Free Ride (Blanco County Mysteries, #13) by Rehder Ben

Author:Rehder, Ben
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: hunting, game warden, texas, rednecks, zoos
Publisher: Ben Rehder
Published: 2020-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

“I knocked several times and identified myself as a state game warden,” Marlin said, “and I called out for Trevor, but there was no answer. I heard music playing, which meant anybody inside might not be able to hear me. I’d heard the music earlier, as I climbed the steps.”

He was doing his best to remember every detail in the correct order. Wasn’t always easy in a stressful situation like this. He was giving his initial statement to Lauren Gilchrist in her marked SUV, which was parked on the county road in front of Trevor Larkin’s rented mobile home. Deputies had secured the scene. EMS had already come and gone. Now they were waiting on Henry Jameson, the crime-scene technician.

“I went to the window to the left of the front door and looked in. All I saw was a mostly empty bedroom with a few boxes in it. So then I went to the window to the right of the door, and that’s when I saw a body facedown on the floor. He had an obvious injury that resulted in a large bloodstain on the back of his T-shirt. I called dispatch, and then I entered the house through the front door, which was unlocked.”

Bryce Cauley was dead—shot in the chest twice with a large-caliber weapon. It appeared Cauley had been right about Trevor Larkin, who was nowhere to be found. Cauley had apparently skipped work to go to Larkin’s house, but why? Had Marlin’s interview that morning rattled him that much?

How long Bryce had been dead would be a matter for Lem Tucker, but based on Marlin’s estimation, not long. Maybe two or three hours when Marlin had found him.

“Right when I opened the door, I called out again, identifying myself, and got no answer. As I made my way through the house, I didn’t see anybody else inside and I didn’t see anything that struck me as potential evidence. No shell casings or bloody weapons or anything like that. If there was any blood on the floor, I couldn’t see it, but the carpet was in pretty bad shape—lots of stains. And I was in a hurry to get to the victim and confirm his condition.”

Marlin would have to give his statement again at the sheriff’s office, and it would be recorded. Standard procedure.

“I checked the victim—no pulse, no breathing, and he was cool to the touch, or at least not warm. So then I checked the house for any other potential victims. I found nobody else and at that point I—”

Marlin was interrupted by Deputy Ernie Turpin rapping insistently on the driver’s-side window. The expression on Ernie’s face told Marlin something terrible had happened.

Lauren lowered the window and Ernie said, “There’s been a shooting at the Dairy Queen in Blanco. At least two victims.”

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