Playing Dead_ A Novel of Suspense - Allison Brennan [14]
He still had respect for Meg. Hell, Mitch liked her a lot. They’d met at Quantico, become good friends because of common interests, and ended up in Kosovo together four years later, digging through mass graves as part of a national evidence response team. When they returned to America six weeks later, they both felt out of touch with everyday concerns. The weight of Kosovo tormented them, and they turned to each other for solace. They were two busy people with the same career and they thought that marriage was the answer to loneliness.
They were wrong. The marriage officially ended three years later.
Mitch pulled himself out of the water and sat on a rock at the edge of the river, looking for the most likely point of entry. The killer would want an easy place to push the car into the river. Mitch looked up. This was a curve, but the river meandered in at this point, not out. If the Explorer went in at this spot, it was coming from Isleton. Had Maddox come down here to meet with someone?
According to the locals, there was good fishing in this part of the river. A small restaurant and tackle shop was nestled on the road next to the bridge. Potential witnesses might have seen the car go under. But Mitch sensed that this killer wasn’t stupid. No, the car went in at night. Cloudy or moonless or stormy. Minimal traffic. No witnesses.
There was no perfect murder. If they couldn’t find physical evidence here or in the vehicle, they would officially identify the victim and go from there. Retrace his final days. But Mitch didn’t intend to wait for identification. He’d start his investigation presupposing it was Maddox.
He motioned to Special Agent Duncan who was not so discreetly staring at him from across the inlet. What did he expect? He’d probably had more face-to-face time with the Office of Professional Responsibility than any active agent. And since the last visit was only three months ago when he returned from Montana after tracking down two fugitives, he was lucky to still have a job.
But what was he supposed to do, sit on his hands? Even though he’d been given a direct order not to cross state lines to follow the fugitives, he’d done it anyway. Under the same circumstances, he’d do it again. He was good at his job, he had to act. Sitting around playing bureaucratic games and shuffling paper from one desk to another wasn’t in his job description.
Mitch understood his primary flaw: He had a hard time following orders he disagreed with. He’d had the same problem in the military. His issues with authority stemmed from his conflicts with his dad, a bigwig prosecutor who had seemed all-powerful and righteous while Mitch was growing up. Only when it was too late for Mitch to change his path did he learn the cold truth about his father.
When Duncan was within hearing distance, Mitch said, “Go over this area again. The turnout, the dock. The guy’s been under for a while, look for any sign of new growth—it might indicate the spot he entered the water. Talk to the owners of the tackle shop and restaurant. Find out how often this dock is used, and specifically about any regulars—people who come out and fish at least once a week. I’m sure there’re a few. There may be a witness who doesn’t even realize it.”
Mitch didn’t think so. Probably nobody but his killer had seen what happened the night Oliver Maddox went into the river. But Mitch had to cover all the bases.
He went back under, letting water wrap around him, as he slowly swam back to the Explorer’s resting place.
What were you doing that got you killed, Oliver?
FOUR
“Tom?” Her voice sounded far away. “We’re here, Tom.”
He hadn’t been sleeping, but he’d been trapped so far in the past Tom hadn’t realized they had already arrived back at the motel.
“Sorry.”
“Let’s go in.” Nelia’s voice was quiet and lyrical. It calmed him, grounded him, like nothing else could.
My angel.
She’d saved him, physically and emotionally. He didn’t deserve her, but he wasn’t about to give her up. He drank in her trust, her support, her faith in him as