Read Online Never Cry Mercy by L. T. Ryan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: L. T. Ryan
Tags: thriller, Suspense, Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure, Crime, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers & Suspense, Thriller & Suspense
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nodding.
"Christ," she said.
"That's right," I said.
"We have to call Vernon." She already had her cell out. The screen flashed on.
I knew it had to be done, and it was probably best that I be there both when the call was made and when the cops showed up. No doubt I would be on the suspect list, given that I'd been staying at the house and no one in the town knew who the hell I was. With the exception of Reese. Vernon already made it clear how much weight that held.
She paused before pressing the send button, looking at me for direction.
"Go ahead," I said. "We need them out here to start working this. The damn storm's gonna make it impossible to get anything from outside."
Reese placed the call. It was quick and professional, with the exception of her having to repeat the main reason for Vernon to get out there as fast as his cruiser could carry him. The shock affected them all.
"You didn't see anything?" she asked.
"I saw lots of stuff," I said. "Doesn't mean I know anything about why this happened or who did it."
"Tell me everything that happened on your way here from my place."
"You interrogating me?" I said.
"No," she said. "But Vernon is likely going to. And I want to hear your answers to make sure you don't incriminate yourself."
"I'm pretty good in the interview room."
"I know. I've interviewed you before. But these people down here, they do things differently. They make it work in their favor, not yours."
"I can handle it."
"Jack, just play along." She grazed my chest with her fingers. "What did you see?"
"I saw that same GMC truck from the garage. I saw the same older guy driving it, and Flagpole Linus sitting in the front seat. Then I backed up a block to avoid them, and came across a group of kids. Ten- and eleven-year-olds, I guess. They were messing with something on the ground. Didn't want me seeing it. One of them got up in my face, and then they ran off with the evidence."
"That could be related." Her cop-brain was working overtime.
"You think a group of pre-teen boys came in here, trashed the living room, killed Herbie, then executed Ingrid? And then, instead of running home or off somewhere to hide, they stand around in plain sight making a fuss over who knows what. And when questioned by an adult, a large one that they'd never seen before, they stand up to me. That makes sense to you?"
"Well, no, not when you put it like that." She ran her hands through her hair. Her shoulders hiked up tight a couple inches as she paced toward the bed and back. "But, I don't know, maybe they saw something?"
"Maybe, but what? I mean, they didn't seem like they witnessed a murder. You and I've both been there. It affects you. Imagine how a kid would take it? Christ, I know I didn't handle it well when Molly was murdered. I wasn't much older than those kids I ran into."
She nodded slightly as she processed it. Then she looked up from the floor. "You know what I want to know?"
"What?"
"Why didn't we hear anything? You should be able to hear a gunshot, let alone two shots, from anywhere in town."
"You know a suppressor would cut down on that."
"Would it?"
"Sure as hell it would, Reese. It's not going to silence the shot like in the movies, but it'd quiet it down to nothing more than a penny clanging into a tin jar. You're not gonna hear that outside."
"Who here would have access to that?"
"Anyone and everyone here could get one. Christ, they could probably make one if they had the right materials. No different than back in New York. If the desire is great enough, there's nothing going to stop them from getting what they want."
Reese walked to the door, stepping wide over the blood stains on the carpet. "There's lots of desire in this town. Too much, perhaps."
Chapter 17
Vernon's cruiser pulled up outside the house the same time we made it back to the kitchen. Staying upstairs any longer would have been a recipe for incrimination. Especially if the killer had been as meticulous as I believed.
Red
"Christ," she said.
"That's right," I said.
"We have to call Vernon." She already had her cell out. The screen flashed on.
I knew it had to be done, and it was probably best that I be there both when the call was made and when the cops showed up. No doubt I would be on the suspect list, given that I'd been staying at the house and no one in the town knew who the hell I was. With the exception of Reese. Vernon already made it clear how much weight that held.
She paused before pressing the send button, looking at me for direction.
"Go ahead," I said. "We need them out here to start working this. The damn storm's gonna make it impossible to get anything from outside."
Reese placed the call. It was quick and professional, with the exception of her having to repeat the main reason for Vernon to get out there as fast as his cruiser could carry him. The shock affected them all.
"You didn't see anything?" she asked.
"I saw lots of stuff," I said. "Doesn't mean I know anything about why this happened or who did it."
"Tell me everything that happened on your way here from my place."
"You interrogating me?" I said.
"No," she said. "But Vernon is likely going to. And I want to hear your answers to make sure you don't incriminate yourself."
"I'm pretty good in the interview room."
"I know. I've interviewed you before. But these people down here, they do things differently. They make it work in their favor, not yours."
"I can handle it."
"Jack, just play along." She grazed my chest with her fingers. "What did you see?"
"I saw that same GMC truck from the garage. I saw the same older guy driving it, and Flagpole Linus sitting in the front seat. Then I backed up a block to avoid them, and came across a group of kids. Ten- and eleven-year-olds, I guess. They were messing with something on the ground. Didn't want me seeing it. One of them got up in my face, and then they ran off with the evidence."
"That could be related." Her cop-brain was working overtime.
"You think a group of pre-teen boys came in here, trashed the living room, killed Herbie, then executed Ingrid? And then, instead of running home or off somewhere to hide, they stand around in plain sight making a fuss over who knows what. And when questioned by an adult, a large one that they'd never seen before, they stand up to me. That makes sense to you?"
"Well, no, not when you put it like that." She ran her hands through her hair. Her shoulders hiked up tight a couple inches as she paced toward the bed and back. "But, I don't know, maybe they saw something?"
"Maybe, but what? I mean, they didn't seem like they witnessed a murder. You and I've both been there. It affects you. Imagine how a kid would take it? Christ, I know I didn't handle it well when Molly was murdered. I wasn't much older than those kids I ran into."
She nodded slightly as she processed it. Then she looked up from the floor. "You know what I want to know?"
"What?"
"Why didn't we hear anything? You should be able to hear a gunshot, let alone two shots, from anywhere in town."
"You know a suppressor would cut down on that."
"Would it?"
"Sure as hell it would, Reese. It's not going to silence the shot like in the movies, but it'd quiet it down to nothing more than a penny clanging into a tin jar. You're not gonna hear that outside."
"Who here would have access to that?"
"Anyone and everyone here could get one. Christ, they could probably make one if they had the right materials. No different than back in New York. If the desire is great enough, there's nothing going to stop them from getting what they want."
Reese walked to the door, stepping wide over the blood stains on the carpet. "There's lots of desire in this town. Too much, perhaps."
Chapter 17
Vernon's cruiser pulled up outside the house the same time we made it back to the kitchen. Staying upstairs any longer would have been a recipe for incrimination. Especially if the killer had been as meticulous as I believed.
Red
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