By Any Means by Chris Culver

Author:Chris Culver
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2014-05-06T04:00:00+00:00

18

Within fifteen minutes, two deputies from the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Department arrived at the hotel. They listened to Ash’s story and then retraced his steps to the barn, where he showed them the body. While one deputy called Mike Bowers to confirm Ash’s identity, the other called Lafayette, the nearest city, and requested assistance. Eventually, one of the deputies let Ash borrow his cell phone to call Hannah. Bowers had picked her up when the exchange went wrong, so she was downtown. She cried a lot, and he told her that he loved her and would come home as soon as he could.

The detectives from Lafayette arrived next. They’d probably end up working the case alongside detectives from Indianapolis, but from all appearances, Rebecca had died in their jurisdiction. They’d receive the blame if the case went awry, so they deserved to know everything he knew. Ash gave them an official statement and then sat on the grass outside the barn as more people arrived. He felt completely hollow, like his emotions had shut down for the day. Captain Bowers and two Indianapolis homicide detectives arrived within an hour, their lights flashing. Detectives Lupo and Pace would stay and work with the locals, but Bowers had come to give Ash a ride home. Thankfully, he didn’t ask Ash what he had seen; he wasn’t ready for that yet. They drove for about half an hour before either man said anything at all.

“Are you going to be okay to drive if I drop you off at your car, or do you want me to take you home?”

The outskirts of the city lay twenty miles ahead of them, but homes and businesses had already begun dotting the cornfields as the suburbs encroached on what had perennially been farmland. Ash rubbed his eyes.

“Just take me home. Hannah will take me to pick up the car tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

Ash looked out the window but didn’t say anything for a few moments. “I used to tell myself that this job would get easier the longer I stayed in it.”

Bowers looked at him for a moment. “It doesn’t. The memories accumulate,” he said. “They ought to put that in the training manuals they hand out at the academy.”

“Honesty probably wouldn’t be good for recruitment,” said Ash. He paused before speaking again. “Those assholes in the van took my wallet. Before we get to my house, can you loan me a few bucks and take me by a drugstore along the way?”

“Of course. What do you need to get?”

“Something that’ll help me sleep.”

“Sure.”

Ash directed Bowers to a twenty-four-hour pharmacy about two blocks from his house where he bought a pint of cheap bourbon in a plastic bottle. He felt dirty doing it, but he knew that without it, he’d break down. He didn’t want to see Rebecca when he closed his eyes that night. He didn’t want that pain or that memory. He wanted to feel numb. Bowers drove him back to the house, where Hannah sat on the front porch, waiting for them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.