Hailey's Hog by Andrew Draper

Author:Andrew Draper [Draper, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, biker, harley, womans adventure, thriller action adventure
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Shattering the room’s silence, Smith’s phone rang, the noise penetrating the fog in his brain. He jerked from his deep sleep, ears filled with the concussions of last night’s alcohol binge.

Pulling himself out of bed, he answered the call. Sitting in a leather-covered period armchair under the room’s only window, Smith brought the Chief up to speed, the antique phone heavy in his hand.

Fighting a monumental hangover, he spoke as the pounding in his head continued to torture him. Serves me right. He grimaced.

“We’re digging into Stone’s background now.” he said.

“What do you have linking Grady to Stone?” Matarski asked.

“Not much really, other than the playing cards. I’m waiting for the ballistics report on the casing we found at the Grady scene. YCSO pulled two sets of prints from a whiskey flask found at the park. One set belongs to Stone, the other is still unidentified. It’s just a couple of smudges. I don’t know if we’ll be able to get anything from it. I’m also waiting on a DNA profile from some lipstick found on the flask.”

“Any other connections?” Matarski asked

“None so far. The victims don’t travel in the same circles, but we are still looking for commonalities,” he said. “My gut tells me this is the work of one woman with a serious axe to grind. She’s leaving the cards as a signature. There must be something in the background of both men that connects them to this mystery woman, and it can’t be good.”

“I don’t think these cases are linked. The victims don’t seem like they would know each other. They live hundreds of miles apart and they travel in different social circles. Grady’s an upstanding college athlete and you said this other man’s is just a punk.”

“They don’t have many indicators. That’s true.” Smith admitted.

“Can you trace the cards?”

“We ran it through the database and they are a common brand, available in any corner drug store,” Smith said. “No help there.”

“So, basically, all you really have is your gut feeling and a couple of playing cards that could have come from anywhere,” Matarski questioned harshly. “I can’t tell Senator Grady that his son was associating with known criminals, not to mention telling the press that we have a serial killer in our city, based on your gut. They would crucify me.”

Smith’s pulse jumped a notch, causing the vein in his forehead to pulse in frustration. You ignorant ass! He thought caustically. There’s a serial killer out there and you’re more worried about how you look in the press.

He pulled tight on the reigns of his frustration, barely keeping his temper under control.

“I know these cases are related Chief, we just don’t have irrefutable proof yet, but too many things point that way.”

Matarski cleared his throat loudly. “Make a solid connection between the two cases, or leave Stone to the Yavapai County Sheriff,” he said. “I want you back here today.”

“That’s not enough time. Come on, Chief. I know there’s something more going on here, something we’re missing.

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