Double Indemnity (Jo Crowder Detective Series) by Richard Zappa

Author:Richard Zappa [Zappa, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Crime Thriller, Detective Mystery
Publisher: AIA Publishing
Published: 2022-07-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Sirens blared from a distance. The sheriff and a deputy arrived in separate vehicles. A firetruck and ambulance completed the caravan to the scene.

“That’s some response time,” Crowder said, standing next to Patch while Hill was on his knees giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. “The driver must have called it in. He saw what happened to his buddy.”

They’d found Patch lying there not breathing, his trouser bottoms still smoldering. Hill had felt for a pulse and, unsure that he had one, decided to do the assistive breathing part of CPR.

Patch coughed. Though alive and conscious, he was paralyzed by pain and fear.

Crowder had seen third-degree burns before. Victims of arson. She was familiar with the protocols that would be followed at the scene—airway checked, oxygen given, IV started for hydration and sedation, loose clothing cut off, and immediate transport to the nearest hospital with a burn unit. He had multiple burn sites—on the arms, hands, legs and chest. Patch was looking ahead to a lengthy hospitalization and multiple skin grafts.

Hanson law enforcement stayed back by their vehicles, allowing the EMTs to work on Patch. When they approached, Crowder briefed the first responders on Patch’s gunshot wound. She’d checked for an exit wound and, finding none, knew the bullet was still lodged in his shoulder. The burns were obvious and needed no explanation. She thought it best to say nothing else about the incident.

A paramedic took Hill and Crowder’s vital signs, which were stable. Hill allowed her to snap his shoulder back in place and put his arm in a sling. Both declined further treatment and hospital evaluations.

The sheriff came over after talking to the EMTs who’d attended to Patch’s injuries.

“Ambulance people tell me you claim to be law officers,” the sheriff said gruffly. “You got the credentials to prove it?”

The question came from Buford Jackson, Jr., Hanson’s elected sheriff. Junior’s next term would best his father’s six four-year terms. Hill had warned Crowder that their paths might cross when he briefed her on the mission. The bull-necked, pot-bellied lawman’s question was directed to Hill, and spoken with a southern drawl as thick as overcooked grits.

“Sure, sheriff,” Hill replied. “They’re in the duffle bags in the trunk of our car.” Hill turned his head in the direction of a black hunk of smoldering metal that had once been a motor vehicle.

Crowder liked the sarcasm but knew it wouldn’t impress the sheriff.

“Boy, right now I have only your say about that,” he shot back.

Jackson’s language and attitude were familiar to Crowder. She spoke up, hoping to defuse the situation, as she’d done with Patch in the bar. “Sheriff, this is Special Agent Alex Hill of the FBI. I’m Lieutenant Jo Crowder, a homicide detective with the New Orleans PD. Our superiors will confirm that when you call them.”

“Sure will, little lady,” Jackson said condescendingly. “As soon as I git both of you back to town and process you through the system. My information is that you are newspaper people who engaged in

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