Busted by Karin Slaughter Read Free Book Online Page A

Will followed. They had about twenty feet of hallway before a turn. He tried to think of a witty rejoinder, but then he turned the corner and saw Amanda.
    She was waiting for them by the nurses’ station. As usual, she was reading something on her phone. She didn’t look up as she asked, “Anything?”
    Will figured it was his turn to take one for the team. “No, ma’am. We’re trying to verify Maw-Maw’s story, but we’re hitting a lot of dead ends.”
    She still didn’t look up. “Talk to that patrolman over there.”
    Faith walked over to the cop. He was so young Will doubted he had to shave more than twice a week. “You have something for us—” Faith read his name off his uniform – “Mixon?”
    “Yes, ma’am.” The cop took off his hat. “Pete was in that store every day at the same time. I was his boot for three months. We went there every single day.”
    Will knew a boot was what they called a patrolman in training. He asked, “Why did he go in there?”
    Mixon didn’t seem to want to answer Will’s question, probably because Will looked like a thug.
    Faith said, “Why did he go there?”
    Mixon was still reluctant, but he finally said, “He was sweet on the girl worked behind the counter.”
    “Seems like a lot of men were,” Faith noted. “Why wasn’t McClendon wearing his vest when he went into the store?”
    Mixon shrugged. “He always had it on when I worked with him.”
    “His logs didn’t report anything suspicious at the store. Did he say something to you? Indicate there might be a problem?”
    “No, ma’am. I’d tell you straight out.” He rolled his hat in his hands like pizza dough. “I was thinking, though, if they cased the place, then they’d know Pete was there at the same time every day. Maybe this was a hit? Something professional set up by one of the gangs?”
    “Did McClendon deal with any gangs?”
    “Well, no, ma’am. His beat cuts through an industrial area. He was mostly called out to break-ins and such. There’s been a ton of robberies around there, usually in the early hours, sometimes late at night. Smash and grab. Real organized. We got our detectives on it, but they ain’t caught nobody yet.”
    Faith had spent the first decade of her career in a squad car. She knew what the pay was like. “Did McClendon have any other jobs? Something he did for extra cash?”
    “I know he taught CPR classes over at Spivey. Some of the teachers wanted to get certified ’cause of all these school shootings.”
    “Spivey,” Faith echoed. “Thank you, Officer. We’ll be in touch if we have any questions.”
    He put his hat back on and headed toward the stairs.
    Faith said, “Pete McClendon worked at Spivey Senior High.”
    As usual, Amanda was a step ahead of them. “According to the principal, Wayne Walker recommended McClendon to teach the CPR course.”
    Will tried to get a handle on where they were. They’d all worked robberies before. Usually it was through familial or community connections that they were able to break open a case. “We’ve got Pete McClendon tied to Wayne Walker through the school, Wayne Walker to Billie Lam through the church, Doug-Ray Pierce to Billie Lam possibly through softball camp, maybe even a teacher-student affair.”
    Faith added, “What about the third man in the back of the truck? Where are we on finding him?”
    “The same place we were three hours ago – clueless.” Amanda sounded exasperated. “Wayne Walker just woke up from surgery. They stopped the bleeding, set his pelvis and both arms, wrapped his ribs, which have been rendered into oatmeal, but he’s refused further treatment.”
    “Can he do that?”
    “This is America. We have a constitutional right to make unhealthy choices.” Amanda started down the hall. They followed. “His fever’s spiked. The gunshot wound was a ricochet, low velocity. It’s just a matter of time.”
    Will knew this was bad news. A high-velocity bullet generated enough heat to