Read Dead Ringer for Free Online Page A

Jacob ventured. "How navigable is the river in this area?"
    "Good,
if you've got a flat-bottomed boat. The water is five or six feet deep."
    Jacob
kept his gaze leveled on Alderson's face. "Who's Ruth?"
    The
guy didn't flinch. "Ruth? I don't know a Ruth. Is she the woman who was
killed?"
    "Just a question."
    "Then
why ask?"
    "I'm
going to be asking a lot of questions."
    "What
do you know at this point?"
    Again with the attitude. What was it about rich guys who
thought they could take charge of any situation? "Can't say."
    "You're
not being very helpful, Detective."
    "No."
    Alderson
narrowed his eyes. "Who's your boss?"
    He
didn't hesitate to answer. "Sergeant David Ayden. Would you like his number?"
Ayden wasn't afraid to go to the mat for his detectives.
    Alderson
nodded. "Yes, I would."
    Jacob
pulled out a piece of paper from a notebook he carried in his back pocket and
scratched out Ayden's name and number. He held it out. As Alderson reached for
the paper, Jacob glanced at the man's hands. Smooth,
pristine, long fingers; buffed nails; and, most importantly, no sign of trauma. A woman being strangled might fight back and scratch her attacker's hands. But
there was nothing on Alderson's hands.
    "I'm
going to have more questions for you," Jacob said as Alderson tucked the slip
of paper in a pocket.
    "Frankly,
Detective, I don't like you. I'm only interested in dealing with your boss
now."
    "Suit
yourself." He dropped his voice a notch. "But I can promise you, Sergeant Ayden
won't release this site until I give the all clear. And the more you slow me
down, the longer it's going to take."
    Alderson
heard the underlying message behind Jacob's words: I can be a badass too. The developer was still annoyed but he nodded curtly. "All right, I'll play it
your way now."
    "I
want to talk to Burrows one more time." He'd hoped the forced wait in the cold
might have jogged a few details loose from the party chief's mind.
    Alderson
raised his hand and called out, "Burrows!"
    The
surveyor lumbered over to them. "Yeah, boss?"
    "This
is the lead detective on this case."
    Burrows
nodded. "We already talked."
    "Talk
to him again."
    "But
you said..."
    "Forget
what I said. Tell him what you know. And don't hold back. I want this job site
reopened as soon as possible."
    Burrows
glanced at Jacob. "Sure."
    Jacob
flipped open his notebook. "Tell me again what happened from the moment you
found the victim to the moment you called nine-one-one."
    Burrows
sniffed, glanced toward the yellow tape. He recapped what he'd already told
Jacob.
    "Have
you seen her around here before?" Jacob asked.
    "What,
that woman? Hell no. No women on the survey crew. And no one in their right
mind would come out here in January unless it was for money." He glanced at his
boss after realizing what he'd said.
    "Did
you see anyone else lurking around the property?"
    "No one. It was a typical morning."
    "No
hunters? No cars? Tire tracks?"
    Burrows
shifted his stance and hesitated. "Well, there was one guy. We caught him
trespassing about a week ago. He seemed harmless enough."
    Most
likely he was, but the detail couldn't be ignored. "What happened?"
    "It
was before the storm. He was out here last Monday or Tuesday. Buzz, one of the
surveyors, spotted him by the river. We told him it was private property. He
said he used to hunt here with his dad when he was a kid. The place had special
meaning to him. Anyway, we told him to hit the road and he did."
    "That's
it?"
    "Yep. I forgot all about him until today."
    "Can
you describe him?"
    "Honestly,
I didn't give the guy much thought. Medium height. Wearing a thick parka, and a hat and gloves."
    Jacob
shifted his gaze to Alderson. "Who owned the property before you?"
    "The
entire tract is two hundred acres and was owned by about a dozen different
families. I can get you a list."
    "Good. The sooner the better."
    "Sure."

    Kendall
and her cameraman arrived at Alderson's River Bend site just as the body
removal team's hearse and the