Page 15 of Girl, Reborn

Or a murder.

‘This dam,’ Luca said. ‘When did it goup?’

Carl scratched his stubbled chin. 'Bout ayear ago, give or take. Told us it was for the greater good, that we'd allbenefit in the long run. Buncha nonsense. Ain't nothin' benefited ‘round hereexcept the weeds.’

‘Did Toledo have anything to do with it?’

A shadow passed over Carl's face, and hismouth thinned to a grim slash. 'Damn right he did. Boy was the one leadin' thecharge, promisin' the moon and stars to anybody who'd listen. Had folksdownright hypnotized with his fancy words and big city dreams.'

‘But not you,’ Ella guessed.

Carl harrumphed. ‘I've lived too long tofall for that kind of crap. Knew Toledo was trouble the minute he rolled intotown, smilin' with those fake teeth. But folks 'round here, they was desperate.Woulda believed anythin’ if it meant a little hope.’

Ella digested it. A slick politicianmaking promises he couldn't keep, a town withering on the vine, a convenientcorpse left to rot in a dead man's field.

‘This dam. What’s it done, exactly?’

‘Brought a drought, and a damn curse.Blocked off our main water supply, so we’re parching down here while guys inBristol are drowning in it. And it hasn’t rained in God knows how long.’

Ella glanced over the field at the spotwhere Toledo's body had been found.

Drowning.

‘Surely it can’t be legal to cut off waterto a whole town?’ she asked.

‘Like hell is it legal. Legislation saysthat in times of a drought, the higher-paying towns get priority. That’ll beBristol.’

Ella was about to press further when thechirp of a radio cut through the thick air. Tucker unclipped the device fromhis belt and barked into it. There was a burst of static, then a follow voicefiled the frequency.

‘Sheriff, coroner is ready with the body.’

’Ten-four,’ Tucker said, then turned toElla and Luca. ‘Body’s ready for viewing, if you folks are interested in seeingwhat a dead politician looks like.’

Ella felt a familiar itch kindle under herskin. The thrill of a lead begging to be chased. A dam. A body. A drenchedvictim with no obvious cause of death.

It was an explosive mix, one that couldgive her answers before this whole thing spiraled out of control.

She needed to see the body. Needed to lookinto the face of Ricky Toledo and try to divine what secrets he'd taken to hiswatery grave.

‘You ready?’ She nudged Luca.

‘Just try and stop me.’

‘Thank you, Mr. Jessup. You’ve been a greathelp.’

The game was officially afoot now. AndElla had never been one to back down from a challenge.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Ella slouched against the wall of thecoroner's office lobby. There was a radio playing somewhere, and it chafed herlast nerve like a cheese grater to the frontal lobe. The place had all theambiance of a dentist's waiting room complete with wilting ficus in the cornerand chairs upholstered in an eye-gouging pattern – visual assault in furnitureform.

Luca was flipping through his notebook ina chair beside her. He nudged her and said, ‘What do you make of this damsituation?’

‘Could be anything. Assassination, jiltedmistress, some fundraiser faux pas.’

‘No. I mean the dam. The thing that causedthis drought.’

Ella chewed her cheek as she mulled itover. The dam. The albatross around Liberty Grove's neck, apparently. Chokingthe life out of the land like a concrete noose.

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