Driven by W. G. Griffiths Read Free Book Online Page A

craft.”
    Gavin turned toward the beach and saw the seaplane the cop was speaking of. It looked more like a big kite than a plane. Thepilot was kicked back in one of the craft’s two seats, arms folded, watching the Marine Patrol recover the sailboat.
    Gavin’s attention detoured to an unmarked car that had stopped just behind the perimeter tape. He could see Detective Chris
     Grella through the windshield. Finally! Maybe now he could get some answers. Chris had been on vacation for two of the longest
     weeks in Gavin’s life and Gavin was glad to see him back. The man was a good friend and a good cop. A hard worker, too, running
     his own business of emptying construction-site Dumpsters when he wasn’t on duty. Gavin didn’t know how his friend functioned
     on the little sleep he got, but Chris was always alert and chipper, a devoted friend who came to Gavin’s aid without hesitation
     whenever the need arose.
    “Hey, Gav! What are you doing here?” Chris said with a smile as he got out of the car.
    “When did you get back?” Gavin said, figuring Chris would not have asked that question if he’d heard about the aquarium crash
     and Grampa’s death. Chris knew how close Gavin was to Grampa.
    “Just this morning,” he said as his gaze wandered past Gavin to the shoreline. Gavin watched Chris’s jaw drop. “Good grief!
     What happened?”
    “
Who
happened might be more like it.”
    Chris turned back to Gavin. “An EDP?”
    “No!” Gavin shot back. He didn’t want the killer classified as an Emotionally Disturbed Person. An EDP would officially require
     more sensitivity and understanding than Gavin was willing to give. They were looked upon as extremely dangerous and unpredictable,
     while at the same time insane enough to escape responsibility for their actions. As far as Gavin was concerned, this psycho
     was going to pay with his life.
    “What was he on? Missile fuel?”
    “That and beer. There’re cans all over the car.”
    “I hope one of ’em’s cold,” Chris replied.
    Normally Gavin might have followed up that smart remark with one of his own. But the likelihood that this was the same lunatic
     who had killed his grandfather had sucked the life from what little sense of humor he had.
    “Chris, I need a big favor,” he said. “I need for you to request I partner up with you on this if it turns out to be who I
     think it is.”
    “Fine with me. Why?”
    “I’ll explain after we check out the scene. If the missing driver’s who I think he is, I want him.”
    Chris’s eyes narrowed. “You know I’ll do whatever I can, but the lieutenant might not go for it. If he feels it’s a revenge
     thing…”
    “You can tell him you need me to help you catch up. I’m already involved with a Detective Rogers in Brooklyn on this one.
     I was there when this driver crashed into the aquarium’s whale tank.” Chris’s eyes widened. “I’ll tell you about it later.
     But you have to tell the lieutenant to take me off the charts. There’s no way I can give this case the proper focus if I’m
     saddled with other cases.”
    Chris took a moment before answering. “If this turns out to be your guy, we are thinking of handcuffs as a first option, right?”
    Gavin didn’t smile. He didn’t even blink.
    “Okay, okay,” Chris said, raising his hands slightly in surrender. “I’ll tell him whatever you want, but the lieutenant’s
     a pretty good detective himself.”
    “We’ll talk. Right now I have to get down to that car,” Gavin said, seeing the boat was almost at the dock.
    As the two men made their way to the floating tragedy, Gavin heard the familiar sound of a helicopter. He looked back over
     his head as the chopper made a low pass, like a vulture sizing up its evening meal.
    “The media,” Chris sighed. “This is the kind of stuff they dream of. They’re probably dispatching ground crews right now.
     Betterwatch the tape line. We’re gonna have some pushy company soon,” he said