Affairs of Steak Read Online Free PDF

staff. And from the looks of his blue-tinged skin, he’d been here a lot longer than Patty had.

      CHAPTER 3      

    WE STARED DOWN AT CHIEF OF STAFF CAWLEY for a breathless, silent moment. A diminutive man, shorter even than Sargeant, he was dressed in a dark suit and wore his trademark cherry red tie. Unlike Patty, he didn’t have a huge gash on the back of his head. In fact, except for being tightly crammed into the coffin-like skillet space and his deathly skin color, he looked relaxed, as though he were simply sleeping.
    Just as Kooch leaned in to get a better look at the official, the radio voice leapt back to life, this time not so muffled. Everyone in the room jumped. Sargeant yelped. Kooch held up two hands as though to assure us everything was under control, then reached in and pulled up a cell phone. He studied the display, his face unreadable as his finger sought the silencing button. Unable to quiet the device fast enough, we were treated to two repetitions of Cawley’s ringtone. Set to play a recording of a local female DJ talking about the next selection, it was unusual to say the least.You could hear the smile in her velvet voice: “For all you lovers out there celebrating tonight, this one is for you…”
    Opening notes from one of Barry Manilow’s hits followed, the song cutting off just before the lyrics began. The ringtone then looped back and repeated the DJ’s sultry announcement and the song’s first few measures. I recognized the classic “Mandy.” An odd choice for a ringtone. We’d recently hosted the White House chief of staff and his wife at the White House. Her name was Susan.
    “Who was calling him?” I asked.
    Kooch glared. Without even knowing me, he was irritated by my question. “This will go into evidence.” Another officer approached with an open plastic bag. Kooch placed the phone inside. “Cell phones offer lots of clues.”
    “Patty!” I said, startling everyone, including myself. “Where’s her cell phone?”
    Kooch looked at me as though I’d gone crazy. “If it’s here, we’ll find it. Why don’t you step outside until we’re finished?”
    “You don’t understand,” I said, “Patty has a special White House cell. All staff members have them. If someone gets their hands on it…” I let the thought hang.
    Kooch nodded and, to his credit, didn’t try to kick us out again. One of his team had already called for backup. While we awaited their arrival, Kooch made a methodical examination of Patty’s resting place. Her purse had been wedged in behind her bent knees.
    “I don’t want to disturb the crime scene,” Kooch said, “but in the interest of national security, I will take a look through her purse.”
    He poked through her turquoise bag using a black plastic wand, moving sideways to allow me a better view. “You see it in here?”
    I didn’t. Taking a critical look at Patty this time, trying to block out the sadness as I did so, I realized she had no pockets in her skirt and wore no outer jacket over her silk blouse. Unless the phone was tucked beneath her body, itwas not here. “She must have a coat nearby,” I said. “It’s too cold to have gone out without one.”
    Kooch dispatched two of his men to look for it. “The other victim isn’t wearing one, either.”
    Good thing. At least from the killer’s perspective. Tilt-skillets are not huge, and fitting a full-grown adult into one couldn’t have been easy. Mark Cawley, though not a large man, was still considerably bulkier than Patty. He barely fit in the tilt-skillet.
    “Looks like he was shot,” Kooch said as he examined Cawley. “Back of the head, execution style.” He held both arms out. “Everyone back up. We’ve contaminated this scene enough.” Waving to the EMTs, he said, “Wait for us on the main floor. Secret Service is on the way. I’m certain they’ll want to talk with you.”
    Within minutes, more Metro police, a wave of Secret Service, and every