Mercy Street Read Online Free PDF Page B

you want to do that?”
    “I’m not a coward, Joe. Some might say a less-than-beloved cop, but no one’s ever called me a coward.” Mallory disconnected the call and slid her cell phone back into her pocket.
    Father Burch hadn’t mentioned Robert Magellan, but now that Joe brought it up, she remembered seeing him along with a priest in Joe’s office about a year ago. Joe had brought Magellan in to interview him following the disappearance of his family. He would have made a great suspect if he hadn’t had an airtight alibi and an endless string of people who’d testify that the man was totally devoted to his wife and baby son. Oh, and there was that matter of a lack of motive, and the fact that the series of events leading up to Beth Magellan’s disappearance could not have been foreseen.
    Mallory had been one of two detectives who had not worked on the Magellan case. Because it had been so high-profile and the FBI had been called in, once they realized who and what they were dealing with, Joe had handled it himself. Mallory and her partner, Cal Whitman, had been assigned to two homicides back-to-back. Joe’s immersion in the Magellan case had left the door open for her to fill the role of lead detective that he had vacated when he was promoted to chief. It had also put her in a position to have a jealous partner crank up the rumor mill.
    She crossed her arms over her chest, walked to the back door of her small town house, and stepped out onto what passed as a patio in her complex. Large enough only for two plastic chairs and a wooden table she’d found at a yard sale and painted red, the concrete rectangle provided a change of scenery from the tiny second bedroom she used as an office. She sat on one of the chairs and stretched her legs out in front of her, wiggled her feet out of her shoes, put her head all the way back, and closed her eyes.
    She couldn’t deny she’d been intrigued, even before Robert Magellan’s name came into the conversation.
    Of course she’d seen the news stories about the double homicide on TV. For the first week, all the local stations covered the story daily, keeping it right out in front, and why not? It had everything that the media loved, though over the past few days the local sniper had taken over page one. The two young men who’d been shot to death on the playground were already fading into the background. For their sake, if for no other reason, Mallory had to admit she was interested.
    Joe was right, of course. This was just the kind of case that got her going.
    Before she could talk herself out of it, Mallory went into the kitchen and grabbed her bag from the counter. She slid her sunglasses onto her face and walked outside through the front door, locking it behind her.
    “I need my head examined,” she grumbled under her breath as she got into her car and started the engine. “I need to deal with those assholes again like I need a hole in my head.”
    She backed out of her parking space and took the familiar route that led into the center of town, all the while reminding herself that Daniel had survived the lion’s den and that there were people who swam in shark-infested waters all the time and were never attacked. She tried to think of other analogies to her situation, but she arrived at the station before any others came to mind. Force of habit had her pulling into a reserved parking place, but she caught herself before she’d driven all the way to the end. She put the car in reverse and headed for the visitor spots closer to the back door, then went up the steps leading into the back of the building. As she’d told Joe, she wasn’t a coward, but there was no point in looking for trouble.
    “Well, well. Look who’s returning to the scene of the crime.” Frank Toricelli stood two steps up, his beefy hands on his hips.
    The dark glasses half covering her face were apparently insufficient as a disguise.
    “Nice to see you again, too, Frank.” Mallory tried to go