recovered and gave her a wan smile. “We have every hope that she is still alive,” he said without much conviction.
Susan tilted her head toward the commotion at the intersection. “What’s with the roadblock?”
“It’s 6:15 P . M . Kristy’s friends say she left rehearsal at this time, yesterday. We’re stopping everyone who drives this route today between five and seven. If they’re driving past here today at this time, chances are they may have been driving past here at this time yesterday. And they may have seen something. By the way, I got a call from Buddy. Sorry I missed our formal introduction.”
“Buddy? Are you and the mayor, uh, buddies?”
“We worked together,” he said. “But you know that.”
“Is that why you agreed to the series? I mean, I know why Buddy the mayor agreed. He wants to be vice president one day. But you must have had every writer in the country calling you wanting to write your story. Hero Cop Saved from the Jaws of Death.”
Archie took
Susan traced a line of vehicles up ahead to a police checkpoint, which was set up at the first intersection past the school. She could see a uniformed officer talking to the driver of the car at the front of the line. Then the officer waved the car through and the next car rolled forward. A large placard was set on a metal easel near the checkpoint. On it, Susan could just make out a photograph of Kristy Mathers and the words HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL?
“Thanks for the question.”
Susan spun around. Archie Sheridan was standing a few steps behind her. He had his badge clipped to the breast pocket of his corduroy blazer and was carrying a red spiral-bound notebook and a paper cup of coffee. He was walking toward the checkpoint.
“I thought you were very convincing,” she said. “With the speech. You’re very intimidating.”
Archie stopped and took a sip of the coffee. “A little posturing can’t hurt.”
“Do you think he’ll see it?”
He shrugged a little. “Probably. It’s a funny tic about serial killers. They generally enjoy the attention of your profession.” A trio of tall teenage boys walked by, and Archie and Susan stepped aside to let them pass. The boys reeked of marijuana.
Susan watched Archie for a reaction. Nothing. “I don’t remember the pot I had in high school being that good,” she said.
“It probably wasn’t.”
“You going to arrest them?”
“For smelling like a class C controlled substance? No.”
Susan surveyed him playfully. “What’s your favorite movie?”
He didn’t have to think about it. “ Band of Outsiders. Godard.”
“Shut up! It’s French. Your favorite movie is French?”
“Is that too haughty?”
“A little, yeah,” Susan said.
“I’ll come up with something better for tomorrow.”
“She’s dead, isn’t she?”
If it was supposed to trick him into reacting, Susan had to admit it didn’t work. But there was a chink. Archie glanced at his shoes so quickly that she would have missed it if she hadn’t been looking so hard at his eyes. He recovered and gave her a wan smile. “We have every hope that she is still alive,” he said without much conviction.
Susan tilted her head toward the commotion at the intersection. “What’s with the roadblock?”
“It’s 6:15 P . M . Kristy’s friends say she left rehearsal at this time, yesterday. We’re stopping everyone who drives this route today between five and seven. If they’re driving past here today at this time, chances are they may have been driving past here at this time yesterday. And they may have seen something. By the way, I got a call from Buddy. Sorry I missed our formal introduction.”
“Buddy? Are you and the mayor, uh, buddies?”
“We worked together,” he said. “But you know that.”
“Is that why you agreed to the series? I mean, I know why Buddy the mayor agreed. He wants to be vice president one day. But you must have had every writer in the country calling you wanting to write your story. Hero Cop Saved from the Jaws of Death.”
Archie took
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