Everyone Dies Read Online Free Page A

the center aisle. He stepped in and inspected the animal. Soldier had been shot three times in the stomach and left to die. In his death throes, he’d kicked and dented the steel wall with his forelegs. Blood from the wounds had stained the concrete and soaked into the dirt floor in front of a stall door.
    Because he was starting out with just one animal, Kerney had jokingly named the spread the One Horse Ranch. Now it wasn’t even that anymore. He bent down and stroked Soldier’s head. He’d been a fine horse, a smart horse. Who would do such a thing? And why?
    Outside, he used his cell phone to call Andy Baca, his ex-boss and the chief of the state police. He told Andy what had happened to Soldier and asked him to dispatch a patrol officer.
    “Do you want me to send an agent also?” Andy asked.
    “No, I’ll handle the crime scene myself,” Kerney said.
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yeah,” Kerney said.
    “This doesn’t sit right with me,” Andy said.
    “With me either,” Kerney replied. “Somebody went out of his way to kill my horse as painfully as possible.”
    “You got any idea who did it?”
    “Only a handful of people knew Soldier was on the property, and none of them carry any grudges against me, as far as I know.”
    “Well, somebody’s sending you a message,” Andy said.
    “It looks that way.”
    “Maybe you’ve got a wacko on the crew building your house.”
    “Maybe,” Kerney said. “But I’ve gotten to know the guys pretty well and none of them strikes me that way.”
    “You never know.”
    “True enough,” Kerney said.
    “Any leads on the Jack Potter homicide?”
    “Nothing worth talking about yet,” Kerney answered.
    “Keep me informed, and if you need help, just ask.”
    “I will, and thanks.” Kerney disconnected and called Tug Cheney, a veterinarian he knew from his days as a caretaker of a small ranch on the Galisteo Basin. Tug told him Soldier could be sent to Albuquerque for an autopsy or he could do a quick and dirty one himself.
    “I know what killed my horse,” Kerney said. “What I want are the bullets out of Soldier’s stomach. When can you get out here?”
    “Give me directions to your place and I’ll be there in an hour,” Tug said.
    Kerney supplied directions, thanked Tug, stuck the cell phone back on his belt, and turned to see Sara walking slowly in his direction from the construction site.
    Today he’d argued with a woman he adored, seen the murdered body of a man he liked, and found a horse he loved maliciously destroyed. It was a crummy way to start a vacation.
    He started toward Sara to give her the news.

Chapter 2
    D etective Pino finished her courthouse interview with Stephanie Dwyer, Potter’s secretary, and escorted her across the now-empty parking lot past the crime scene. Potter’s body had been removed, but the blood trail on the sidewalk made Dwyer start sobbing all over again. Ramona guided her into the office, spent a few minutes calming her down, and then left her with another detective to conduct a complete inventory to determine if anything was missing from Potter’s office.
    Outside, she found Lieutenant Molina waiting and gave him her report. Dwyer knew of no reasons for Potter’s murder. There had been no threats made against him, no hate mail or mysterious phone calls received, and nothing in Potter’s recent behavior had pointed to any kind of worry or undue emotional stress. Although Ramona had quizzed her closely about Potter’s past and current clients, friends, and associates, Dwyer was unable to think of anyone who held a grudge against her boss. Additionally, Dwyer, who kept the financial books for the practice as well as Potter’s personal and housekeeping accounts, reported that there had been no unusual or suspicious flow of money, which might point to extortion or payoffs.
    “Did Dwyer have an alibi?” Molina asked.
    “Yes, and I confirmed it by telephone,” Ramona replied. “She dropped her daughter off at day