Veiled (A Short Story) by Kendra Elliot Read Free Book Online Page A

with all these flies in his mouth. He could have taken pills or
had a heart attack. We’re making assumptions based on the fact that there’s a
gun at his fingertips.”
    Mathews stepped into the cabin, blocking the light from the
front door. He moved into the room, determination on his face. “What is that
noise?” He froze at the sight of the flies swarming over the dead man on the
couch. He spun on one foot and left. Lacey pulled away from the body and ran
into the kitchenette area, breathing deeply of the slightly better-smelling
air. Terry followed close behind.
    “So what do you really think?” he asked. “Do we have a
suicide?”
    She shook her head. “Ask the medical examiner. All I can
tell you is that he’s dead and there are a lot of flies that aren’t dead.”
    “I called it in. Dr. Pillai said he could be here in an
hour,” Terry said.
    “Can your men process this scene?” she asked. She’d never
seen such an inexperienced pair of cops. She was used to the big Portland
Police Department with its high-tech equipment and well-trained personnel. From
the other room, she heard Jack suggest camera angles to Garcia.
    Terry nodded. “We’ll wait until the body is gone. Once that
happens, I think they’ll be okay. They’re good at following instructions.
They’ll get to the knowing-what-to-do stage eventually.”
    Jack stepped into the kitchenette. “Garcia will do fine.
He’s got good instincts.” He held up a wallet and a set of keys. “Garcia
slipped these out of the body’s pocket while I held the camera. The wallet has
Will Marino’s driver’s license. And as far as a gun being fired, I could smell
it when I got a closer look. There was definitely gunfire.”
    He pulled Lacey into his arms, and she buried her nose in
his chest, feeling instantly calmer. Jack had a way of sucking the nasty out of
her world and replacing it with a soothing coolness. He pressed his lips
against the top of her head. She loved that he’d show affection for her in
front of other men.
    “When are you two getting married?” Terry asked.
    “Next summer,” she said, her words muffled against Jack’s
shirt. “If we don’t run away first.”
    “My wife and I got married in Reno,” said Terry. “Just the
two of us. It was great.”
    Reno sounded good to Lacey.
    “There’s no sign of any sort of struggle in here,” said
Jack.
    Back to death talk. Lacey lifted her head and moved
out of Jack’s arms.
    “I noticed that, too,” said Terry. “Looks like Will felt a
bit regretful about killing his ex-wife. Or else was really worried about what
could happen to him in prison I’m thinking our morning murder mystery might be
cleared up before midnight. Although I’d like to know why Patty was in a
wedding dress. And I wonder why he came all the way up here to shoot himself,”
he said. “Why didn’t he just do it at home?”
    Was Terry assuming Patty’s murder was solved? “Are
you sure you’re done?” asked Lacey. “You don’t know that Will killed Patty for
certain.”
    Terry eyed her, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned
against the tiny kitchen counter. “Well, I guess if the ME says Will’s death
wasn’t suicide, then we’ll take another look at things.”
    “Dr. Pillai won’t have anything for you until late
tomorrow,” pressed Lacey. “He won’t have time to look at Will tonight. If Will isn’t your killer, you’re wasting some precious hours.”
    Annoyance flashed across Terry’s face, and Lacey instantly
felt horrible, but she stood her ground.
    This isn’t my case.
    But the sight of that dead woman in a wedding gown would
never leave her brain. It could have easily been her in that hot tub. She’d
been stuck in a marriage with a man who struggled with depression and anger.
She’d stood in Patty’s shoes but found the strength to get out. She felt she
owed it to the woman to make certain every rock was overturned in finding her
killer.
    Something about the scene in the