Keegan 00 Soft Case Read Online Free Page A

it in a body bag. I guess a lot of people standing there looking at the dead body of a successful man would think of how fragile life was, and how Death can come knocking on your door at any moment. All I could think about was what I had just eaten, and how I didn’t want to taste it again.
    An unattractive woman in a white lab coat walked in. She was about my age, with dirty blonde hair and had an awful complexion, the type you have to try not to stare at. Her body was more like a man’s than a woman’s - rail thin, with no breasts to speak of. Man, did I have to concentrate on keeping hold of that cheeseburger.
    “Allison,” Siebling said, “meet the friendly members of the NYPD. Detectives Keegan, and…” Siebling looked awkward, not remembering Rick’s name. I wanted to laugh.
    “Calhill,” Rick said, cordially extending his hand. She didn’t take it. I didn’t bother.
    “I have the blood work.”
    Siebling grabbed the folder from her hands. She just stood there, as if not knowing what to do. Certainly not someone who was comfortable around people - living ones at least. Siebling scanned the report, then looked up at us.
    “Nothing. No alcohol, no drugs. Not even an antibiotic. His blood is clean.”
    “Was clean,” I corrected him.
    “Right. However you call it, his mind was clear of any chemical influence that we can tell. He was sober.”
    “Then he knew what he was doing.”
    “Or wasn’t trying to kill himself,” Rick said, “I’d have to get pretty wasted to go through with something like this.”
    “Or he got cut off, and was driven into the embankment that way.”
    “Uniforms said eyewitnesses didn’t see anyone but him on the road. Looked like he drove right into it.”
    “Well, I think maybe we should take a look at that again.” Rick’s cell phone rang.
    “Calhill,” he said, “Okay, you’ve got it? Got an address? Great. Thanks.”
    Rick turned to me, and gestured toward the door. We walked over, and he whispered, “He called his mother. Talked for about a minute and a half. Long enough for her to know something, if anything.”
    He looked excited again. I looked at my watch. “It’s almost eleven. Where does she live?”
    “Long Island. Just past the Queens border. We could get there in about half an hour, tops, if we get moving.”
    “Don’t you think maybe she’s here?” I asked.
    Rick shook his head. “All attempts at getting her have been met with nothing but an answer machine.”
    “Then she’s not home.”
    “Or maybe she went out, and is on her way home. We might be able to catch her.”
    “Did you ever think that maybe he got the machine too?”
    “I’m almost hoping for it. And, if that’s the case, I want to hear what’s on the tape.”
    “Could be nothing more than an audio suicide note.”
    “Which would rule out the possibility of this being a random car accident, and put the case under Homicide. We can investigate from there.”
    “I know the procedure, I just don’t want you getting all disappointed when you find out that your ‘big’ case is nothing more than a run of the mill suicide.”
    “I doubt that, John. Really doubt it.”
    I sighed. This was going to be a pain in the ass, dealing with Rick on this case. On top of that, I’d have the entire police department, the mayor, hell, possibly even the President, watching how we handled the case. Mullins had been a popular and well-liked guy. I’d seen him do an interview for one of those biography shows a few years back, and he’d seemed like a down to earth man, the kind I could respect. He wasn’t full of himself, like most corporate guys who made a windfall. But now, he was dead, and it was quickly becoming apparent to me that his death was going to make my life more difficult. I didn’t care for that one bit, and I really didn’t care for working with a butt sniffer like Rick Calhill, but these were the cards fate dealt me that evening, and I’d have to play them out to the