Drip Dead Read Online Free

crew rose and fell as they went past the garage on their way in and out of the backyard. Somewhere a block or two away someone was cutting grass, and the sound of the mower echoed in the silent garage.
    I crouched down next to my mother and looked up into her face. Her eyes were dry, and she stared at the floor without blinking.
    Was she in shock? I didn’t know the symptoms well enough to be sure.
    I looked up at the sheriff. “Do you think we ought to have one of the paramedics come take a look at her?”
    He nodded and went out. The paramedics weren’t in a hurry dealing with Gregory after all. They would have plenty of time to look at Mom and try to help her.
    Gregory needed a coroner, not medical attention.

chapter 4

    A dark-eyed paramedic with a military-style buzz cut followed the sheriff back into the garage. He crouched next to me and pulled a blood-pressure cuff and stethoscope from his kit.
    Talking gently to Mom, as though she were a small child, the paramedic checked her over. He wrapped the cuff around her arm, all the while keeping up a steady stream of verbal reassurances.
    When we finished, he stood up and nodded to me to follow.
    We moved nearer to the sheriff, and the paramedic reported. “Medically she’s fine. No indication of physical distress or trauma.” He turned to me. “You’re the daughter?”
    I nodded.
    “Did she know the deceased well?”
    It took me a minute to process his question. It was the first time I had heard anyone refer to Gregory as “the deceased.”
    “They were engaged,” I answered after a pause.
    “That would do it.” He glanced at Mom, who hadn’t moved. She hadn’t even looked up to see where we were. “The psychological shock was too great, and she’s shut down. It may last a few minutes, or hours. Or it could go on for several days. There is no immediate medical reason to transport her to the hospital, but you might want to have her own doctor look at her later. She shouldn’t be alone.”
    I nodded.
    The sheriff hesitated. “How long before they can get Whitlock out of there?” he asked.
    The paramedic shrugged. “Not long. But there’s a pile of boxes under there, and the space is tight. Might be another thirty or forty minutes.”
    Sheriff Mitchell furrowed his brow. “Tell you what, Georgie. Take your mom over to see Doc Cox right now. He is her doctor, right?”
    I nodded. It seemed to be all I was capable of at the moment.
    “I’ll call and let him know you’re on the way. He should still be at Immediate Care,” he said, checking his watch. “When you’re done, I’ll still need a formal statement from you.” An ironic tone crept into his voice. “You should know that drill by now.”
    I couldn’t argue with him. I’d already been dragged into the investigation of two murders in Pine Ridge, and my visits to the sheriff’s office had become all too familiar.
    Neither the sheriff nor I was happy about it.
    “I’ll call you as soon as we’re through at the doctor’s,” I said before he could continue. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave her for a while, but I’m sure we can make some arrangement for you to take my statement. I can call a friend in to sit with her. But there isn’t really much to tell, Sheriff. I came over to inspect the pipes, crawled under the house, and there he was.”
    I anticipated his next question and answered without being asked. “I didn’t touch anything except his shoe. I kind of poked him to see if he would respond. When he didn’t, I got out of there as fast as I could and called you.”
    Mitchell shook his head. “Still going to need a formal statement.”
    “I know.” I sighed. “Just let me take care of my mom, okay?”
    “Go on,” he said. He reached for his radio and talked to the dispatcher, asking her to put him through to Dr. Cox.
    I took Mom by the arm and led her out of the garage to her car. I opened the passenger door of her Escalade, and she climbed in. Harry Hamilton