Haunting Whispers by V. K. Powell

Author:V. K. Powell [Powell, VK]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781602826298
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
Published: 2012-01-09T01:46:05+00:00

Chapter Twelve

The next morning Rae checked the area around her car for signs of the vandal. She didn’t find any indication he’d touched her car as he slashed the tires. He was certainly brazen. Light flooded the parking lot at night, and anyone who was looking could easily see an intruder. Usually no one was. People in the relatively safe neighborhood minded their own business.

She moved to the back garden. The bloody rock used to assault her lay near the kitchen door. In the mushy ground around the side window, she saw two footprints that bore no distinguishing marks. She snapped a couple of quick photos of the window damage on her cell phone and texted them to her insurance agent. At the last minute she took one of the prints too. Might as well be thorough.

While Rae waited for AAA to replace her slashed tires, she called the forensics weapons analyst on contract with the department. Barry Hewitt answered on the first ring.

“Barry, it’s Rae Butler. I know it’s Saturday, but—”

“You’ve got something that can’t wait, right?” Barry’s gruff tone belied the gentle giant who lurked beneath the surface. His stare alone was enough to quiet the most boisterous recruit in his forensics segment at the academy. He and Rae had a great working relationship based on dedication and a respectable dose of perfectionism.

“Actually, no. I wanted to get on your schedule. I’d like you to look at some injury photos and see if you can narrow down the type of weapon. It doesn’t have to be today.”

“I understand. Where are you? I can be there in fifteen minutes.”

The light bulb went off in Rae’s head. “I’m at home…oh, I see. Susan has you looking at wallpaper and paint for the nursery renovation, doesn’t she?”

“Exactly, see you there.”

A few minutes later, Barry whipped into the parking lot like he’d been on a high-speed chase. “I’m glad you called,” he said as he lumbered to her door. Barry was over six feet tall with a hefty build that hadn’t seen much exercise. As he walked by her car, he looked at the tires then back at her.

“Vandals,” she said in response to the implied question.

“Case related?”

“Nah, kids, I think.”

“Sucks.”

Cops had a way of saying exactly what needed to be said with the least amount of exertion. One word with the proper inflection, facial expression, or body twitch spoke volumes. Others often found the language clipped and abrasive. They understood each other perfectly.

“Is Susan pissed?” Rae asked.

“Yeah, she’ll get over it.” The cavalier attitude didn’t fool Rae. He adored his wife and went out of his way to give her everything she wanted. Indifference to emotions and all things domestic seemed a trademark of male cops, especially with each other. “What you got?”

Rae led the way to her study and pointed to the wound photos tacked to her case board. “Four assaults, same suspect, occurred over a year’s time. The victims all survived.” Rae knew Barry preferred minimal details so no one else’s opinion would color his interpretation of the evidence.

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.