Read Online Murder Mountain by Stacy Dittrich - Free Book Online

course Isabelle was playing in.
    “Hi, Mommy! I playin’ in the dirt!” she said.
    I went over and gave her a kiss on one of the few clean spots on her face. Eric had brought me a folding aluminum lawn chair, which I promptly sat down in.
    “Hey, baby, what took so long?” he asked as I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
    I gave him a play-by-play of the Lizzie Johnston case—what I had done, and what I learned today. I interrupted my narrative with numerous breaks during which we cheered for Selina. Eric sat for a while when I’d finished, mulling the whole thing over.
    “That guy is full of shit,” he decided at last. “I can’t believe you, of all people, would buy into that garbage. And not to mention, if that were true, the DEA would be all over that case, because don’t think he’s the only one that’s ever talked about this before. I’m sure there have been plenty of leaks before now, especially if it’s been going on this long.” He sounded totally confident, and I admired his judgment enormously, but I wasn’t convinced he was right.
    “Maybe not,” I said. “Maybe the people that are suspected of leaks get fired, like Matt said. Anyway, there’s ways to prove or disprove his story, which I’m working on. If I find out it looks like he’s telling the truth, then I’ll probably have a couple of homicides on my hands.”
    “If that story is true, you’ll have to call the DEA or FBI anyway.”
    “So, that doesn’t mean it’s their case, especially if these girls were killed here. I don’t care if these people are shipping a semi-truck full of meth every day, my homicides will supersede their drug case, unless they want to roll it all together, but, as far as I’m concerned, it is my case and I won’t call the FBI or DEA in until I’m told to.” I said this pretty defensively.
    Confirming my fears that I’d given myself away, Eric smiled maddeningly and asked, “Why are you getting so defensive?” in a mild voice.
    “I’m not. I’m just telling you the way it is,” I said defensively.
    We watched the rest of the game in silence, except for our cheers, and congratulated Selina on her win when it was over. The game lasted longer than usual, which meant we had to hurry home so Eric could get ready for work. I gave the girls baths, making sure that Isabelle soaked for an extra half an hour, and told them they could stay up later than usual if they wanted to. Selina’s last day of school had been the day before, so she was excited, telling me she would try to stay up the entire night. I told her if that’s what she wanted to do, have at it. She’d never be able to come close.
    Isabelle was asleep within fifteen minutes, and Selina lasted forty-five. I smiled as I watched them sleep, reminding myself that they were the most precious things in my life.
    Eric had already left for work, so I took this quiet time to collect my thoughts and to try to figure out what my plans would be for the next day.
Maybe Eric was right,
I thought;
maybe I should call in the FBI or DEA,
but I didn’t want to do that too early the investigation. If it turned out that everything Hensley’d told me was bullshit, I’d wind up looking like an ass if I called the feds in too soon. That had happened to me more times in my career than I cared to think about, and I didn’t care to have it happen again.
    I decided to contact the Missing Persons Unit first in the morning to see if they had files on any other missing women who might be tied to this case, as a check-up on Hensley’s story.

Chapter Three
    I woke up earlier than usual the next morning and just decided to start my day then. As soon as I got to work, I gathered all my paperwork and headed for the Missing Persons Unit. I had already decided to contact Detective Nick Crosby, who has been with the department for over twenty years, the last ten spent in missing persons. Nick is an exceptional detective and has had numerous opportunities to