The Patrick Bowers Files - 05 - The Queen Read Online Free PDF

“You notice what needs to be noticed.” Coming from her, the words were a sudden, unexpected compliment.
    I rubbed my head. “A sheriff’s deputy who’s investigating what appears to be an accidental drowning contacts the FBI Lab—and within forty minutes of identifying a missing man’s deceased wife and daughter, the Navy brass is pressuring the Bureau to look into the case? What’s really going on here, Margaret? There’s something you’re not telling me.”
    â€œYou know everything I know,” she said tersely. “Woodborough is eighty-five miles north of you. Go up there, have a look around, and clear this up. There’s a storm moving into your area. Interstate 94 is already shut down east of Fargo, and you’re going to get hit hard.” She paused for a moment as if to process what she’d just said. “I’ll send up one of the ERT agents from the Reiser investigation later tonight to process the scene of the Pickron homicides, but I want you to head up the investigation.”
    â€œMargaret, this is all—”
    â€œPatrick, I’m very busy. I’m not pulling you from the Reiser case. Just go to Woodborough. Figure this out. I’ll talk with you in the morning. I’ve told the sheriff’s department to hold the scene and wait for your arrival.”
    I looked around the trailer, exasperated. “What about Reiser?”
    â€œIf SWAT finds him I’ll have Torres watch him until you and Jake can drive back down. Beyond that, it’ll take the ERT a couple of days to go through the contents of his trailer. Until then, look into the double homicide.”
    â€œOr triple.”
    â€œTriple?”
    â€œIf Donnie was murdered too. We don’t know yet. Not until we find his body.”
    â€œOf course. I’ll call Jake. Inform him of what’s going on.” Without saying good-bye she hung up.
    Frustrated, I jammed my cell into my pocket. Torres had pulled the shades open to get more light into the trailer, and now, outside the window, I saw Jake answer his phone.
    A glance at my watch.
    4:46 p.m. I could hardly believe it was just over twenty minutes since we’d moved on the trailer.
    From my infrequent visits to my brother’s house, I knew that from here most of the drive to Woodborough would be on county roads rather than interstate, so depending on how icy the roads were, we might not get up there until 8:00. And only then would I be able to start looking over the scene.
    This was going to be a long night.
    But then there was the matter of Sean.
    I’d only be fifteen miles from his house.
    Yesterday when I met up with Jake in Madison and drove over here, I’d convinced myself that Merrill was far enough away to justify not getting together with Sean. But now that I’d be just minutes away, I couldn’t come up with a way to politely avoid at least inviting him out for coffee. And I imagined that Amber, his wife, would also want to see me.
    And seeing her would be even harder than meeting up with my brother.

4
    I took one more look around the trailer, then stepped outside.
    The sun had dipped below a silo nestled on the horizon, and the Wisconsin countryside was draped in one long winter shadow. In the day’s fading light I could see the SWAT guys moving methodically through the trailer park, stopping at one door after another.
    Until I had a chance to assess the situation in Woodborough, I wouldn’t know how much time I’d actually have available to see Sean, so I decided to put off calling him for the time being. However, since I’d been planning to meet my stepdaughter, Tessa Ellis, here in Merrill tomorrow afternoon so I could show her around some of the areas I’d lived in as a child, I figured I’d give her a shout right away to tell her about my change of plans.
    This week she was visiting the University of Minnesota for a special weeklong three-credit