Free Memorial Day: A Mick Callahan Novel (The Mick Callahan Novels) by Harry Shannon Page B

When she hit her head, or somebody else hit it, the blow compressed her brain and damaged the lining. She had lots of internal bleeding that probably would have killed her eventually, but I'm willing to bet you dollars to doughnuts the pathologist will nail the actual cause of death as drowning."
    "Bullshit. In less than a foot of water?" Bass asked. The question came out with a rasp, and there was a lot of emotion behind it. I made a mental note.
    "Well, you got your two kinds of drowning," Doc said. I think he was enjoying himself. "In a wet drowning, and most cases are like this, the lungs are aspirated full of water. Person kept trying to breathe. In a dry one, kinda rare, there's a sudden laryngospasm when the first water hits the throat and then everything inside seizes up. No air, no water, no nothing. Lights out. I'd say she's a wet drowning."
    "Hang on," I said. "That's absurd. You think her death was some kind of accident?"
    Doc shrugged. "I'm just saying the beating alone would not have killed her, maybe not even the fall she took. We don't know why she drowned."
    I held his eyes. "You're saying her death wasn't necessarily murder. It might have been some kind of freak accident?"
    "Well, I'm not saying that a deliberate, murder one homicide is totally out of the question." Doc was becoming visibly uncomfortable. It was all he could do not to look to Bass for a cue.
    Bass finally said: "Look, this poor sonofabitch over here got tied up and stuck in the back of the neck by something sharp. Not much doubt what happened. I think what Doc is saying is that with Sandy, what it seems like it is could turn out to be different. We're gonna have to wait for the autopsy in Elko to know for sure. Until then, it doesn't do us much good to speculate."
    I wanted time to think. "I guess you're right."
    "She sure was a pretty one," Doc said. "Damn shame I never got to . . ." Bass glared. Doc caught himself and backpedaled. "I'm just making conversation, didn't mean nothing by that."
    I turned to the sheriff. "It's hard not to figure Sewell for this, whether it was deliberate or not. I assume you're going to grill him?"
    Bass didn't answer, but I was stating the obvious. I pressed him anyway. "And maybe suggest to Bobby that he and his friends don't take any sudden vacation trips to Mexico until the report comes back?"
    "Already done both," Bass said. "Not that it's any of your goddamned business. Why are you so interested in my procedure here, Callahan? What's on your mind?"
    "She wanted my help. I guess it's as simple as that."
    I drew the sheet back up over Sandy's face without asking for permission. Then I looked at Doc Langdon for a cool, steady moment. "She deserves respect," I said. "Everybody deserves respect."
    "I'll see to it," Doc said. His upper lip was beaded with perspiration.
    "You do that."
    "And I'll be back in the morning, Doc," Bass said evenly. "Mr. Callahan, let's go for a stroll, just you and me."
    We went out the front way, onto Main Street. The night was fast approaching, crouching on the boulders. The coming darkness felt more oppressive than liberating.
    Long shadows slid along the desert floor. I licked two fingers, held them up. "Bit of a breeze still. Seems somewhat cooler than last night."
    For a few long moments, there was nothing but the sound of boots crunching in the dirt and the gravel. After a time, Bass grunted and replied, "Cooler? Yeah. Most likely it will be"
    "Last night was pretty bad."
    "It's not normally that hot this time of the year."
    "I know. Could have fooled me, though."
    Boots again, scooting along the cracked cement. Bass was tightly wound. His skin was tanned and dark, and seemed stretched as the leather in his holster. He stared off towards the sunset, squinting.
    "So. How long you plan on staying around, Callahan?"
    "Gosh, since we're getting so close again and all, you may as well start calling me Mick."
    "I got enough information to make out two statements and type them up,"