Free The Chill of Night by James Hayman Page A

photographers was already gathering at the front. The two detectives snuck along the side of the building, using a pair of parked vans bearing the logos of the local NBC and Fox affiliates as cover. The idea was to get to Maggie’s car and drive away unnoticed. It didn’t work. Luke McGuire, the crime beat guy for the Press Herald , spotted them first. ‘Hey, McCabe,’ he shouted. McCabe stopped. Game over. The reporters surged forward, shouting out questions and shoving microphones in his face. He turned to face them. Dealing with the press had never been McCabe’s strong suit. In fact, Chief Shockley had warned him more than once that if he didn’t stop snarling at journalists he’d be involuntarily enrolled in a course at USM called Effective Media Relations. Or, as Maggie put it, SmileyFace 101.
    ‘Hey, McCabe,’ McGuire repeated, ‘who’s the dead woman? What’s her name?’
    McCabe tried to put on his best friendly yet serious face. ‘Sorry, Luke, I’m afraid we don’t yet have positive identification. Until we do, she’ll be listed as Jane Doe.’
    Two or three others shouted out questions more or less simultaneously. ‘How was she killed? Are we calling it murder? What’s the body doing on the Fish Pier?’
    McCabe held up one hand for silence. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please. The ME’s office hasn’t made an official determination on cause of death. We’ll let you know as soon as they do. To answer your second question, the circumstances of her death are under investigation.
    ‘Is it true the body’s frozen solid? Stuffed in the trunk of that car over there?’ The question came from Josie Tenant, an on-camera reporter for NBC’s News Center 6. Tenant was, without question, the most aggressive of the locals. Rumor had it she was also Tom Shockley’s secret playmate du jour. Tenant’s record as the conduit of leaks on major cases suggested it was more than rumor.
    ‘Well, since the body’s been outside in subfreezing temperatures for at least two days, I’ll let you draw your own conclusion. I’m afraid that’s all for now. Detective Savage and I have a lot of work to do. I’ll ask you all please to stay back and respect the crime scene. Officers have been instructed to keep everyone out of the area until it’s been totally cleared. Thank you.’
    They managed to reach Maggie’s car without answering any more questions. In the background McCabe could hear Tenant begin her live report. ‘Tonight there’s breaking news from the Portland Fish Pier. Earlier this evening the body of an unidentified woman was found stuffed into the trunk of a car illegally parked at the end of the pier. According to anonymous sources close to the investigation, the victim, who appeared to be in her twenties or early thirties, may have been Portland attorney Elaine E. Goff. However, identity has not yet been confirmed. Detectives on the scene told News Center 6 the victim’s body had been stored in the trunk long enough for it to freeze solid in the record low temperatures …’
    ‘Goddammit!’ McCabe slammed his fist hard against the dashboard of Maggie’s car. ‘Sonofabitch just couldn’t resist rewarding his little bedmate.’
    McCabe pulled out his cell phone and speed-dialed Shockley’s direct line at police headquarters. As Maggie eased the car forward, Shockley picked up. ‘Hey, Mike. How you guys doing down at the pier?’ He sounded echoey, as if he were talking on speakerphone. ‘By the way, Bill Fortier’s been briefing me on the case.’ Well, that, at least, answered one question.
    ‘With all due respect, Chief, we’d be doing a whole lot better if you could hold off talking to your special friends in the press.’ These last words were delivered with more than a spoonful of sarcasm. ‘At least until we know for sure who the victim is – and maybe inform her next of kin?’
    ‘McCabe, that’s an outrageous accusation. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ McCabe heard