Free The Killing Chase (Beach & Riley Book 2) by Craig Hurren Page B

about?”
    “Not really, but former Marines can be a bit headstrong.”
    “That’s definitely not a problem with us. He seems to value my years as a homicide detective, and he’s got a healthy dose of the Marine Corps’ ethos of respect for elders. I think my experience and his youthful vigor create an effective synergy. Besides, it’s good to have a big, tough guy like him around when you need him. Thanks for your concern, but I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”
    “Good to hear – you’ll need all the help you can get on this case.”
    “It’d certainly be a great deal simpler if Bryan Adler was still alive. If it weren’t for the mystifying presence of the two John Does, it would be a textbook Orphan-maker crime scene – down to the minutest detail.”
    “Any thoughts on the additional bodies?”
    “They’ve thrown us a serious curveball. I think they must have disturbed the perpetrator during the original crime, so we’re going to treat them almost as a separate case, for the sake of investigative clarity. Hopefully, the tracker from the van will give us a lead on that part of the investigation. On the Orphan-maker side, in the absence of any new information or evidence, I can only assume it had to be someone with unfettered access to the Adler case files. I hate to say it, but it may be someone in law enforcement.”
    “Be careful there – we don’t want to trigger public paranoia. Don’t mention any of this around the media. Besides, there are plenty of civilians who’ve had access to the files.”
    “I realize that, but Adler’s M.O. takes a great deal of discipline and physical strength, and judging by the size and powerful builds of the two extra bodies in Poughkeepsie, even more strength than Bryan Adler had. It seems to me the most likely candidates for suspicion are going to be particularly fit and strong law enforcement types, but we won’t let any details of our investigation get out.”
    “Hard to believe a peace officer could go that far off the rails.”
    “It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened.”
    “So, where are you going to start?”
    “After we talk to the tech lab guys, we’ll do background checks on the local Poughkeepsie police and forensic staff. After all, it was they who missed the John Does in the first place. It seems unlikely, but that fumble could have been a poorly attempted cover-up.”
    “Sounds like you’re grasping at straws there.”
    “I know, but we have to start somewhere.”
    “All right – keep me up to date when you can. And let me know if you need anything else.”
    “Will do, thanks.”
    Stopping briefly at his desk, Alan grabbed a hand taser from his drawer. He didn’t know how effective it might be against an individual powerful enough to take out two large mercenaries and carry one of them up the attic stairs at the crime scene, but it gave him a small sense of psychological security.
    At the tech lab, Foxx was deep in conversation with a man in his late twenties wearing a white lab coat. They stood at a workbench crowded with electronic equipment. From the animated nature of the conversation, it seemed Foxx and the technician knew each other quite well. Alan approached, but the two men continued their exchange as though they hadn’t noticed him, so he cleared his throat.
    “Sorry, partner – this is Mark Guthrie. We know each other from comms training in the Marines.”
    Beach shook Guthrie’s hand. “That’s a coincidence – I knew a Professor Guthrie in Columbus.”
    The technician looked incredulous. “Are you serious? He was my uncle!”
    Beach had to suppress his excitement. “That’s unbelievable. I’m so sorry for your loss – your uncle was a real gentleman.”
    “And one seriously smart dude, too,” Guthrie added. “I wanted to go into his field, but I don’t seem to have an aptitude for medicine. Besides, I prefer machines to patients – they don’t talk back.”
    Beach smiled knowingly. “I