Free Spider's Web by Mike Omer Page B

blood as well. She stared at the pool of blood on the road in disbelief. How much blood had the girl lost?
    “Will she be okay?”
    “Do you know her?” Tanessa asked him. He was about twenty-five, stubble on his face, thin glasses on his nose. He looked dazed, confused. Tanessa couldn’t blame him.
    “Yeah, I do. I don’t know her name, but she was a waitress in The Wild Pony .”
    “The Wild Pony?”
    “It’s the local bar. It’s a few blocks that way,” he said, pointing.
    “Tanessa, check this out,” Sergio called.
    She walked over. He stood near a dark lamppost, which leaned sideways, its base bent.
    “The car crashed into it after hitting her,” Tanessa said.
    “Sure looks like it.”
    “So…” she said, trying to create a mental picture of the accident for her report. “It came from there, hit the girl over there, and then lost control, crashing into the lamppost. Then probably reversed a bit, and drove away in that direction.” She pointed.
    “Sounds right,” Sergio said.
    “Excuse me,” the witness called.
    Tanessa turned. “Yes?”
    “It didn’t drive away in that direction.”
    “I’m sorry?” Tanessa said.
    “It drove away in the other direction.”
    Tanessa frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense,” she said.
    “Maybe the car hit the lamppost first, then hit the girl and kept on driving,” Sergio suggested.
    “Doesn’t look like it. Not the way the lamppost is leaning,” Tanessa said. “It’s leaning away from the spot the girl was lying in.”
    “Sir,” Sergio said. “Was the lamppost maybe broken before the accident?”
    “Well, it was fine a few hours ago.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yeah, I would have noticed if it was broken when I came home from work.”
    Tanessa’s skin crawled. “That would mean,” she said slowly, “that the driver hit the girl, lost control, hit the lamppost, then reversed his car, turned it around… and fled down that way.” She pointed at the pool of blood.
    They all stared at the narrow street. The pool of blood was surrounded by parked cars.
    “There’s no way he could have gotten around her,” Sergio said.
    “He drove over her,” Tanessa said, feeling sick. She thought of Tamay, lying motionless, her body twisted unnaturally.
    “Jesus.”
    “We should inform dispatch.”
    This wasn’t a random hit and run anymore. This was beginning to feel like something much more sinister.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
     
    A blue Honda Civic pulled in and parked by the accident scene, and Tanessa didn’t need to glance inside to see who was driving. She knew that car well, had been in it numerous times. She’d ridden in the front seat to her first day at the academy, and after her graduation ceremony as well. She’d once sat in that car for forty-five minutes, crying, blowing her nose into one tissue after the other, as her brother consoled her, telling her there would be other guys. And, on a memorable night, she had thrown up all over the backseat after drinking six vodka shots on a stupid dare.
    Mitchell got out of his car and walked over. Tanessa stood by the temporary roadblock they had raised, prepared to intercept any car that might want to drive through.
    “Hey, Mitch,” she said, trying to sound casual.
    “Hey, Sis,” he replied, smiling at her. “So what do we have here?”
    “A hit and run,” she said, and cleared her throat. “Except it looks like the car turned around and ran over the victim again as it was escaping.”
    “Any witnesses?”
    “A guy named Troy, he’s over there. He didn’t see it happening, just saw the car driving away.”
    “Then how do you know what happened?”
    She walked him through their reasoning, the angle and location of the lamppost, the corresponding location of the pool of blood. When she finished, her brother just looked at her. He said nothing, but she could see a tiny spark in his eye. She knew that look well, and was filled with relief, knowing he was proud of