The Lost Witness Read Online Free PDF

department policies.
    Lena turned back to the chief. He was beckoning her forward. When she glanced at Klinger, he pointed to the alcove at the head of the room. Although she still wondered why the chief had picked
Klinger as his adjutant, tonight they looked like bookends. Both men obviously worked out, their bodies lean, straight, and military tight. And their grooming was immaculate, verging on
overprocessed, their hair short and gray. The only difference was in their eyes. Klinger’s were a soft, even wounded brown without much catch. The chief’s gave definition to his
chiseled face and intelligence, but were as dark as night and at times uncomfortable.
    She stepped around the conference table and entered the alcove, wishing she had better news. When Klinger started to say something, Chief Logan silenced him with a short wave of the hand.
    “Let’s hear it, Gamble. Who’s your suspect?”
    “We’ve got a long way to go,” she said. “I know that’s not what you want to hear, Chief. But that’s the way it is. We’re starting from scratch.
Zero.”
    “What about witnesses?”
    “We interviewed every shop owner on the block. Every employee. There aren’t any witnesses.”
    She couldn’t get a read on him with those eyes. All she knew was that the chief didn’t take the news the way she thought he would. It was almost as if he’d been hit in the
chest and had the wind knocked out of him. But his wheels were turning. She could see him thinking something over. If he’d been a suspect in an interrogation room, she would have guessed that
he was guilty of something and holding out.
    He shot her another penetrating look. “Then you don’t even know who the victim is.”
    “We didn’t find any ID.”
    “What about her clothing?”
    Lena shook her head, remaining silent. The victim wasn’t wearing any clothing.
    “Here are my concerns, Detective. I don’t want this to be a long, drawn-out case. If you don’t have anything in the next forty-eight hours, chances are you won’t have
anything ever. You know that as well as I do. Your chances for success go to shit by fifty percent.”
    Lena didn’t need the chief to give her the odds. When she glanced away, she saw Denny Ramira enter the meeting room and approach Senator West. From the way they shook hands, she guessed
that they knew each other.
    The chief must have noticed the reporter as well. When Lena turned to him, he was standing so close she instinctively took a step back.
    The chief lowered his voice. “I don’t want to read about this investigation in the newspaper, Detective. I don’t want to see it on TV. You pull anything, and I mean anything
like that, and you’re out. All the way out. So far out nobody in law enforcement ever hears from you again. Do you understand?”
    She gave him a long look.
    “You’re either a company man,” he said. “Or you’re a man without a company. You get the logic, Detective? Do you realize how serious this is? What will be tolerated
and what won’t?”
    “I get it, Chief.”
    “This isn’t another OIS case. This is a homicide, and I want a suspect. I need an arrest.”
    The chief came up for air, then Klinger stepped forward as if it were a tag-team match. Lena suddenly realized who made those calls to the press. It had to be Klinger, doing everything he
possible could to make things more difficult for her.
    “We want reports,” he said. “The chief’s office is to be copied on everything. No one cares if it takes twice as long. Just do your job and do it by the book, Gamble. We’re your partner now. And we’re not a silent partner. You want to make a right turn, you ask before you make it. You want to go left, make sure you’ve got the order and
it’s signed by a judge. We’re your shadow, is that clear? Please acknowledge that we have had this conversation and you understand what was just—”
    Klinger suddenly became quiet. Everyone turned. Senator West was standing at the