“That bus tragedy was horrible,” Lott said, stopping over the two women. “But not sure why both of you decided to continue to live it over and over.”
West looked up at Lott and just shook her head. “You don’t understand yet, do you, detective?”
“It wasn’t horrible,” Lynch said, looking at Lott with cold, dark eyes. “It was gloriously wonderful.”
“Better than we had planned,” West said.
“A lot better than we had ever hoped,” Lynch said.
“Glorious,” West said, softly. “Just glorious.”
With that the two women reached forward and took each other’s hands.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Three Weeks Later…
September 3rd, 2015
5:30 P.M.
Las Vegas
LOTT UNLOADED THE snacks and drink supplies for the game later while Julia got the bucket of KFC on the kitchen table and then put out a few large piles of napkins and three paper plates.
In theory, Andor was bringing a new cold case for the gang tonight and Lott had made him promise to not make it personal to him or Julia. They hadn’t taken on a new case since finally getting rid of Lynch and West.
Both Lynch and West had spent the last three weeks on suicide watch as the national news descended on Las Vegas. A media storm didn’t even begin to describe what hit.
The chief had done as he had promised and kept the three of them, plus Doc and Annie and Fleet, out of it all. When asked how the police had come up with all this and solved this very cold case, he had just said simply, “Great detective work.”
All the bodies had been removed from the mines and the bus graveyard and all but a few of the victims had been claimed by families.
The national news for a week was full of funerals all over the west as closure finally came for so many.
And the chief had also played up the rescue of Missy Andrews from Montana and her last minute save from an oven. Luckily, Missy made a full recovery and remembered nothing from the moment in the parking lot with a flat tire to when she woke up in the Las Vegas hospital.
Gory details about the two killers had come out, and slowly more and more charges were being placed against them, both in state courts and in federal courts, since kidnapping and murder over state lines were federal crimes.
It seemed like every district attorney with a victim wanted a part of the two killers. It was going to take a lot of time to sort out who got to them first. More than likely the Feds would win, Lott was sure.
Doc and Annie and Fleet had headed back to Idaho after a few days and Doc and Annie had gone in rafting on the River of No Return in central Idaho, where Doc was a guide. They were due out in three more days.
Lott had only had major nightmares a few times during the last few weeks, and Julia had been there for him on both.
She had had her share of bad dreams as well, and he had been there to help her through those. A perfect team to fight nightmares.
But for Lott, it seemed that closing this case, locking up the two killers, cleared out so many of the nightmares that had haunted him for years.
And now, after three weeks, that was feeling very light and freeing and he was ready to get back to work on another case.
Just as Julia got the plates out and Lott had taken the lid off the tub of KFC to release the fantastic smell of hot chicken into the kitchen, the back door opened and in walked Andor, followed by Chief Beason.
Lott was surprised, but not that surprised. He had come to really like and admire the chief and how he handled all this massive turmoil.
“Wow, does this place smell great,” Beason said, smiling.
“Great seeing you, Chief,” Julia said as she grabbed him a paper plate and a pile of napkins and pointed to a spot at the table where Annie usually sat.
“Great seeing you as well, Chief,” Lott said. “Andor tells me things are finally starting to calm down some.”
“Some,” Beason said, slipping around to the spot Julia had pointed to at the table. “I just wanted to come by and thank all three of you personally. And the Cold Poker Gang in general.”
Lott smiled. “Thanks,” he said.
Julia nodded, as did Andor in agreement.
“But thanks go to you,” Lott said, “for giving us the permission to do the job we love and make a difference.”
Chief Beason laughed. “I get three of the best detectives I have ever had the pleasure to meet working for me for free and making me and the rest of the clowns down at headquarters look smart. What’s not to love on my side?”
“Perfect,” Lott said.
“We got a new case,” Andor said, pointing to a file he had put on the counter.
“One close to my heart,” Chief Beason said, smiling. “So hope you all can pull your magic on that one.”
“Oh, great,” Lott said, shaking his head, but smiling.
“By the way,” Beason said, “I do have one bone to pick with you three from this last case. You could have saved me going into that basement.”
Andor laughed and shook his head. “You and Couch and Landers needed to see that to really understand the depth of sickness of those two women.”
“And the scale of the tragedy that needed to be dealt with,” Julia said.
“Yeah, I know,” Beason said. “Just glad no cameras were around to catch the three top law enforcement officers in the area all throwing up together. Felt like a bad night back in college. First time I ever lost my lunch over any crime scene.”
“You weren’t alone with that one,” Lott said.
“So what is your secret?” Beason asked. “Besides being smart and having your daughter and Doc and Fleet helping, how does the Cold Poker Gang solve so many unsolved cases?”
“You honestly want to know?” Andor asked, staring with his look of intensity at the chief.
Lott smiled at Julia.
“I do,” the chief said, looking slightly puzzled that his light question was being taken so seriously.
“KFC before every meeting,” Andor said, pulling the bucket toward himself and grabbing a wing.
“He’s not kidding,” Julia said, yanking the bucket to her and grabbing a wing as well.
“He’s not,” Lott said, grabbing a leg and biting into the juicy, warm meat.
The chief smiled, shook his head, and then pulled the bucket toward himself and grabbed a thigh, biting into it and letting the grease get on his face.
“See what I mean?” Andor asked.
The Las Vegas Chief of Police nodded and smiled. “I do. I feel smarter already.”
“Best crime-fighting food ever,” Lott said, holding up a half-eaten chicken leg in salute.
They all saluted with their own half-eaten chicken part, and with that the laughter filled the room and the Cold Poker Gang was ready for a new case.
The Cold Poker Gang Mysteries continue with the next book in the series, Bad Beat, available soon from your favorite bookseller.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith published more than a hundred novels in thirty years and hundreds and hundreds of short stories across many genres.
He wrote a couple dozen Star Trek novels, the only two original Men in Black novels, Spider-Man and X-Men novels, plus novels set in gaming and television worlds. Writing with his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch under the name Kathryn Wesley, they wrote the novel for the NBC miniseries The Tenth Kingdom and other books for Hallmark Hall of Fame movies.
He wrote novels under dozens of pen names in the worlds of comic books and movies, including novelizations of a dozen films, from The Final Fantasy to Steel to Rundown.
He now writes his own original fiction under just the one name, Dean Wesley Smith. In addition to his upcoming novel releases, his monthly magazine called Smith’s Monthly premiered October 1, 2013, filled entirely with his original novels and stories.
Dean also worked as an editor and publisher, first at Pulphouse Publishi
ng, then for VB Tech Journal, then for Pocket Books. He now plays a role as an executive editor for the original anthology series Fiction River.
For more information go to www.deanwesleysmith.com, www.smithsmonthly.com or www.fictionriver.com.
Look for These Other Titles from Dean Wesley Smith
Cold Poker Gang Series
Kill Game
Cold Call
Calling Dead
Bad Beat
Doc Hill Series
Dead Money
“The Road Back”
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Table of Contents
Dedication
Calling Dead definition
PART ONE
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
PART TWO
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
PART THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
PART FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
PART FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Calling Dead
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Look for These Other Titles from Dean Wesley Smith
Copyright Information
Calling Dead: A Cold Poker Gang Mystery Page 13