She Who Watches Read Online Free Page B

notebook, noting the time and weather conditions. Warm evening, fading light, FBI and OSP crime lab on scene.
    â€œWhat do you make of it?” One of the two men in suits asked as he fingered some hard, white fragments on the floorboard of the car.
    The second man leaned into the Audi. “Looks like some kind of shell or something.”
    â€œProbably a busted spark plug,” Mac offered.
    â€œA what?” The second guy, a heavyset man with a paunch, whipped around to face him.
    â€œIt’s a piece of an automotive spark plug,” Mac repeated as he pulled on his latex gloves.
    Both men stepped away from the car, eyeing Mac and Dana as if they were onlookers rather than official investigators. Mac and Dana produced their badge wallets, displaying their credentials. Then with his hand extended, Mac said, “Detective McAllister with the Oregon State Police. This is my partner, Dana Bennett.”
    â€œI’m Agent Jim Miller.” Miller, a well-proportioned man with a receding hairline, shook Mac’s hand, then Dana’s, and nodded to the larger man. “This is Agent Mel Lauden.”
    Once the introductions were made, Agent Miller cast a dubious eye on the two detectives. “What’s the deal? You two with the crime lab or something?”
    â€œNot the lab,” Mac explained. “But we are OSP.We’re assigned to the Violent Offender Unit out of our Portland office. We were dispatched at the request of the governor’s office to act as a liaison between our agencies.”
    â€œI don’t remember requesting OSP involvement, other than the crime lab. Ms. Watson is apparently a missing person, and so far there’s every indication this is a kidnap investigation. You know that falls under our jurisdiction, not yours or the Portland Police Bureau.”
    â€œWe are well aware of your authority,” Mac said, annoyed by Miller’s arrogance. “But we need to make you aware of some political ties that Ms.Watson has to a member of our state government. Sara is Senator Dale Wilde’s niece. She’s the only daughter of the senator’s deceased brother. The senator is Oregon’s state senate majority leader, and the governor requested we offer our full cooperation and assistance. So, if you have no objection, we would like to be involved.”
    â€œNo objections here. Just so you know who’s calling the shots.” Agent Miller sounded more like a man making a personal challenge than an agent having a professional conversation with colleagues.
    Mac swallowed back the urge to confront him. He didn’t like playing a second-fiddle role in his own town, especially not to the “Famous But Incompetent,” as Philly generally referred to the FBI. But then, Philly did tend to accentuate the negative. As much as Mac hated to admit it, the feds were the best when it came to kidnappings and ransom negotiations.
    â€œSo what was this about a spark plug?” Agent Lauden gestured to the white material on the floorboard.
    Mac suspected the question was more to break up the awkward silence than to make an inquiry. He moved closer to the car, taking a moment to scan the interior before answering the question and before accepting a piece of the hard, white fragment from Agent Lauden. “It’s an old auto thief trick.” Mac rolled the tiny fragment in his gloved fingers. “Car clouts take a spark plug or shattered pieces of a plug and pack them for easy concealment for breaking into cars. The porcelain is dense in these plugs, designed to withstand some serious heat and friction. That makes the material a phenomenal tool for shattering glass. The thief throws a little piece of this, and the glass shatters like a bullet hit it. The beauty is that there’s very little sound. Once the glass is broken, all the perp has to do is peck out the safety glass, and he has entry. The good ones will put duct tape on the glass before