Lloyd Corricelli - Ronan Marino 01 - Two Redheads & a Dead Blonde by Lloyd Corricelli

good twelve hours when the doorbell woke me. I forced myself out of bed and found Shea at my door.
    He had two cups of Dunkin Donuts coffee, a bag of chocolate crullers and a manila envelope. He grimaced when he saw me.
    “The rumors are true. You look like shit.”
    “That seems to be the general consensus, Gary.”
    He handed me one of the coffees. “I hope you like it regular.”
    I did, regular being cream and sugar as every good New Englander knows. We sat in my living room and he looked around, nodding his head in approval.
    “Nice house. How the hell can you afford this kind of place?”
    “I saved a ton of dough in the service,” I lied. “A major gets paid pretty well especially when you spend half your time in a tax free warzone.” One day I’d get around to telling him the truth.
    “Good for you, Ronan. So, a little bird says you’ve decided to actively look into your girlfriend’s death.”
    “That chubby little bird has big mouths.”
    He tossed the manila envelope to me. “It’s the preliminary autopsy report. I thought you might like to take a look at it. I didn’t bother to copy the photos; didn’t figure you’d want to see those.”
    “You’re right. What’s the bottom line?”
    He sipped on his coffee, talking between slurps. “The cause of death was drowning.”
    “That was in the paper. You have any leads?”
    He shook his head no. “Not yet. Garcia said her apartment was pretty torn up.”
    “I’ve got a good idea who did it, too.”
    “Who?”
    “I was in there searching through her stuff when I got jumped.”
    “You’re lucky they didn’t whack you.”
    “No shit, but they just wanted to scare me off.”
    “Of what?”
    “Damned if I know. How come you guys didn’t search her place earlier?”
    He adjusted his glasses and looked at the floor. “Morley dropped the ball.”
    “He any good?”
    “What do you think?”
    “I’m not impressed.”
    “My assessment, too. He’s been on the department forever without any real talent. His attitude is pretty lackadaisical, and he’s just riding out his time to retirement.”
    “His breath ain’t so great either.”
    “He’s got some kind of gastrointestinal problem.”
    “Whatever. I’m surprised you’d tolerate shoddy work.”
    “He’s Superintendent Halloran’s brother in-law.”
    “Well, that explains it. How about Garcia?”
    “Good kid with tons of potential. Unfortunately, he’s starting to learn some bad habits from Morley. Too bad I don’t have a guy like you to show him the ropes.”
    “Is that a job offer?”
    “I could pull some strings. You’d have to test and then ride patrol for the first year or so, but after that if things went well, I’d bring you upstairs.”
    I didn’t want to bust his bubble just yet. I needed his help and was afraid he might take a no as a personal affront.
    “I’ll seriously consider it. I’ve got to settle this first.”
    “Fair enough. Did you find anything interesting in the apartment?”
    “No drugs or anything that might have indicated use.”
    I trusted Shea, but I held back on giving up the bank statement and business card until I learned more myself. I was still struggling with what I suspected and wasn’t emotionally ready for anyone to confirm my suspicions.
    “The toxicology indicated she had lethal levels of cocaine and heroin in her system,” Shea explained. “If she didn’t drown, the drugs would have killed her. Funny thing is there was just one injection point in her neck and no track marks on her body. I’ve never met a junky who shot up in the neck.”
    “That’s because she wasn’t a junky.”
    “I’d have to agree,” he replied.
    “Someone wanted to make damn sure she didn’t survive after she went into the river. She served in the Navy, Gary, so I’m fairly certain she could swim. It looks like you’ve got your cause and manner of death.”
    “Agreed, that’s why we’re now treating it as a homicide.”
    “As it should