Heartshot Read Online Free Page B

yet. When the medical examiner’s report comes back, it may shed some light.”
    “What if they had it in their bloodstream?” Holman asked.
    “Well, then obviously that ties them to it.”
    “And if not? If they’re clean?”
    “Then there’s another set of possibilities.”
    “Including,” I said, after clearing my throat, “that none of the five kids knew the coke was in the car. Maybe they were just trying to outrun the cops.”
    “If it isn’t theirs, then whose?” When no one answered the sheriff, he added, “I mean, is Benny Fernandez a dealer now? And one more thing. Is there any possibility, any at all, that the ignition key could be turned off by the crash? Bounce back, somehow?”
    “I suppose anything is possible,” Estelle Reyes mused. “Especially in a crash that violent. I’ve never heard of it happening. Have you, sir?” She looked over at me. I shook my head.
    Holman ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “So we wait until the medical examiner finishes. You found nothing else in the car?”
    Estelle shook her head. “We tore things apart…what little wasn’t apart already. An old roach clip in the front ashtray. That’s all.”
    “And nothing more up on the hill.”
    “A couple of six packs they apparently ditched. Other than that, nothing.”
    Holman sat back and played with a pencil. “Wow,” he said finally, like a preacher groping for a cuss word, “is there any reason why the discovery of the cocaine in the car should not be made public? The editor of the
Register
is waiting, believe me. He wants to know why we’re being so vague about things.”
    Estelle Reyes looked over at me, and I said, “I see no reason not to make the report available. Simply say that nine hundred and fifty-three grams of a substance whose appearance is consistent with cocaine was found in the vehicle. Nothing else. Just ‘investigation continuing.’ That covers everything without hiding the facts.”
    “I see no value in that,” Holman said.
    “No value in what?” I shot back, not sure I understood him.
    “No value in hiding anything.” I relaxed. “And I like the way you phrase things, Bill. The ‘appearance is consistent’ bit is nice.” He stood up. “What’s that worth, anyway? Street value?”
    Estelle shrugged. “If it’s been stepped on, say ready for the street, that’s about a hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
    “God Almighty. Five kids one month after graduation…and one hundred fifty grand worth of hard-core drugs. Terrific.” He turned and stared out the window for a minute. “It’s a long way from the big time, but it’s enough for this little town. I’ll talk to the press, then. I’ll leave out the value until you’re sure. But believe me, this is sensitive. Estelle, make sure whatever you do goes through Undersheriff Gastner.” He pointed at me to underscore his serious formality. “Or myself,” he added, almost as an afterthought. “You remember last year, when Dr. Sprague’s daughter died from a drug OD? It about turned the good doctor into a basket case for a few months. Darlene was his only child and all…There was all kinds of talk, because it was the first instance in a long time that a kid in Posadas died from drug abuse, as far as we know. This is going to be worse, far worse. Bet on it. Shit like this is supposed to happen in the cities. Not out here.”
    It was obvious we were being dismissed, but Holman called me back when the others had left. “Bill, I want her full time on this thing, with you directly supervising.”
    I looked at him steadily. “All right,” I said after a minute. That was the way we were organized anyway, but I said, “I’ve got more time than anybody else.”
    “It’s not that,” Holman said. He looked down at his desk. “You’re also good at what you do.” That surprised me. “And Reyes probably is too. But she’s too goddamned young to…well, to have all the right perspectives. And I’ve got