Fatalis

Gearhart put the phone away and went back to the cab. Danza excused herself to brief the press.

Though the sheriff had gone through the drill with Mahoney, he wasn't convinced that an animal had done this. Scavenged perhaps, but not killed or taken the driver. His gut told him this was a thrill-kill, as Danza had said.

In Vietnam and in Los Angeles, Gearhart had seen people do sadistic and bizarre things. Some of them were worse than this. Now, as then, he didn't spend time trying to understand why they did it. He tried to find evidence that pointed to who was responsible and where they might be now or the next day. And then, whether it was in a humid jungle or an overcrowded city, he did one thing more.

He made sure they didn't do it again.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ha

Oops! Dropped it. Sorry.

What was the worst the sheriff could do. Arrest her? Gearhart wouldn't want to give her the publicity. But she was afraid that he'd bar her from other sites, so she behaved herself.

It was just before eight-thirty in the morning and a dozen reporters were packed into a small area ten feet from the tent on the north side of the beach. Sandbags and the breakwater kept them from getting closer on the other sides of the tent Ha

In the meantime, Ha

At eight-thirty, Andrea Danza finally came out to speak to the reporters. The woman had on her stern, official face, which meant she'd be giving tight-lipped, cautious answers to soften the bad news. Ha

Danza began the short "briefing," as she called it, by stating that highway patrol still didn't know what had caused the accident. The tires of the truck were intact but there was no information yet about the condition of the brakes, the steering, or other vehicle systems. Danza said that she was not authorized to release the name of the driver until his next of kin had been found and notified. She agreed to answer a few questions.

"Can you tell us anything we hadn't already figured out?" Ha

Several of the reporters laughed.

"What would you like to know?" Danza asked.

"What do the police think caused the accident?" Ha

"That's still under investigation."

"Is there any speculation?" Ha

"You know that we never speculate on situations of this nature," Danza replied.

"Was the driver drinking?"

"That has not yet been determined."

"Ms. Danza," said another reporter, "is there anything new on the missing engineers?"

"Sadly, no," she said. "That search has been expanded but nothing has turned up."

"Have there been ransom demands?" the report asked.

"No," said Danza.

"What are the patrol boats doing offshore?" Ha

"They're sweeping for contents of the cab that may have washed out with the tide," Danza replied.

"Was the driver alone?" another reporter asked. The way he asked implied something salacious.

"There is no one else in the truck at present and no evidence that anyone left it," Danza answered.

"It's been over two hours," Ha

That question caught Danza off-guard. Her pause, though momentary, surprised Ha

"Until the investigation is complete," Danza said.

"Shouldn't the coroner be involved with this investigation?" Ha

"By county law and policy, no," Danza replied. "It was the decision of Chief Traffic Investigator Idestrom of the highway patrol to treat this tragic incident as an accident. The CTI invited the sheriff's criminalistics team to work on the driver's remains, and their investigation had been in progress for over an hour. Unless Mr. Gomez and his group finds possible criminal cause and the crash site is turned over to Sheriff Gearhart, the coroner is not required to make an on-site evaluation. Now, if you'll excuse me-"

"Has the criminalistics team found anything to suggest foul play?" Ha

"It would be premature to comment on any of that while the investigation is ongoing."

"It wouldn't be premature to deny the existence of any marks," Ha

"I'm sorry," Danza said, "but I'm not going to comment on any details of this investigation." She excused herself and began walking toward her car, which was parked up on the shoulder with the other cars.

This was bullshit. Ha

Then it hit her.

"Madam Chairperson, is there a body in the truck?" Ha

The woman kept walking. Ha

"Ms. Danza, that's an easy question," Ha

The woman looked up at Ha

"For what, Andrea? Wiggling or lying?"

"Breathing," Danza said. "Right now, Ms. Hughes, I wouldn't answer if you asked whether the sun was shining."

"The body's missing, isn't it?" Ha

Danza shut the door and started the car.

"Why are you keeping this from the people?" Ha

Danza drove off. Snarling in frustration, Ha