Body of Evidence Read Online Free Page A

give her a good long look.
    And watched her blush becomingly.
    Back to business, Anderson, he told himself.
    He tried to sound gruff. “So…let’s go over the ground rules about this new alligator pond.”
    â€œNo rules there. It has to be built. The one I have the boys in now is not up to code. And I can’t let school children in here for educational tours until I have a proper pen for those alligators. The new one will have a strong double chain-link fence around it and plenty of open spots for sunning, plus a deeper watering hole so they can relax and hide out if they want. I purposely put it back from the rest of the animals so we’d all be a little safer. Especially my turtles.”
    â€œThat all sounds great for ‘the boys’ but we might need to warn your workers to be alert back there.”
    â€œWe can do that. They sometimes carry guns anyway—you know, snakes, coyotes and such. They mostly shoot in the air to scare any unwanted visitors away.”
    â€œI don’t want a shoot-out of any kind, at least not between your workers and the drug cartel. Just tell them you need to know about any trespassers.”
    â€œNeither do I. I’ll talk to them first thing in the morning. Or…whenever the construction crew shows back up. They move from job to job.”
    â€œSo, nobody else has seen anything out of the ordinary that you know of, other than your fence being damaged?” He reached into the file folder he’d brought and showed her a picture of Eddie Jimenez.
    â€œI don’t recognize that man and if any of my workers have seen him, they haven’t informed me about it. Of course, they work during daylight hours. I’d think drug runners would do their business after dark. But that wouldn’t explain how my fence got cut. Of course, it was around dusk when I did one last check for the day.”
    â€œYeah, so don’t ever go back there alone after dark, okay?”
    â€œI’m usually too tired to do anything other than come home and eat a bite, do paperwork, then go to bed.”
    â€œGot it. So tomorrow, you can show me around. I’d like to explore the entire acreage while I’m here. And I need to question the previous owner, too.”
    â€œPrevious owner lives out of state. I’ll give you his number. We can take the horses out. I need to check ona few things, anyway. I’ll also give you the name and number of the Realtor who brokered the deal.”
    â€œWe need to update your regular employees. Just tell them I’m here to help with security for the new pen.”
    â€œThat won’t be hard. No offense, but you shout law enforcement. So working security should appease them.”
    He held up a hand. “I’m in civilian clothes. Look, just remind them to keep an eye out. Tell them you suspect trespassers back there. If you can give me a list of names, I can do background checks on them, too.”
    â€œYeah, right. My employees and volunteers are solid.”
    â€œI’m glad you can vouch for them but I have to explore every angle. You’d be surprised how many crimes are from an inside job.”
    She nodded. “We’re very strict on the rules and regulations around here, so I’ll tell them to cooperate. But back to that lot, Jacob and his friends used to hang out there. They like to ride their four-wheelers around my property, but I did warn him after the fence was cut. I’ll do the same with the construction workers and the volunteers. I guess it pays to be on the lookout. Like I said, people have been known to try and steal animals, especially endangered or exotic animals, so that’s a valid point. Will that work for you?”
    â€œFair enough. Now tell me, have you had any other strange things going on around here lately—things that you’ve noticed yourself but didn’t talk to anyone about?”
    She shook her head. “Not if you don’t