Claw Back (Louis Kincaid) Read Online Free PDF Page A

they stay out?”
    “Half hour, maybe forty-five minutes.”
    “Plenty of time for someone to load a panther into a cage in a truck and get away someplace isolated.”
    Katy nodded.
    “ Grace went missing first, right?” Louis asked.
    “Yeah.”
    “Maybe he wanted two,” Louis said. “A male and a female.”
    He wiped the sweat from his face and looked back at Katy.
    “How many panthers are left in the wild?” he asked.
    “Maybe thirty,” Katy said. She hesitated. "We’re losing them fast.”
    “Well, maybe someone’s building an ark,” Louis said.
     
     
    CHAPTER F IVE
     
                  All the way across town, he heard sirens. As he pulled into the parking lot of the Lee County Administration Building, he remembered something a female cop had once told him. The sudden swell of multiple sirens was like a baby’s cries -- experience told you just how serious it was.
                  A couple sirens, combined with an ambulance or two, probably indicated a traffic accident on a major road. Sheriff’s cars streaming in one direction was likely a backup situation for an officer in trouble. Cruisers from every agency whizzing through every red light meant something big was going down.
                  And that’s what was happening now.
                  He parked his Mustang in the visitor’s lot and picked up the envelope Katy had given him. He knew he would need ammunition to convince Mobley this panther thing was worth his department’s time , and Katy had obligated with some stunning photographs.
    “Maybe it will make it real for him,” she had said.
    Louis wasn’t sure anything could warm Lance Mobley’s heart besides a double shot of Jack Daniels but it was worth a try.
                  Mobley’s office was down the first corridor, the double glass doors marked by the five-star county seal and Mobley’s name in large gold letters.
                  The secretary was on the phone, but her eyes darted up to Louis as he came in. Louis didn’t know her but she bore a stark resemblance to all the secretaries Louis had seen at this desk before her. A toned, sun- streaked blonde who wore a bright print blouse and a Slinky -like bunch of gold bracelets.
                  She finally hung up the phone and drawing a weary breath looked again to Louis. “Yes?”
                  “I’m Louis Kincaid. The sheriff is expecting me.”
                  He could see from the blank expression on her face she couldn’t place his name.
                  “I’m working with the Fish and Game --”
                  “Oh, ye ah . I’m sorry. Things are a little chaotic right now.”
                  “What’s going on? I heard the sirens.”
                  “Armed robbery in Estero,” she said. “Three wounded officers, one suspect was shot at the scene, two others fled in a green Monte Carlo. The entire county is in pursuit.”
                  Louis looked toward Mobley’s open office door. The high-backed leather chair was empty. Mobley would be tied up all day with a situation like this, especially if it was his department that eventually took down the robbers.              
                  Which meant a missing panther was low priority for Mobley right now . Still, Louis had a crime scene waiting to be processed and each additional day left it open to contamination.
                  He looked back at the secretary. “Should I wait or --”              
                  Suddenly, the door behind him banged open and Mobley came in. He was in full green and white uniform and dripping in sweat. His eyes shot briefly to Louis then he walked to the secretary’s desk, snatched his messages from her outstretched hand and moved quickly into his office. He left the door open and Louis took it as