Pendergast 20 Bloodless by Douglas Preston

Author:Douglas Preston
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: None
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2021-08-17T00:00:00+00:00

39

WE’VE GOT A BIT of a shitshow on our hands,” Delaplane told the group assembled in the Savannah PD briefing room. Sheldrake was at her side, and Coldmoon sat unobtrusively with Pendergast in the back as the commander reviewed the case. “You saw, or heard about, the scene at the cemetery. And no doubt you saw the national news this morning, with those ghost photos on every news channel. We need to show some progress here, people.”

They were pretty damn unsettling pictures, Coldmoon thought, and he wondered how that German guy, Moller, had pulled off that level of fakery. Assuming they were fakes. He’d caught the beginning of Moller’s dog-and-pony show in the cemetery, before Pendergast had dragged him away. Now he wished they’d stuck around.

Delaplane went through a brief summary of the case so far, making notations on a whiteboard. Sheldrake spoke for a few minutes about its unusual and contradictory aspects—including a brief mention of the logistics of moving the victims from where they were attacked to where the bodies were found.

As they were finishing up, there was a stir at the door. Coldmoon glanced over. A group of men in dark suits had walked in, led by a boss man in dark glasses. He’s either a politician or mobbed up, thought Coldmoon as the man strode toward the front of the room as if he owned the place. A camera crew also appeared in the doorway and were filming—not the jackasses doing the documentary, but another crew evidently towed in by the boss guy.

Delaplane stared at the intruders and then—in a voice that wasn’t exactly warm with welcome—said: “Welcome, Senator.”

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” said the man, turning to the group of police officers and flashing a smile of the whitest, straightest teeth Coldmoon had ever seen. He sported an artificial tan, hair implants, and, Coldmoon guessed, a face lift. The man was built like a linebacker, his suit straining at the seams, movie-star handsome, midfifties. His only drawback was a nose with a spiderweb of veins. “I’m here in my capacity as the senior senator of the great state of Georgia to offer our assistance in getting this heinous case solved.” He looked at the camera with a smile. “I’m a strong supporter of local law enforcement, one hundred percent.” He turned again and addressed Delaplane. “How is the investigation going, Commander?”

“We were just finishing a briefing on new developments in the case,” she said.

“Are there new developments?”

“We’re working on a number of lines of inquiry,” said Delaplane evenly.

“I’m glad to hear that, because naturally I’ve been concerned.” He paused. “As you know, I’ll be holding an outdoor campaign rally in Forsyth Park tomorrow night.”

“We’re well aware of that, Senator. We’re providing security.”

“That’s the issue right there: security. I know you’ve all been working overtime on this case, but as you can see, it’s now become a national story, and it isn’t exactly casting a favorable light on either your city or our state. We need to see some real progress on getting this solved—before the rally.

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