greeting. “You’re bleeding.”
Wilson stopped scrubbing his neck and brought his hand back around to look at it. A cut along the knuckles dripped blood. “Yeah. I was looking at the wreck and caught the edge of something. No big deal. Uh, Jon, we have a problem.”
Jon heaved a breath. “Don’t we always? Let’s start with how two cars could wreck this bad on Main Street.”
“Right, right. Well. About that.”
He paused, and Darcy’s ears pricked up. Jon began tapping his foot. “Will,” he said, “if you’re going to be a detective then you’re going to have to learn to say what you need to say. Don’t pause for general effect or wait for someone to ask you what you want to tell them. Just say it. What’s the problem?”
Darcy thought Jon was being a little too harsh on Will. She knew he hadn’t wanted a new partner, but even a department as small as Misty Hollow’s force needed two detectives.
Considering everything that had happened in this town in the last year, Darcy reflected, maybe they needed more.
“Uh, right,” Will said, straightening his spine. “This is the situation. Two injured, one male, one female. The driver of the blue car is deceased, most likely, although their boarding him for transport anyway.”
“Oh, no,” Darcy said, her hands covering her mouth. She’d seen enough death to last her a lifetime. No matter how often she saw it, or in what form, it still bothered her.
Wilson looked at Darcy, then looked at Jon. “You want me to do this later?”
“No,” Jon said. “Darcy’s a witness. Plus she’s helped our department on a lot of cases, remember? Chief Daleson trusts her. Just go ahead with it.”
The younger detective sucked on the inside of his cheek for a moment but then shrugged as if to say it was Jon’s call. “All right. Here’s our problem. We can’t find the driver for the second car.”
Jon blinked. “Excuse me?”
“The driver. Of the red car. There’s no, uh…there’s no driver.”
Darcy swept her eyes over the scene. She saw now how the fire department and the police officers were both walking around the wreckage, looking under and through everything they could, searching for something that should be there and wasn’t.
There was no driver.
“There’s got to be a driver,” Jon pointed out. “The car didn’t just drive itself into town and then run into these people!”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Wilson agreed. “We’ve looked everywhere and we can’t find anyone. The other three were in the front car. Somehow the other driver just, well, vanished.”
“Will that’s impossible. There’s got to be an explanation.”
“You think it’s possible this was a parked vehicle that slipped its gears and rolled into traffic?”
Jon was already shaking his head no. “Not with that kind of force. Not with the speed that the wreckage indicates. Look at the position of the cars. The red one hit the back end of the blue one hard enough to stop both of them in their tracks and then mangle everything into one big ball of scrap. No. It was being driven.”
“Okay, but then where’s the driver?”
“Start a search, right now. Get the guys to go building to building and ask every person they talk to if they’ve seen anyone or if someone came to their door. If our officers have any reason to suspect something is wrong somewhere then they are to do a top to bottom search of the building. I’ll call Chief Daleson and get him down here and get some more men in to help.”
Wilson nodded and started off, suddenly a bundle of energy now that Jon had given him a direction. “Put a bandage on that hand!” Jon called after him. “And run both license plates through the DMV files!”
When he turned to Darcy with an apology ready on his lips she didn’t even need him to say it. “Don’t worry, Jon. I know. You’re going to
Wilson stopped scrubbing his neck and brought his hand back around to look at it. A cut along the knuckles dripped blood. “Yeah. I was looking at the wreck and caught the edge of something. No big deal. Uh, Jon, we have a problem.”
Jon heaved a breath. “Don’t we always? Let’s start with how two cars could wreck this bad on Main Street.”
“Right, right. Well. About that.”
He paused, and Darcy’s ears pricked up. Jon began tapping his foot. “Will,” he said, “if you’re going to be a detective then you’re going to have to learn to say what you need to say. Don’t pause for general effect or wait for someone to ask you what you want to tell them. Just say it. What’s the problem?”
Darcy thought Jon was being a little too harsh on Will. She knew he hadn’t wanted a new partner, but even a department as small as Misty Hollow’s force needed two detectives.
Considering everything that had happened in this town in the last year, Darcy reflected, maybe they needed more.
“Uh, right,” Will said, straightening his spine. “This is the situation. Two injured, one male, one female. The driver of the blue car is deceased, most likely, although their boarding him for transport anyway.”
“Oh, no,” Darcy said, her hands covering her mouth. She’d seen enough death to last her a lifetime. No matter how often she saw it, or in what form, it still bothered her.
Wilson looked at Darcy, then looked at Jon. “You want me to do this later?”
“No,” Jon said. “Darcy’s a witness. Plus she’s helped our department on a lot of cases, remember? Chief Daleson trusts her. Just go ahead with it.”
The younger detective sucked on the inside of his cheek for a moment but then shrugged as if to say it was Jon’s call. “All right. Here’s our problem. We can’t find the driver for the second car.”
Jon blinked. “Excuse me?”
“The driver. Of the red car. There’s no, uh…there’s no driver.”
Darcy swept her eyes over the scene. She saw now how the fire department and the police officers were both walking around the wreckage, looking under and through everything they could, searching for something that should be there and wasn’t.
There was no driver.
“There’s got to be a driver,” Jon pointed out. “The car didn’t just drive itself into town and then run into these people!”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Wilson agreed. “We’ve looked everywhere and we can’t find anyone. The other three were in the front car. Somehow the other driver just, well, vanished.”
“Will that’s impossible. There’s got to be an explanation.”
“You think it’s possible this was a parked vehicle that slipped its gears and rolled into traffic?”
Jon was already shaking his head no. “Not with that kind of force. Not with the speed that the wreckage indicates. Look at the position of the cars. The red one hit the back end of the blue one hard enough to stop both of them in their tracks and then mangle everything into one big ball of scrap. No. It was being driven.”
“Okay, but then where’s the driver?”
“Start a search, right now. Get the guys to go building to building and ask every person they talk to if they’ve seen anyone or if someone came to their door. If our officers have any reason to suspect something is wrong somewhere then they are to do a top to bottom search of the building. I’ll call Chief Daleson and get him down here and get some more men in to help.”
Wilson nodded and started off, suddenly a bundle of energy now that Jon had given him a direction. “Put a bandage on that hand!” Jon called after him. “And run both license plates through the DMV files!”
When he turned to Darcy with an apology ready on his lips she didn’t even need him to say it. “Don’t worry, Jon. I know. You’re going to
Similar Books
La Brava (1983)
Elmore Leonard
Edith Wharton - SSC 10
The World Over (v2.1)
The Final Murder
Anne Holt
6 Grounds for Murder
Kate Kingsbury
Blue World
Robert R. McCammon
The Lost Prince
Selden Edwards
How Music Works
David Byrne
Before He Finds Her
Michael Kardos
Never Say Love
Sarah Ashley