No Honor Among Thieves: An Ali Reynolds Novella (Kindle Single) Read Free Page A

later at the autopsy.”
    “Go ahead and load him up, then” Kendra told her attendants. While they struggled to do so, the ME turned back to Joanna.
    “So you’re coming to that?” she asked. “I thought only detectives viewed autopsies.”
    “It’s my job, too,” Joanna told her. “When do you plan to do it?”
    “Probably first thing this morning,” the ME replied. “Will eight work for you?”
    “That’s fine. Both Detective Carbajal and I will be there,” Joanna said. “In the meantime, I’ll put Deb here in charge of tracking down the victim’s next of kin. Was the guy carrying a cell phone?”
    “I didn’t see one,” Kendra answered. “Probably got thrown out of the truck in the crash.”
    “Don’t worry,” Joanna said. “We’re going to be combing through this scene with a fine-toothed comb. If he had a cell phone in that vehicle, we’ll find it. What about the Border Patrol officer who called it in? Where is he?”
    “Agent Cannon,” Kendra answered, pointing. “His vehicle is there on the right, just beyond where the truck came to rest. The last I saw of him, he was talking to Detective Carbajal.”
    “Cannon drove through our crime scene?”
    “Don’t be too hard on him,” Kendra said. “He got here within five minutes of the incident. At the time, he was far more focused on possible survivors than he was on preserving evidence.”
    “Point taken,” Joanna agreed.
    As Kendra started back up the embankment, someone else was coming down. In the glow of Kendra’s flashlight, Joanna caught a glimpse of a bristling electrical-socket hairdo and had to stifle the urge to groan aloud. The last thing she needed at the crime scene was reporters of any kind. Among those unwanted reporters, Marliss Shackleford of the Bisbee Bee sat at the top of the list.
    “You’ve got no business being here, Marliss,” Joanna said coldly. “This is a crime scene. Go back up top where you belong.”
    “Come on, Sheriff Brady,” Marliss said. “Do we have to do this? Can’t you just tell me what’s going on? I heard that a truckload of LEGO boxes had been hijacked or something.”
    “ ‘Or something’ is the operant phrase for the day,” Joanna told her. “This is an open investigation. Until we’re ready to give a full press briefing, there will be no comment at all from anyone in my department.”
    “You can go ahead and deny it all you want,” Marliss prodded. “The point is I already know that a truckload of LEGO sets is involved. If you’re going to go the ‘No comment’ route, you’ll have to live with the story the way I tell it.”
    Joanna knew then that Marliss had probably been listening in on a police scanner and had learned enough to send her out in the middle of the night ready to do her stint of on-the-scene reporting.
    “I’m not confirming or denying,” Joanna insisted, “and I’m sticking with ‘No comment.’ Now, go back to your vehicle and get out of here. You’re interfering with a homicide investigation.”
    As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Joanna knew she had screwed up, but it was too late to take them back.
    Marliss perked up instantly “Did you say ‘homicide’?” Marliss asked. “I was under the impression it was nothing more than a motor vehicle accident.”
    “Go,” Joanna insisted. “Go now, before I have one of my deputies to escort you away.”
    “That’s all right,” Marliss said. “A homicide with LEGO sets on the side sounds intriguing enough. I should be able to do something with that.”
    She left then, scrabbling, unassisted back up to the highway. Joanna turned to Detective Howell. “Would you follow her and make sure that if anyone up there talks to her, especially people in my department, they understand that they will have to answer to me.”
    While Deb hurried away to do as she’d been told, Joanna turned and walked across the sandy riverbed to where Jaime Carbajal in plain clothes and Bill Cannon in his