Page 15 of Out to Get Her
“There’s… a man. In the bathroom.”
“WHAT?!”
She ignored Zach’s shriek of concern and took a step toward the man and the toilet. He was slumped downward, wedged between the toilet and the wall. His pants were on—thank heavens for small favors—so it didn’t look like a heart attack mid-dump.
Why would a man be taking a dump in Grandpa’s bathroom in the first place???
She reached a leg toward the guy and nudged his backside with her foot.
No response. No flinch. No nothing.
Her heart beat fiercely in her chest, and her breath came in fast, shallow pants.
“Zach? I’m gonna have to call you back.”
ChapterSix
Samantha nodded curtlyand stepped inside as a pale, shaken Erin opened her door wide and gestured down the hall. Under better circumstances, it might have been a thrill to see her two days in a row. But she took no joy in seeing Erin like this.
Or in whatever Samantha was about to find in that bathroom.
When she called, Erin only said she’d found a man in her grandfather’s bathroom. Dead, she thought. Erin said he hadn’t moved, and she didn’t see any signs that he was breathing. Samantha had wanted to stay on the cell with Erin, but she needed to request backup and an ambulance, just in case whoever this was still had a chance. Since Samantha had been nearby checking on Addie and the restaurant, she’d beaten everyone else to the scene.
“Stay here, please,” she said, leaving Erin in the living room.
The bathroom light was on. Samantha slowed her approach and reached for her gun. When she peered around the corner, it was clear she didn’t need it. The man was still slumped face down and wedged between the toilet and the wall, just as Erin had described in that eerily calm voice during their call a few minutes ago.
She kept her gun out but aimed it upward as she reached with her other hand to find a pulse. It was difficult, but she managed to lean awkwardly over his body and reach his neck.
Definitely dead, although how she couldn’t tell yet. She had a good idea who this guy was, even if it made absolutely no sense.
She returned her gun to its holster and pulled out her radio. “Cancel that ambulance. We’re gonna need the coroner instead.”
When the confirmation came in, she used her phone to take photos of the body from several angles, as well as photos of the rest of the bathroom. Even without any signs of foul play, a dead intruder was suspicious enough.
Samantha tugged at the guy’s shoulders to dislodge him. She was stronger than her lean, long frame led most people to assume, but this guy was a good two-hundred-fifty pounds of literal dead weight jammed into a corner.
Finally, she yanked him free and twisted him onto his back to lay the body on the floor in front of the toilet. She panted for a second, catching her breath while she studied the man.
“I know that guy!”
Samantha hung her head and sighed. “I thought I asked you to stay in the living room.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t work for you, and this is my house. Sort of.”
Right. In addition to being the town’s alleged petty arsonist, Erin was also known for being a not-great rule-follower. Especially not a polite-suggestion-follower. And now they could add not-great-request-follower to the list.
“That guy was in the gas station when I got into town. Would not shut up talking to that poor cashier,” Erin said. “Hegruntedat me.”
That sounded like Paul Latiolais. “You won’t have to worry about his grunting anymore.”
Samantha was surprised at how calm she was. Even by her own unflappable standards.
She didn’t see a lot of death first-hand in this town. Most everyone died of old age or heart conditions or at the hospital after an accident. Very little of that fell under her jurisdiction.
But this was someone she knew, and he was somewhere he shouldn’t be. Even if he’d died of natural causes, this was definitely her department.
No blood. No obvious bruising or other injuries. No signs of a struggle in the room.
