Death Takes a Ride (The Cate Kinkaid Files Book #3): A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

help here?” Cate suggested to Mitch.
    “Like how? Call in a bulldozer?” But Mitch went around to the far side of the motorcycle and pushed, first with his hands and then his shoulder. Clancy dug his toes in, as if he had about seventeen of them on each foot, but he finally landed on the ground. Cate dragged him to the Corvette.
    Locked.
    “I’ll go see if I can get a key.” She transferred her grip on Clancy’s collar to Mitch. Inside, a different officer was now talking to Halliday. Cate hesitated to interrupt, but she had to do something. She hoped neither Halliday nor the officer had seen the Two-Stooges-and-a-dog scene outside. Halliday shook his head when Cate asked about a key to the Corvette.
    “Kane probably had it on him. Or it was in that jacket they bagged up.”
    “I’ll have to put him in the warehouse, then.”
    Cate assumed Halliday wouldn’t object now that there was no choice, but he was already shaking his head when the officer backed him up.
    “I’m sorry, but the dog can’t remain here unattended while we’re working the crime scene.” The officer peered out the window. Sounding more like a baffled bystander than a law officer, he added, “Why is he sitting on that motorcycle?”
    Clancy had apparently gotten away from Mitch and again planted himself on the motorcycle seat. The brass studs on his collar gleamed under the yard light.
    “Kane has a big bike,” Halliday said. “He lets the dog ride in a special box he had made for it. Or sometimes the dog sits in front of him on the seat. He has goggles for it to wear. He says the dog loves it.”
    Great. A monster-sized mutt with a motorcycle fixation.
    Cate went back outside and reported the no-key situation and what both Halliday and the officer had said about the dog not staying on the premises.
    “Now I don’t know what to do. I can’t just dump him out here in the parking lot.”
    “What Clancy obviously has in mind is a bike ride,” Mitch said. He draped an arm over the dog. Although they had not been formally introduced, Clancy squeezed up against Mitch. Maybe motorcycle possession was sufficient recommendation for a new friend.
    “I guess I’ll have to take him home for the night,” Cate said reluctantly. “Halliday says Clancy likes riding on a motorcycle, and I don’t know what else to do with him.”
    “What’s Octavia going to think of a doggy visitor in her Kastle?” Mitch asked.
    “I guess we’ll see.”
    Mitch eyed dog and motorcycle. “How do you have in mind doing this?”
    “Mr. Halliday said Clancy’s owner had a box on his motorcycle for Clancy to ride in.”
    “Unless you have an instant Honey-I-Shrunk-the-Dog kit in your pocket, he’s never going to fit in the Purple Rocket’s trunk.”
    “Then I guess he’ll just have to ride between us.”
    Mitch slid a foot over the bike. Clancy generously made room for him. Cate put on her helmet and clambered on behind the dog. He didn’t seem to mind being pancaked between them.
    “Remember, if anything goes wrong, this was your idea,” she warned the dog.
    A skinny tail whapped her leg.
    “Okay, here we go,” Mitch said.
    He cautiously eased across the parking lot and onto the main road. Clancy shifted on the seat to get a better view over Mitch’s shoulder. One big rear paw dug into Cate’s thigh. Mitch speeded up. Clancy turned his head, and a long wet tongue and a flapping metal license tag slapped the faceplate of her helmet. Then, despite the faceplate, she got a mouthful of dog hair.
    Oh, this was going to be a fun trip.
    At the corner, where Maxwell turned onto River Road, experienced bike-rider Clancy shifted his weight into the turn.
    “You okay back there?” Mitch asked.
    A flapping dog ear blocked Cate’s view. Another hind foot scraped her other thigh. Dog hair clogged her teeth. A tail whapped her ribs. “Yeah, we’re fine,” she muttered. Clancy added a wiggle and bark.
    Mitch drove slowly and cautiously. A sedan pulled around