Unknown Victim by Kay Hadashi (top 10 books of all time txt) 📗

been wondering,” Gina said. “If someone lost a real Rolex, they’d be in a panic, right? So, why hasn’t someone been around looking for it? If it belonged to one of my workers, or one of your CSI techs, they’d be back here looking for it, right? But they’re not. That’s what makes me think it came from the dead man.”

“You’re an honest woman, Miss Santoro.”

“Why do you say that?”

“If someone else had found this under similar circumstances, it would’ve been listed at eBay by now.”

“Maybe. But I just don’t feel right about keeping something that belongs to someone else, even if he’s dead.”

Detective Kona dropped the watch into a small evidence bag. “Just to verify, none of your crew said anything about losing their watch?”

Here came the redundant questions of a police interview, she thought. “I would think that if they had, they would’ve freaked out and the entire crew would’ve looked for it. I’m pretty convinced it didn’t belong to one of them. Anyway, who would wear a Rolex to work in a garden?”

“Reasonable conclusion.” Detective Kona made a call summoning a CSI team to come to the estate.

“Why are they coming back?” Gina asked.

“First, to ask if they lost a watch when they were here earlier. Then to search for anything else that might’ve been dropped or lost.”

“It’s almost dark. You don’t want to wait until tomorrow morning?”

“I think you know from your training that the sooner a scene is investigated, the more reliable the evidence. Mostly, I just want them to sweep the area with metal detectors. It shouldn’t be long.”

“Okay if I go in and make my dinner?” she asked.

“Not yet. I have a few more questions for you.”

“I’ve told you everything I know about the watch, Detective.”

“My questions aren’t about the watch. When I had a few minutes, I checked into your background. Apparently, when you were with Cleveland PD, you never completed your field training before quitting the force? What’s that about?”

Gina felt embarrassed, especially since she’d been acting like an expert with the investigation into the dead body. Her little secret that she’d hoped she had left behind had been exposed. She kicked a pebble.

“Yeah, I’m a quitter.”

“I’m not looking for self-judgment. I’m just interested in what happened.”

“Why?”

“You’re my prime witness in the investigation into the discovery of a dead body. I need to know if you’re going to remain a witness or go onto my suspect list. And I need to tell you that list still has no names on it.”

“Why are you growing a suspect list? Do you think foul play was involved in his death?”

“Nice try, but I’m not going to let you sidetrack my earlier question. Mind telling me why you never made it out of field training? Or should I request your service record from Cleveland PD?”

Gina wondered for a moment if he was actually able to do that. She took a deep breath and started.

“I was involved in a shooting. No one was hurt, and the shooting review board found no blame, but while I had the mandatory administrative week off, I gave my career a lot of thought. There wasn’t much of a decision to make, which was to walk away and find something else to do for a living. That’s when I went back to school in landscape horticulture. That happened three years ago, and now here I am, starting my new occupation with a dead body on the first day of work.”

“That happens sometimes. Why not complete your field training and ease your way back into work? Or simply make an adjustment in your career and become a CSI technician? The pay is about the same and you wouldn’t have to deal with perps nearly as much.”

“I also decided to never pick up a gun again. I wanted nothing to do with police work. I’d learned the hard way how easy it is to get in trouble with a sidearm.”

“Who was almost shot?” Detective Kona asked.

Gina wanted a cigarette to calm her nerves, a habit that wasn’t necessarily broken yet. “Father Romano. He’d been our parish priest since before I was born. I almost shot the priest that baptized me. As it was, I crippled the Virgin Mary.”

“Wait. How…”

“When I missed Father Romano, the bullet hit a statue of the Virgin. Perfect shot through her knee. He had the statue repaired with the chips of marble that still remained, but a nine millimeter slug pretty much obliterates a knee, even one made of marble.” She took another deep breath, wishing it was tobacco-flavored. “I still can’t believe I blew away the Virgin Mary.”

“And you’re a devout Catholic?” he asked.

“Not anymore. I haven’t been to church since then.”

“Pretty harsh self-punishment, isn’t it?”

“Maybe, but I just can’t shake the feeling I’m no longer welcome,” she said quietly.

The CSI van came across the bridge and parked. Detective Kona told them what the situation was and what he wanted done. Both technicians got out high-tech metal detectors, and while wearing headphones wired to the detectors, one of them swept the area in front of the house in a gridwork pattern. While he did that, the other swept the haystack of grass clippings that Gina had made that afternoon.

“That wasn’t the only thing I found on your service record. You also received a commendation for above and beyond the call of duty, recommended by your field training officer. Pretty unusual for a rookie to get something like that. What happened that time?” Kona asked while they watched the others work.

Gina crossed her arms. It seemed nothing was private about her previous career. “It was nothing.”

“They don’t hand out commendations for nothing, Miss Santoro.”

“I think it was more of an over-reaction by Butch, Sergeant Morrison, than anything real. It was mostly a way of diverting my attention from the shooting onto something positive.”

Detective Kona simply looked at her, waiting for an answer.

“Earlier on that same shift as the shooting at the church, we got a call that a robbery