Cry From The Grave (Chapter 26)

Cry From The Grave

Chapter 26

     Darkness fell in a thick shroud across Interstate 70 as the Dodge Sprinter sped westward toward Innsbrook. Both Ballack and Tori felt trepidation at returning to the lakehouse, but there was little choice. They were pleasantly surprised to find Sheilah and one of her forensic companions closing up shop when they arrived.

     "Well, this is convenient," said Ballack when he descended from the van. "What's the good word?"

     "Looks like everything was left as you described earlier," said Grimshaw. "And unless the perp was especially stealthy, it looks like no one interfered. Steve," she continued to her co-worker, "can you put the boxes in the car?"

     "Maybe Bowie was just interested in a quick getaway," Tori wondered aloud.

     "Bowie?" Grimshaw looked confusedly at Ballack.

     "Forget it," Ballack shook his head. "What do you have?"

     "We found all the bullets we could. How many do you recall being fired, if you can muster the memory?"

     Ballack shut his eyes, replaying the morning's terror frame by frame. He slowed down, hit his mental fast forward, then rewound and played again. Finally, he opened his eyes.

     "Eight. One hit the light above the deck. One hit Zane in the chest. Three in a row when Missy charged out there. That's five, then one that went through Missy's shoulder area and then the shot that destroyed the jug in the kitchen. That was followed by a final shot that popped the glass door."

     Grimshaw whistled. Tori grinned. "I told you he was good for something."

     "Great memory," said Grimshaw. "We found seven and the one that hit Zane would be the eighth. Only one had blood on it and that's got to be the one that went through Missy."
     "And the bullets themselves?" asked Tori.
     "All of them were Remington..."
     "The 22 Long Rifle Golden Bullet," Ballack interposed. "Velocity of over twelve hundred feet per second. Plated hollow point?"
     "Every last one," said Grimshaw. "You must have info on the other one that hit Zane."
     "This is going to be a nightmare tracking down," Tori groaned.
     "Only fingerprints in the place belonged to you guys," Grimshaw shrugged. "The motive obviously wasn't to swipe what you were looking at, with everything as it apparently was. Either the shooter wanted to kill you or scare you away."
     "Failed on the first, accomplished the second," Tori nodded.
     "Bowie's going to wish he had eliminated us," Ballack griped as Tori placed the ramp over the steps of the house. "Thanks for all your work here, Sheilah."
     Grimshaw waved goodbye but then turned to look out over the lake, the waves rippling in a pastoral flow in the darkness. "Devastating, really. If violence takes place out here, no one is immune."
     "No one ever was," replied Tori.
     Ballack rolled toward the ramp. "That's safety for you," he snorted. "The stupidest idol in the history of the planet."