Murder! Too Close To Home Read Online Free PDF

to the prosecutor. This will be your full-time job until we get this guy, our department will act as support .”
    McHenry spit out the last word as if it had a sour taste.
    “I expect you two to do your best work on this, and let me know if there is anything you need. You’re dismissed, good luck.”
    Both men replied “Yes sir,” then got up and filed out of the room. As they opened the door they were met by Jane in the doorway carrying a steaming cup of coffee. The men yielded to her respectfully as she passed before they exited the room.
    Jane McHenry was the sheriff’s assistant, a smart looking woman in her early thirties with shoulder length, dark hair. It was very hard to ignore how well Jane filled out the uniform, but she had long ago earned the respect of every man on the force with her efficiency and work ethic.
    Graduating college with a degree in law enforcement, as well as having graduated from the police academy, she was highly qualified…even over qualified for her current position. There was of course one other reason why the deputies respected her to such a degree…she was the sheriff’s daughter.
    Listed on the rolls as a deputy, Lean McHenry considered his daughter much more then that. She was actually his secret weapon, as he depended on her to handle everything that he couldn’t or wouldn’t do. Catching the movement of her approach out of the corner of his eye, he rolled back in his seat and placed his dangling cigarette behind his ear, relaxing instantly at the sight of his favorite deputy.
    Setting the cup down in front the sheriff, she took an empty chair across the table and sat down.
    “That’s your fifth cup since you got here this morning,” she stated with a firm tone. “Your pending heart attack is not going to help this investigation.”
    Smiling at the rebuke, he assured her that he would try to control his intake the rest of the day.
    “Tucker and Larry have been assigned to the prosecutor’s task force until we can crack this case open.” The sheriff remarked with a grim smile. “Make sure that the paperwork gets filed, and get with Jason to re-arrange the schedule to cover their shifts, please,” the sheriff asked.
    Jane was the only one in the office that could get a please out of the sheriff.
    “Sure thing, sheriff,” Jane said with a smile, “Anything else I can do… Dad?” Her face grew more serious as she spoke.
    She knew he hadn’t been the same since her mother had died about six months before…complications of a long bout with Lupus. She knew her dad had a rough exterior, but he was probably hurting inside from the loss of his wife of thirty five years.
    Waving away her concerns, he said he was fine, just wanting to get to the bottom of this business.
    “Tell you what,” he continued, “when this is over, lets go up to Michigan to fish, like we did when you were little. A vacation,” he finished with a smile.
    “Sounds like a plan,” she smiled back, standing up and heading back to her desk. “I expect to be seeing maps and plans in the next couple of weeks,” she called over her shoulder as she exited through the door.
    Sheriff McHenry hoped like hell he would be able to keep that schedule.
     
    Chapter 10
    February 18, 1997
     
    I had arrived at the office the next morning determined to get to the bottom of something… anything for that matter. As I set out my work on the conference table, Frank walked in with two steaming cups of coffee, setting one in front of me. Sitting back, we both took a moment to enjoy the brew before getting down to business.
    I had had a lousy night, waking up repeatedly to showings of my dream from yesterday, the bags under my eyes a testament to my sleeplessness. Although my strange dreams involving the mysterious room had usually panned out in the past, I was still skeptical.
    Thinking about the last part of the dream, I asked Frank if he had heard anything from the Coroner yet.
    “Doc Elliot has assured me he will