The Chilling Spree by LS Sygnet Read Free Book Online

date,
Helen.  Do you know if it was foul play or not?”
    “Yeah,” I said, “it’s most certainly
something we have to investigate.  I need bodies down here to
search for a victim.  Forsythe estimates that we’ve got most
of his or her blood in a speaker box.  No sign of the body
yet.  How soon can you call in the troops?”
    “I’ll call dispatch.  Helen, I feel
that there’s something you should know in advance.  Darnell
called me –”
    “Too late, Shelly,” I muttered.
    “Johnny’s there already?”
    “Uh huh.  Listen, OSI is going to work
the case with us.  Something about state funding of the
arts.  Dev and I will keep you posted.”
    “You know, it’s technically Briscoe and
Conall’s night on duty, Helen.  If you and Devlin would rather
bow out and let them take over, I can send them down.”
    I gnawed the inside of my lower lip. 
On one hand, any reason to continue to avoid Johnny – at least
after his angry confrontation – looked pretty damned
appealing.  Add to that, Devlin had a personal history with
the guy I figured either knew the most information about how
someone could bleed out backstage at a concert or was the primary
suspect in the case.  Orion had given me the perfect out.
    “Shelly, Devlin and I weren’t expecting to
be hauled out of the concert on a night off.  Honestly, I
wouldn’t mind if we hand this one off.  Did Darnell give you
any information that Dev related to him?”
    “Yeah,” she said.  “I think I agree
with that decision.  I’ll send Crevan and Tony over
there.  You and Devlin should leave Johnny in charge until
they arrive.”
    “He’s right here.  Why don’t you tell
him, Shelly?  I’m not sure he’d take my word for it at the
moment.”
    I thrust my phone into Johnny’s hand and
watched the tension draw his face so taut, I half expected bones to
start shattering. 
    “Fine,” he muttered.  “For the time
being at least.  God forbid she’s not comfortable.”
    I glimpsed Devlin out of the corner of my
eye and left my phone with Johnny.  “Shelly’s giving the case
to Briscoe and Crevan.  They’ll work it with OSI.”
    “What?  Why?  Helen, we were first
on the scene –”
    My eyes begged.  “Please, Dev. 
Either way, Orion is butting into this case.  I can’t deal
with it.  If you want to stick around, fine.  I’ll call a
cab or something –”
    “Don’t be ridiculous.”  One hand slid
up my arm.  “Did he say something to you?”
    “Yeah, but I don’t want to talk about
it.  Shelly’s fine with us walking on this one.  Given
your history with Underwood, it’s probably not a bad idea. 
And working with… well, it’s a really bad idea at the moment.”
    “Okay.”  His index finger curled and
tipped my chin upward.  “You wanna leave now, or do you want
to see if we can see the rest of the show?”
    “I’d rather get out of here.” 
Antarctica seemed like a safer place at the moment, but I didn’t
share that information with Devlin.  “Would you do me a favor
and get my phone from Johnny?  I’m gonna find a
bathroom.  I’ll meet you at the west entrance and we can go to
my place.”
    “You’re leaving?”  Swanson interrupted
our plans.  “Aw, c’mon.  You guys have VIP’s to the after
party.  You won’t want to miss it.  If you’re worried
about getting back to the throng down front, we can have you
escorted ahead of the barricade that holds the rest of the crowd at
bay.”
    Devlin glanced at me, those boyish eyes
gleaming with hope.  I sighed.  It was his favorite band
after all.  “Why not?” I murmured.  “Although I’m not
sure there’s going to be a great after party tonight.  The
police are sending more cops to investigate what clearly appears to
be a crime scene, Mr. Swanson.  The last thing they’ll allow
is more bodies tromping around back here and muddying an already
compromised crime scene.”
    He grinned, communicating a we’ll see attitude and