The Bone Tree by Greg Iles Page B

well,” he says, looking around the corridor with amusement in his eyes. “Four men burned to death out by the lake, more likely shot dead, and here we’ve got everybody in the hall having a Christmas party.”
    Sheriff Dennis pulls his Stetson low over his eyes and drills Ozan with a hard stare. “What can I do for you, Captain?”
    Ozan pretends to notice Dennis suddenly. “You? Nothing. Your whole damned parish is falling apart around you, and you seem powerless to stop it. I’ve come to officially inform you that, as of now, the state police have assumed control of all criminal investigations originating in this parish over the past three days. I want all the relevant files boxed up and ready to go in fifteen minutes.”

CHAPTER 8
    SHERIFF WALKER DENNIS’S face has gone through about six discernible shades since Captain Ozan declared he was taking over all his investigations—starting at pink and arriving at purple. But when Sheriff Dennis speaks, his voice somehow remains under control.
    “We seem to have some jurisdictional confusion, Captain. Those crimes happened in my parish, and I’ve got the staff and resources to investigate them. That’s what I’m doing now. We don’t need assistance. Not from the state police or the FBI.”
    A chuckle of ridicule escapes Ozan’s thin lips. “Sheriff, you ain’t worn that badge but six weeks, and it shows. You can’t even manage the pitiful resources you do have. You should have called us the second you heard what happened out at Brody Royal’s place.”
    John Kaiser clears his throat and turns his gaze on Ozan. “Just what do you think did happen out there, Captain?”
    Ozan smirks, emboldened by his successful intimidation of Kaiser earlier tonight. “Well, I’ll tell you, Agent Kaiser. We’ve got one of Mr. Royal’s security personnel lying dead out by Mr. Royal’s driveway, his throat cut. Then we’ve got an elderly African-American gentleman gunned down outside the house. The firemen just dragged two more bodies clear of the wreckage, one of whom has a massive shotgun wound. And then there’s the basement, which appears to contain the remains of three people—one of whom might be Brody Royal. It’s still too hot to get down there to get a positive ID. But however you slice it, that’s a multiple-homicide scene, and Barney Fife here hasn’t got the experience or the budget to properly investigate it.”
    Kaiser looks sharply at Sheriff Dennis, hoping to stop him from doing something that could cost him his job. “Captain, under what authority are you taking over Sheriff Dennis’s jurisdiction?”
    Ozan barks out an incredulous laugh, then hooks his thumbs inhis trousers and turns to give Kaiser his full attention. “I thought we’d straightened this out back at the hospital. Murder’s a state crime, and that’s the end of it. You didn’t argue then, and I don’t expect any lip now.”
    To my amazement, Kaiser’s face remains calm. In fact, I see what looks like a trace of anticipatory pleasure in his eyes.
    “I’m going to have to take exception with your opinion, Captain,” he says in a tone of mild regret.
    Ozan draws back his head, squinting. “Exception to what ? You federal boys ain’t got a damn thing to do with murder, unless you’re invited in by local authorities. Even then you’re only there to advise. We say who comes and goes from that crime scene. We handle all the evidence. And we make the arrests . By the way, I’m gonna be detaining both Mayor Cage and his girlfriend for questioning right now. Questioning as suspects .”
    “ What? ” Caitlin cries, her face going red.
    Kaiser holds up a restraining hand.
    “I’ll use one of the sheriff’s rooms to start,” Ozan continues, “but if necessary, I’ll have them transported to Baton Rouge.”
    Everyone in the hallway is watching Kaiser, wondering if he’ll keep playing out the milquetoast role he began at Mercy Hospital. For a moment he purses his lips as