Killer Waves Read Free Page A

to the crowd for a moment, and then three of the guys switched on their own flashlights and began fanning out across the open fields of the park. Two of the guys and the woman came over. All of them had on business suits and dark blue or black raincoats, and they surely did not look as if they received their paychecks from the state of New Hampshire. The woman had on dark slacks, flat shoes and a white turtleneck, and her fine black hair was cut shoulder-length. As she came over, she got right to the point.
    "Who's the officer in charge here?" she asked, looking at the three of us. The EMTs had slunk against their ambulance, as if trying to gain some shelter there, and then Officer Calhoun spoke up and said, "I'm the senior officer, until the State Police show up. Name's Calhoun."
    "Goody for you," she said, "and just so you know, the State Police aren't showing up for a long while. Officer Calhoun, a moment, if you will."
    She took him by the arm and walked him away from us, leaving behind two of her male companions. The one on the left had a crew cut of red hair and a merry little smile, as if he couldn't think of anything else he'd rather be doing than being in a nearly deserted parking lot at two in the morning. His companion was about a foot shorter and a foot wider, and he wasn't smiling, not at all. His eyes bounced between me and the other North Tyler officer, as if he were hoping one of us would reach for a gun or knife so he could snap a few finger bones.
    Officer Remick cleared his throat. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
    'Tm no cop, but I'm guessing these gentlemen and that lady belong to the federal government."
    "My thoughts exactly," he said, and then he spoke up. "Hey, can anyone of you tell us what the hell's going on?"
    The squat man said nothing, but the taller guy with red hair said, "Your partner's getting the whole deal. Just relax, all right?”
    I looked over at Officer Calhoun and the woman, who were standing near a wooden guardrail that bounded the parking lot.
     
    Officer Calhoun was saying something with dramatic effect, hands waving, jaw moving, and all the while the woman was standing there with arms crossed, not moving at all. It looked as if she had done this a number of times, coming into a crime scene and taking control from the locals, and she looked bored. She said something and walked back to us, Officer Calhoun following, not looking happy at all.
    She stood and looked us over. "Officer Remick, is it?"
    He stepped forward. "Yep."
    She smiled, a tired-looking expression. "Would you please accompany Mr. Turner here and give him your statement of what's transpired? It shouldn't take too long, should it?"
    The crew-cut guy came over, still grinning. "Nope, not at all."
    Officer Remick then walked away, and I was there by myself. Officer Calhoun was standing behind the woman, hands in pockets, face now quite red, looking seriously pissed off. I looked at the woman and she managed a tired smile again. "And you're Mr. Cole, correct?"
    "You have me at a disadvantage," I said. "I don't know your name."
    "So you don't," she said. "I understand that you're a magazine writer, live down the road a bit. Officer Calhoun said you came upon this scene just a while ago. That you didn't notice anything else. Is that correct?"
    "That's true."
    She nodded. "Good. As of now, we've taken control of this area, Mr. Cole, and I'd appreciate it if you'd leave."
    "And who might 'we' be, if I can ask?"
    Even though she looked tired, there seemed to be a bit of a sparkle about her eyes. "You may ask.  And I'll say again, would you please leave?"
    I looked around. Officer Remick was talking to the guy identified as Mr. Turner.  Officer Calhoun just stood there, his angry expression having not changed one bit.  I saw that one of the three guys who had gone out across the fields and come back and was talking to the two EMTs from the North Tyler Fire Department. And the wide and burly man with the woman was still