Judgment Call by J. A. Jance Read Free Book Online Page A

wash, which is about two miles north of your current location.”
    â€œThe high school principal?” Deb asked.
    â€œThat’s the one. So this will be a joint investigation,” Joanna explained. “Chief of Police Bernard is sending Matt Keller, his only detective. Due to budget cuts, the city had to lay off all their forensics folks. Fortunately, we’ve still got ours. So we’ll be handling all the crime scene and forensic lines of inquiry. And since you’re the first to arrive, you’ll be lead investigator.”
    Deb was the greenest of Joanna’s three detectives. With a high-profile school principal involved, Debra Highsmith’s murder was bound to garner plenty of publicity. Someone else might have opted for a more senior investigator, but Joanna thought that leading the charge on this one might help give Deb some much-needed street cred. In order for Detective Howell to carry her weight inside the department, people on the outside needed to know that she was capable of doing the job. This case was her chance to prove it.
    â€œThe tow truck’s here,” Deb reported.
    â€œCrap,” Joanna said. “I was hoping Casey Ledford would show up first. Ask the driver to hold off until Casey has a chance to dust the doors and door handles as well as the steering wheel, gearshift, and emergency-brake handle for prints.”
    Deb was off the line for a moment. In the background Joanna could hear her negotiating with the tow truck driver. Eventually she came back on the phone.
    â€œHe’s not happy about it, but I told him this is a homicide investigation. He’ll wait. I didn’t exactly give him a choice.”
    â€œGood,” Joanna said. As far as Sheriff Brady was concerned, in dealing with the tow truck driver, Detective Howell had just passed her first test in being lead investigator.
    â€œWhile you’re waiting, you might have a look around the general area,” Joanna said.
    â€œIsn’t this still a long way from the actual crime scene?”
    â€œYes, but it looked to me like whoever was driving the Passat spent some time and effort trying to get it out of the sand. While he was concentrating on that, he might have inadvertently dropped something that would help us identify him.”
    â€œYou believe the killer was leaving the scene when the car got hung up?”
    â€œYes,” Joanna replied.
    â€œWhere’d he go from here and how did he do it—on foot?”
    Joanna didn’t bother pointing out Deb’s sexist assumption that the killer was male, because she shared the same opinion.
    â€œTerry Gregovich and Spike are on their way,” Joanna said. “If he did walk away, I’m hoping Spike and Terry will be able to pick up the scent.”
    â€œYour place is the closest one to where the car is,” Deb said. “Do you think he might have gone there?”
    â€œI doubt it. At least I hope not,” Joanna said. “Still, you might have a uniformed deputy stop by Carol Sunderson’s place and ours and take a look around the outbuildings just in case he did head there and hunker down for the night.” The idea that an unsuspecting Jenny could have walked into the tack room that morning and come face-to-face with a killer was chilling.
    â€œI’ll get right on it,” Deb said. “Casey just showed up. And the M.E. I need to go.”
    â€œI’m almost there,” Joanna said. “I can see the tow truck.”
    By the time she finished that last sentence, Detective Howell was long gone. Joanna trudged on. It was only a little past eight, but she felt as if she’d been up for hours. This was April, and the Arizona sun was giving a clear warning that summer was coming. She was hot, dusty, sweaty, and thirsty. She had a bottle of water in the back of her Yukon. Right at that moment, Joanna needed the water bottle in her hand, not in her vehicle.
    She crossed the wash in