Passions of the Dead (A Detective Jackson Mystery/Thriller) by L.J. Sellers Read Free Book Online

morning.
    Evans jumped up and began writing on the board, recounting the details from memory. “Marlyn Beebe heard shouting around eleven. She thinks someone said, ‘I’ll kill you.’ She didn’t recognize the voice as belonging to the family and she referred to the shouter as ‘he.’”
    Jackson added, “Marlyn also noticed when she came home at 7:30 p.m. the Walkers’ Subaru wasn’t in the driveway. It looks like one member of the family was out for part of the evening.”
    “Speaking of cars.” Quince consulted his notes. “A neighbor across the street, Rose Linley, says she saw a light-colored van parked on the street in front of the Walkers’ house. She had gone out sometime after ten o’clock to set her garbage on the curb.”
    “Any details on the van?”
    “Just light colored and probably no windows in the back.”
    “A work van. Like the white one Roy Engall drives.”
    Evans’ marker squeaked across the board as she tried to keep up.
    Jackson thought about the timing. “If Engall was there at ten, why didn’t the shouting start until eleven? What was going on during that hour?”
    “Maybe the visit started friendly, two guys having a beer, then Jared brought up the blackmail,” Schak offered.
    Jackson’s phone rang. It was the medical examiner. “What have you got?”
    “I’m just letting you know we’re doing the post on Carla Walker at 8 a.m. tomorrow. We’ll do Nick and Jared on Wednesday.”
    “Thanks.” Jackson hung up and looked at Quince. “Anything else from the neighbors? Any unusual behavior from the Walkers lately?”
    Quince shook his head. “The neighbors liked the family. They all said Jared and Carla were friendly with them and affectionate with each other.”
    “What about their teenagers?” Jackson asked. “Any complaints?”
    “Occasional loud music when the parents weren’t home, and Nick once put up a skateboard jump in the middle of the cul-de-sac, which nobody liked. Typical kid stuff.
    “Except the family is dead now.” Jackson rubbed his forehead. “What did we get from the house besides the blackmail list?”
    Schak spoke up. “I scanned the e-mails on the computer in the living room and nothing seems unusual. In the last week, the boy sent only one e-mail to a friend, asking about a basketball game. Carla sent out a bunch of job search e-mails with her resume attached, but only two personal communications, one to her sister and one to a woman she used to work with. The father, Jared, doesn’t seem to use the computer.”
    Jackson looked around at the group. “Unless this slaughter was the act of a psychotic stranger, someone in this family likely had some connection to criminals.”
    McCray cut in. “What about the guns? What if it was a robbery gone wrong?”
    “It’s a possibility.” Jackson nodded at Evans; she wrote guns on the board under her motive list. “Yet they didn’t take the case with the rifles or handgun in the cookie jar.”
    “Still, we should look at similar crimes,” McCray pressed.
    “We will. In the meantime, each of you investigate a family member, and I’ll talk to the suspects when they’re brought in.” Jackson gulped some coffee before it got cold. “Evans, take Lori. Start with her friends; find out if she had a boyfriend. I asked the nurse at the hospital if Lori had a cell phone in her clothes, but she wasn’t sure. Will you follow up?” He turned to McCray. “You found the blackmail list so you get Jared. Talk to all of the people he used to work with. Find out what you can about Engall too.”
    Jackson stood, needing to take pressure off his still-tender scar. “Quince, you look into the boy, Nick, and the cousin, Shane. That leaves Carla for you, Schak. If you find anything significant, call me right away. We’ll meet again in the morning at ten, unless you hear otherwise.”
    They wolfed down the rest of their sandwiches and headed out. As Jackson stopped by his desk, his cell phone rang. It was