Placebo: A Jevin Banks Novel by James Steven

Author:James, Steven [James, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC030000, thriller, Mystery, FIC031000, Science Fiction, Suspense, Horror
ISBN: 9781441240088
Goodreads: 16603900
Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company
Published: 2012-11-01T07:00:00+00:00

Bloody Soil

The sheriff’s department deputies question me about the assailant, and I walk three of them to the place where Glenn Banner’s body lies sprawled on a bed of soggy, bloody pine needles. They ask me to explain what happened, talk them through the fight, and I do. Blow by blow.

Two of them jot notes while the third, a man with a snarled brown mustache whose name tag reads Jacobs, slowly circles the body, taking photographs with his mobile phone. I figure I don’t need to tell them about the pictures in Banner’s wallet. They’ll find them soon enough.

I’m finishing recounting what happened when Deputy Jacobs begins to go through Banner’s pockets.

He locates the phone, the note, the keys, the newspaper page, the wallet. He flips it open and after a moment pulls out the photographs.

Pauses.

He quietly calls the other men over, and the three of them go through the photographs of the dead and mutilated bodies one at a time. A dark, uncertain storm of shock and fury seems to settle all around us in the small clearing.

I wait for them to finish.

Honestly, I’m unsure how much they’ll want to question me, or even if they might take me to the station or arrest me. After all, a man is dead, and I was the one fighting him when he died. I have no idea what the legal ramifications might be, but the longer I stand here, the more I begin to wonder.

Finally, one of the officers, a looming, sloping-shouldered man with a stern face, turns to me. “Looks like you’re lucky to be alive.”

“Yes.”

I wait to see what will happen next. He folds his notebook shut, turns to Jacobs. “Walk Mr. Banks back to the center. He needs to have those EMTs take a look at that contusion on his head.” Then he addresses me again. “And Mr. Banks . . .”

Okay. Here we go.

“Yes?”

“Looks like you saved us some trouble here, saved the taxpayers a lot of money. I’m sure as questions arise, we’ll be in touch.” Without another word, he puts away the notepad, turns back to the body, and Deputy Jacobs motions for me to return with him up the hill.

It takes a moment for the facts of the situation to settle in, but then it strikes me that although there’ll undoubtedly be more questions to answer and probably sheaves of paperwork to fill out, for now it looks like the officers aren’t going to give me a hard time about Banner’s death.

Instead the tall officer had essentially thanked me for getting Banner off their hands.

I’m a bit surprised by my initial thought, but in the end I agree with it: Actually, you know what, Deputy? It was my pleasure.

Jacobs trudges beside me as we ascend the muddy hill. “They’ll probably want to take you to the hospital. Check you over.”

Actually, that wouldn’t be bad. It would give me a chance to see how Tanbyrn is doing.

And get your ribs X-rayed. A fractured one could puncture your lung.

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