The Viper: A Dave Gurney Novel by John Verdon

Author:John Verdon [Verdon, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Crime, Thriller, Mystery
ISBN: 9781640095854
Google: G8uWEAAAQBAJ
Amazon: B0BJNSYKFQ
Barnesnoble: B0BJNSYKFQ
Goodreads: 62592445
Publisher: Counterpoint
Published: 2023-07-18T05:00:00+00:00

42

HE WAS DRIVING THROUGH FROST-COVERED CORNFIELDS a few miles out of Winston when he remembered Kyle’s call. He pulled over into the grassy edge of a pasture.

Checking his phone, he saw that he’d also gotten a call from Kyra Barstow. He chose Barstow first, which said something about his priorities that made him uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough to switch the order.

Her message was brief but promising. “I have answers to your questions. Call me.”

Kyle’s message was more substantive. “Hey, Dad. Got a question for you. Kim Corazon is here in the city, visiting her mom. She called me this morning about getting together. I was wondering, would it be okay for me to bring her up to your place on Thanksgiving? If that would stir up ugly memories of the Good Shepherd case, and you’d rather I didn’t bring her, I’d understand completely. If you have any qualms, just say so, and I’ll come alone. Totally up to you. Love you. See you soon.”

Gurney didn’t think much of Kim Corazon or her insatiable quest for journalistic stardom. Kyle had been involved in an on-and-off relationship with her for a couple of years—“on” when it was convenient for her and “off” when a shiny career opportunity pulled her in another direction.

He called Kyle, got his voicemail, and said, with a conspicuous lack of enthusiasm, that bringing Kim on Thanksgiving would be fine.

Then he called Barstow, who picked up right away, her lilting West Indian accent more pronounced than it had been in her terse message.

“Some good news, David. Regarding the truck and motorcycle tread photos you sent me, the database ID’d the tires, along with several vehicles on which they were factory-installed. Then the truck and the motorcycle sketches you sent me narrowed the possibilities to one truck and one motorcycle—a Ford-150 pickup manufactured between 2014 and 2019, and a Moto Guzzi trail bike manufactured between 2002 and 2012.”

As she spoke, Gurney entered the information in a notebook app on his phone.

“I also made progress with the reptile DNA on your rabbit. I pushed the analysis a little further and narrowed the possibilities down to several snake families, all quite dangerous, each in their own way.”

“When you say, ‘each in their own way’ . . . ?”

“Each of these snake groups has a distinctive aggressive weapon. They fall into two broad categories—venom and constriction.”

“Constriction, as in boa constrictor?”

“Boa constrictors, anacondas, pythons, to name a few.”

“And the venom category would include rattlesnakes, copperheads, et cetera?”

“Exactly. The et cetera, by the way, would include some species far more dangerous than rattlesnakes or copperheads.”

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