Nailed by Joseph Flynn Read Free Book Online Page A

with a hard smile, as if she’d just humbled the neighborhood bully. “I only wish I’d had sulfuric acid in my canister.”
    She then proceeded to describe in detail the events of that morning.
    “How are you able to recall so precisely where the attack occurred?” Ron wanted to know.
    “I parked my car at the scenic overlook at Alpine Glen, the way I always do. I run a seven and a half minute mile. When the cat ran back into the woods and I started back to my car, I looked at my watch. Ten minutes had passed since I’d started out. Ergo I’d run about a mile and a third, minus a little for the time the actual confrontation lasted.”
    She grinned and added again, “I really kicked his ass.”
    “What was the animal’s coloration, Ms. Mallory? And did you notice any unusual markings or features?”
    Mary Kaye looked inward, remembering. A slight trembling started in both of her feet that she didn’t seem to notice: the subconscious urge of the body to flee from the power of the memory. The first sign of a chink in her bravado. Ron decided to ask again at the end of the interview if there was anyone he could contact for her.
    “He was the usual tawny brown color. The eyes, I remember the eyes — I don’t think I’ll ever forget them — were a malignant yellow.” She furrowed her brow in concentration. “And above the … the left eye he had a jagged scar.”
    The tremor in her feet started working its way up her body. Ron knew he had to ask the rest of his questions before she got too upset.
    “Can you estimate the lion’s size?” He realized he was asking the same questions he’d ask if the assailant had been human, but that was what he knew.
    Mary Kaye Mallory’s teeth started to chatter as she considered the question, and that was when she became aware of the dread that had slipped past the drawbridge of her conscious mind. It was also when Ron saw just how strong this woman was. She might actually have been somebody’s kid sister, but she needed no one to watch out for her. The look of determination that came into her eyes was so fierce that he had no problem understanding her professional success. She made a tooth-grinding effort to master her fear. A long moment and several controlled breaths later her trembling stopped.
    Then she exhaled deeply and said, “It’s just a guess, but I’d have to say he was about a hundred and forty pounds. Average for males of his species, from what I’ve read.”
    Ron said, “You keep referring to the animal in masculine terms. Did you actually notice its … gender?”
    Now, Mary Kaye Mallory grinned. “No, I didn’t. It just helps me to think of the bastard as male. Does such sexism offend you, Chief Ketchum?”
    Ron shook his head.
    “You’ve probably got it right, Ms. Mallory.”
    At that moment, a man of about Ron’s age poked his head into the enclosure. “I called your office and heard what happened,” he said to Mary Kaye. “May I come in? The nurse told me you’re leaving for San Francisco soon. If you like, I can accompany you.”
    A repeat of the smile she’d mistakenly given Ron was all the answer he needed. He stepped to the side of the bed and took Mary Kaye’s hand. She squeezed his in return.
    Apparently, Ms. Mallory had the good sense to recognize that not all males were bastards.
    Ron slipped away unnoticed.
     
    As Ron entered the roll call room at police headquarters, the sixteen available officers of Goldstrike’s finest snapped to attention at Oliver Gosden’s crisp command. They held the rigid posture as the chief stepped behind the lectern where Sergeant Stanley usually stood. He regarded his ten men and six women individually and then put them at ease.
    There was no need to ask whether Oliver had briefed them and handed out copies of the victim’s likeness, so he started right in.
    “A man was killed in our town last night. He died very badly. If the killer hasn’t fled our jurisdiction, we are going to catch him. We