Storm Walk by Melissa Bowersock

Author:Melissa Bowersock [Bowersock, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781090790996
Publisher: New Moon Publishing
Published: 2019-03-15T22:00:00+00:00

~~~

THIRTEEN

Lacey glanced around the corner of the building. Sam was right. A two-ton pickup just pulled onto the lot, towing a trailer with a bulldozer on it. As Lacey watched, the driver set the brake and hopped out of the truck to unload the ‘dozer.

“Stall him,” Lacey told Sam. “Tell him he can’t do that. This is still an active crime scene.”

Sam arched an eyebrow at her. “That investigation was closed,” he said.

“We’re reopening it. Hello? Yes, I need to speak to Detective Gorman, please.”

As Lacey waited, she watched Sam walk out to the front to hail the truck driver. She took up a stance by the drainpipe and wondered if Sam had any rope in his tool bag. They might need to tie themselves to the drainpipe to protect it from the ‘dozer.

Ugh.

“Detective Gorman,” a clipped male voice said.

“Hi. My name is Lacey Fitzpatrick and I’m a private investigator. I’ve been hired to look into the roof collapse of the warehouse owned by Ray Gibbons, and I have the police report showing you were the lead detective on it. I’d very much like to have you come down to the site. My partner and I have uncovered new evidence that changes the conclusion drastically.”

The words tumbled out in a torrent. Between her pent-up anger and her anxiety over the bulldozer, she couldn’t take time for small talk.

She explained briefly about the process that led them to the discovery of the blocked drain—leaving out any mention of ghosts. All that mattered to the LAPD was the physical evidence, the hard facts. She was gratified to hear Gorman’s, “Uh huh,” over and over as he jotted notes.

“And you’re on site right now?” he asked finally.

“Yes,” she said. “And there’s a man here with a bulldozer. Gibbons told us he was anxious to clear the lot so he could start rebuilding, so I really need you here like ten minutes ago.”

She could tell Sam was still talking to the driver, but even so, the man continued his work of unchaining the ‘dozer from the trailer. In just a few minutes, the behemoth machine would be ready to go to work.

She heard a quiet chuckle over the phone. “I’m on my way.”

She exhaled with relief. As soon as she keyed off the call, she switched to camera mode and began taking massive amounts of pictures: wide shots, close shots, the gaping hole with the black gunk hanging out, both splash guards, anything she could think of in case the physical evidence was destroyed.

The sound of the ‘dozer roaring to life stopped her.

She shoved her phone in her pocket and rushed to the front. The driver was up on the ‘dozer, pushing buttons, pulling levers, and black smoke puffed from the high exhaust. Sam was waving his arms and calling out to him, but his words were lost amid the grumbling roar of the huge machine. The driver backed the ‘dozer off the trailer and pivoted it toward the building.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, Lacey thought.

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