The Secret Friend Read Free Page A

a paper target. ‘Take a look at this shooting, boys. See the nice, tight pattern right here in the centre? This belongs to Darby McCormick, the girl standing at the end there. Nice job, Darby. Want to know why she beat the rest of you? Because she’s got her stance down and she knows to squeeze the trigger and not to jerk it. You’re dismissed. Darby, I’d like a word with you.’
    Gautieri waited until after the recruits left before he spoke. ‘What kind of ammo are you using?’
    ‘Triton .40 S&W, one thirty-five grain,’ Darby said. ‘The one-stop shots approach ninety-six per cent.’ ‘That’s some serious firepower.’ ‘A lot of law enforcement agencies use it.’ Gautieri looked back to the paper target and grinned. ‘You pissed off at anyone I know?’
    Darby’s clothes reeked of cordite. When she stepped into the parking lot she saw her lab partner, Jackson Cooper, leaning against her black Mustang.
    With the exception of his short, blond hair, Coop bore a striking resemblance to Tom Brady, the quarterback for the New England Patriots. Coop wore jeans and a black North Face fleece jacket. He was adjusting the brim of his Red Sox baseball hat when Darby stepped up to him.
    ‘What are you doing here?’ Darby asked. ‘I thought you took the day off.’
    ‘I did. I spent it with Rodeo.’
    ‘You were at a rodeo?’
    ‘No, that’s the name of my girlfriend. Row-day-oh. I got your message about your meeting with the commissioner. I tried calling but you weren’t answering your phone.’
    ‘I turned it off.’
    ‘I called the lab. Leland told me you were here, so I decided to swing by. He also wanted me to tell you the files you requested have been delivered to the lab. Fill me in on what’s going on.’
    For the next twenty minutes Darby filled him in on her meeting with Chadzynski and her review of Emma Hale’s clothing.
    ‘What do you want me to do?’ Coop asked after she’d finished.
    ‘Tomorrow morning, I’d like for you to take a look at the Virgin Mary statue and see if anything was overlooked.’
    ‘I’ll do it now.’
    ‘Don’t you want to get back to Row-day-oh?’
    ‘No. I had to fake an emergency to get out of her place.’
    ‘How did you do that?’
    ‘I used her phone to page myself, then told her I had to go to a crime scene.’ Coop grinned, pleased by his cleverness. ‘I’m going to break up with her. It’s not working out. She’s into all this artsy-fartsy shit. Last night she made me watch Bareback Mountain.’
    ‘I think you mean Brokeback Mountain.’
    ‘Given what those two dudes are doing up in the mountains, I think I was right the first time.’ Coop smiled. ‘Did you talk with Bryson?’
    ‘I left him a message, but he hasn’t called back.’ Darby took out her car keys. ‘Do you know Tim?’
    ‘Does anyone know Tim?’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘You know what I mean. Bryson’s real private. Do you know his partner?’
    ‘Cliff Watts.’
    Coop nodded. ‘Cliffy has worked with Bryson for almost a decade and he doesn’t know anything about the man. Has never been to his home, never went out drinking with him. Cliffy is solid. Appointing Woody was a good choice, by the way.’
    ‘What is it with guys and nicknames?’
    ‘It’s how we show affection, Freckles.’ Coop pushed himself off the Mustang. ‘We should get going. Weathermen are saying we’re going to get a nor’easter. They’re predicting two feet.’
    ‘I’ll believe it when I see it. Last Monday they said we’re going to get a foot and I woke up to two inches.’
    ‘I bet that’s not the first time you woke up to two inches.’
    ‘Tell me about it. Remember last month when you passed out on my couch? I saw you in your boxers and let’s just say there’s a whole lot of truth to that Irish curse thing.’
    ‘Very funny. I’ll see you back at the lab.’
    Seated behind the wheel, Darby started the car and turned on her phone. There was one message: Tim Bryson had returned