Organized for Homicide (Organized Mysteries Book 2) by Ritter Ames Read Free Book Online Page B

arm around his daughter's shoulders, and she clasped her father at the waist.
    Everything became clear a second later, when the gurney was raised again, and the body wheeled to the ambulance, a sheet covering the victim from head to toe. Collier took a couple of blind steps backward, and Constable Banks grabbed his arm to steady him.
    Banks turned then and waved to the other officer. "Can you take these two ladies into the house and put them in separate rooms until I can get their stories?" Then he turned to Collier. "Sir, I'm sorry, but I have some bad news."
    The officer motioned for the women to follow, and they did so quickly, still sharing the blanket wrapped around their shoulders. The last thing Kate wanted to see at this point was the reaction of Collier or Sydney when they finally absorbed the news. She was still having difficulty processing it herself. Not just the fact she 'd assumed Erin from the jeans and pink T-shirt, but because she couldn't fathom why Lila would even be at the house when the family wasn't there. Could she have come back to get something that had sentimental meaning for her? Something Collier wouldn't let her have when she asked? And who had been the hooded person? Someone dressed like Sydney. And the teen was tall, but…
    She and Meg had watched Lila 's head get pulled back by the hair and the hoodie person run something across her throat just before pushing her over. When Kate flashed on the image of the object, she realized the person in the hood took the object back into the house and likely carried it when sprinting away from the scene. What was it?
    If only the hour wasn 't so late. If they could have had more light they might have seen exactly what transpired and what was carried away… No, she couldn't beat herself up over this. The details weren't distinct enough because the killer chose this hour for that specific reason.
    " Officer, there's something you may need to know sooner than later."
    The group stopped on the front porch, and Kate told the officer about the object the murderer carried off. "My concern is the weapon was taken away and may have been discarded as the person ran."
    " But you can't describe the object?"
    " No."
    " Maybe," Meg said. "It reflected light for just an instant while the murderer stood on the balcony, so I assumed it was made of metal. Maybe four or five inches extended past the person's hand, so likely there was a handle on some sort of knife. But that's just a guess. I only truly saw the weapon when the person used it on the balcony. When the killer ran away, I only saw an inch or two below the fingers, so I don't know exactly what shape it really was." She shook her head, then added, "No, forget that. I really don't know. I'm probably just trying to fill in blanks with guesses."
    The officer pushed open the door with an elbow and ushered the women inside. "That's one of the problems with these kinds of events. People start thinking about them and then imagine how things might have been, instead of what everything really was."
    " Which is why you want to put us into separate rooms, so we can't talk and start thinking new angles."
    " Right." He stopped and looked around the foyer. "Do you know this house? Is there a good place for you two to be?"
    Meg waved toward the kitchen. "We came to get my phone from the counter and close the blinds, but I for one don't want to go in there and see things up close and personal through those large windows."
    " Good point. Stay here, and I'll go grab your phone." A second later he was back and flashing Meg's iPhone. "I'm assuming this is it. I see you and your family front and center on the screen."
    " Thanks." Meg flashed a smile. "I need to call them and tell them why I haven't returned home yet. I think I'll just forget the rest of the calls I planned to make tonight."
    Her comment made Kate mentally wake up. "And I need to tell Jane to keep the girls. Maybe they can stay the night. Do you think this will go late,