All the Deadly Lies Page 31

  “How many people trampled my scene, Frankie?” Jake asked, studying the body and surrounding area.

  “No one, I got here before the EMTs, Lieutenant. When I arrived I found the body, not the caller. Nothing’s been touched. It was obvious he was dead a while. I didn’t let the EMTs near him.” Jake nodded for Russo to continue. “At first, with all his track marks, it looked like an overdose, but…”

  “Give me a minute,” Jake said. He liked to form his own impressions before the uniform gave his. He walked over to the body, leaned down, and studied it. Russo was right. The wound on the head hadn’t been created by his fall. Someone had whacked the poor kid hard on the noggin.

  Louie walked up to him with a coffee in his hand.

  “You got one for me?” Jake asked.

  “No, but I’ll share. What have we got?” Louie asked as he sipped his drink.

  Damn, that coffee smells good, Jake thought.

  The medical examiner pulled up behind Louie’s car. The crime scene boys were scouring the area outside the scene until the M.E. got a chance to examine the body.

  “How’d we get the top dog on an O.D. victim?” Jake asked.

  A tall, lanky man, Lang always looked in need of a meal. The doctor carried his one hundred and eighty pounds on a six-foot-four frame. His skin gave off a translucent glow, the same color as the corpses. Lang worked ridiculously long hours, not seeming to care if he saw daylight or not.

  “Been a wild night, Jake. The team’s spread all over the state,” Doc Lang said.

  Jake stepped away from the body to stand beside Louie. “After Doc Lang finishes up, I’ll look for cash, needles, or his stash. But I’m betting it’s gone,” Louie said.

  “Hopefully, they left his I.D.”

  “You smell like alcohol. Where are you coming from?” Louie asked.

  “I was at a party. Is it that bad?” Jake wasn’t on call tonight but dispatch had notified him when the lieutenant on duty had been tied up on another homicide.

  “Yeah, I better take the lead on this one. We don’t want to compromise the case,” Louie said.

  Jake nodded.

  The department was a political landmine at the moment. He stepped away from the scene. At his car, he wrote down his impressions. Diagramed the angle of the body, and proceeded to make notes about the wound and needle marks on the body. He’d compare them to Louie’s and the crime scene team tomorrow.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to Ralph Russo, Ret. Officer WPD, for his patience in answering all my questions. And to Candace Majewski who always knew what word I had in my mind but couldn’t pull out. And the last-minute help from Spencer Gebhardt for his data processing skills and Lee Theroux for proofreading.

  Thanks also to my beta readers Joanne Ryan, Esq., Brenda Piel, Gail Latka, and Nancy Peterson.

  To all the members of SinC and CTRWA, especially Kristan Higgins, who gave her time and advice freely. I have learned a great deal from each of you, thank you.

  And a special thank you to my editor, Michaela Hamilton, for taking a chance on me, and to my literary agent, Doug Grad.

  Meet the Author

  Photo by Brenda Piel, Apieling Pictures LLC

  A self-described tough blonde from Brooklyn, Marian Lanouette grew up as one of 10 children. As far back as she can remember Marian loved to read. She was especially intrigued by the Daily News crime reports. Tragically, someone she knew was murdered. The killer was never found. Her Jake Carrington thrillers are inspired by her admiration for police work, her experience in working a crematorium, and her desire to write books where good prevails, even in the darkest times. Marian lives in New England with her husband. Visit her on Facebook or at www.marianl.com.