Read Even the Wind: A Jonas Brant Thriller for Free Online

it. Had to resort to storing some of the poor souls in refrigerated trucks outside. Wait till the press gets a hold of this. They’ll have a bloody field day. And you know who’ll be to blame.’’
      ``Let me guess. Budget problems?’’
      ``Aye, and a bit more.’’ Heinz sighed as the beginnings of a smile began to form. ``Anyway, you didn’t come this way to hear me blather on about money problems and that’s not why I asked you. Who is this, by the way?’’
    ``Clatterback. John Clatterback, sir.’’  
      The younger detective bowed his head slightly in deference to the doctor.
      ``Sir, is it? Well that’s a damned sight better than what most of you lot call me. Welcome aboard.’’
      Heinz handed Brant a manila envelope. A report had been prepared with the findings from the woman’s autopsy. The results, much as Brant had imagined, were conclusive. She’d died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
      ``Am I missing something?’’
      ``Let me.’’ Heinz snatched the report back. ``This woman was in perfect health, with the exception of the damage to her skull and brain caused by the impact of a projectile we refer to around here as a bullet. Her heart, liver, kidneys…all in good shape. Obviously not a drinker or smoker and I couldn’t find any evidence of drugs either in her system at the time of death or past drug use. Her face was beaten quite badly as you know. Blunt force. Someone used their fists. We also found skin cells not her own under her nails, which would indicate she had time to fight back. An indentation on her forehead would seem to indicate that whoever killed her pointed the gun directly against her skin. Curious, since the shot was actually made at the back of the skull.’’
      ``Maybe the shooter changed his or her mind, decided looking into her eyes was too much? That would seem to indicate the killer had a conscience. Maybe someone who knew her if they were able to get so close to her?’’
      Heinz considered the theory. ``Maybe, you might be right. In any event, the point of entry and the trajectory of the bullet in the brain would seem to indicate the killer must have been a good deal taller. Either that or the woman was on her knees and the killer was pointing down. And by the way, you’re a lucky man. We recovered the bullet.’’
      The medical examiner took a plastic zip lock bag from his lab coat and placed it on his desk. The bag contained a single bullet, its tip a twisted bud resembling a flower made of molten metal.
      ``It’s a pretty basic bullet. We’ve had a hell of a time with Black Talons and such lately. Bloody things are a godawful mess, I can tell you. They fragment on impact, you see. The sharp and jagged edges mean we have to be extra careful when we remove them lest someone gets their finger sliced open. Hell of a lot of damage those buggers can inflict, too. No, this one was quite benign if you ignore the fact it still killed the poor woman.’’
      Heinz smiled.  
      ``So whoever shot her didn’t want to look at her face AND he or she didn’t want to cause a mess?’’
      Heinz shrugged. ``It’s a theory. I wouldn’t want to speculate on what the killer was thinking. Beyond my pay grade.’’
      ``Where did you find the bullet?’’
      ``Here.’’ Heinz drew a line down his face. ``The left side of the jaw. The mental foramen to be exact. The point of entry was the right side of the skull behind the occipital bone.’’
      ``So the shooter was right handed?’’ Brant asked. Heinz shrugged.
      ``I’ll leave that to the forensics boffins.’’
      ``Time of death?’’
      ``The degree of putrefaction and insect activity indicates two days.’’
      ``Insect activity?’’ Clatterback’s eyes had narrowed in thought.
      ``We found maggots but no pupae. That would seem to indicate death took place between two and ten days ago. Combine that with the state of decay, and I’d say about forty-eight hours