Ghost Medicine Read Online Free Page A

carried a pocket spiral notebook, too.”
    Carolyn shook her head. “They weren’t on him. Maybe you’ll find those under his seat, or in the glove compartment.”
    “Okay, we’ll go over theinterior once you release it to us,” Ella said, handing the bag back to Carolyn, who added her name, date, and the location of the found items.
    “Anything you can tell me about the gunshot?” Ella asked.
    “Only that it was probably fired from a high-velocity rifle, considering it went through and out the passenger’s-side door.” Carolyn said. “Until you recover the slug, we won’t know for sure,but it looks like a hunting round that mushroomed on impact.”
    “He was parked here, maybe waiting for someone or watching down the road.” Ella looked at the intersection a quarter mile away, then glanced up at the top of the road cut. “The way I see it, the sniper took the shot from up there,” she said, pointing to the rise on the left. “That’s what, fifty yards?”
    “If that,” Carolyn said. “I’vealready taken tissue samples, so I’m ready to move the body and turn the scene over to you. Anybody on your B-list today? I can use a strong back or two to help get the victim into my van.”
    Ella thought about volunteering, but this wasn’t an ordinary scene and she just didn’t have it in her. Right now her priority was keeping it together. Hearing a new voice, she glanced around and saw that SergeantJoe Neskahi had arrived. The bulky former wrestler caught her eye and nodded, sympathy evident in his soft expression. No words were needed.
    “Need some help, Doctor?” Joe asked, stepping up and giving Carolyn a smile.
    *   *   *
    Ten minutes after the two would-be thieves were transported to the station, Carolyn drove away with the body.
    Benny came up and joined Ella. “Photos, then a closerlook?” he asked, holding up a camera and motioning toward the open door of the pickup.
    “Yeah, go ahead,” Ella said.
    After Benny had taken a dozen photos from various angles, they both put on a second set of latex gloves, a habit of most tribal homicide cops. The outer layer would touch the dead and the things that had been left by the victim. The other would protect the wearer from contaminationwith the first pair when the gloves were removed.
    “See that outline on the passenger seat?” Benny pointed to a rectangle not marked with blood spray and gore. “It’s about the size of a cell phone.”
    “He probably set it there, and his killer removed it before the body was tipped away from the steering wheel. The shooter seems to have taken almost everything the victim had on him. If you happento find a small spiral notebook anywhere, let me know.”
    Ella heard digging sounds on the opposite side of the pickup. “Anything yet, Justine?”
    “Just a second…,” she said. “Gotcha,” she added a second later.
    Justine stood and held up a round. “Found the bullet. It’s a mushroomed rifle slug, but it’s in pretty bad shape. Some of the copper jacket is probably still in the ground or the door panel.”Justine came around the front of the pickup and handed the evidence bag to Ella. “There’s not much hope for a match. The rifling is barely there.”
    “Yeah, but at least we should be able to identify the caliber and the manufacturer.” Ella handed it back. “Get whatever you can from around the area the bullet impacted, but hold back on checking the door panel until we’re done with the interior.”
    “Okay.”
    Ella and Benny processed the cab slowly and methodically. The stench had dissipated some now that the body had been removed, but much of it continued to cling to the upholstery and the interior of the truck.
    Forcing themselves to ignore distractions, they went over every square inch. By the time they were done, Ella’s patience had been stretched to the limit. The flies were an ever-presentnuisance and even mentholatum in her nose hadn’t been able to successfully mask the odor of