Pokrewne

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Anne Rothman Hicks & Ken Hicks Praise Her, Praise Diana (v5.0)
Colin F Barnes [Code Breakers Code Breakers Alpha (v5.0) (ep
Cheryl Ann Smith [School for The School for Brides (v5.0) (e
Carly Phillips [Lucky 01] Lucky Charm (v5.0) (epub)
Diana Palmer [Long Tall Texan Donavan [SR 843, MD 1020] (v5.0
Diana Palmer [Long Tall Texan Harden [SR 783, MD 1004] (v5.0)
Anne Perry [Thomas Pitt 01] Cater Street Hangman (v5.0) (ep
Clive Cussler [NUMA Files 08] Paul Kemprecos (v5.0) (epub) id
Colleen Gleason [Gardella Vam Bleeding Dusk (v5.0b) (epub) id
Autumn in the Highlands Horton, Spring

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.” He turned to Ruiz.“You saw that last bit, about the new school because he’s getting pushed around? Again with that noise.Fuck that.I can afford that?” He turned to Maureen.This happened when his ex came up, Maureen had noticed.By being female she somehow became a stand-in for Quinn’s ex when he got worked up over her.“There’s KIPPs and charters and all that shit now,” he said.“He doesn’t have to go to the Catholic school.So he’s a little short.He’ll grow.He’s a normal fucking kid, it’s her that makes him feel like there’s something wrong with him.Always taking him to the doctor, tests for this, tests for that.Jesus.Kid’s a fucking mess because of her.”Not just the kid, Maureen thought.Ruiz, himself happily married and the father of two daughters, put a big hand on Quinn’s shoulder.“Like you said, bro.He’ll grow up.Kids bounce back.”“He’s ten,” Quinn said.“He hasn’t even hit puberty yet, already she’s cut his balls off.” He looked over at the abandoned house, shaking his head at the sirens, the lingering neighbors, the trash tumbling around in the street, the scent of a freshly sparked joint.“Those fucking schools she likes cost a fortune.Every one of them.” He tossed his notepad in the tall grass.“Fuck this.Why are we standing here like a bouquet of dicks? They don’t care.We don’t care.Fucking pointless, the load of it.Rue, let’s roll.I’m outta cigarettes.”He stalked away.Ruiz hesitated for a long moment.“He’s getting worse,” Maureen said.She retrieved Quinn’s pad from the grass, gave it to Ruiz.“It’ll pass,” Ruiz said.“He’ll smooth out.He goes through phases.You haven’t been around that long.” He raised his chin and narrowed his eyes at a tall figure, Detective Sergeant Christine Atkinson, from Homicide, walking their way through the red and blue lights.“Just the same, let’s keep it in house.”Ruiz, not waiting for Maureen’s reply, nodded at Atkinson as he walked past her in pursuit of Quinn.Atkinson was a tall blonde in her late forties, partial to old blue jeans, older cowboy boots, and faded men’s button-down shirts.She had a chaotic mop of curls hovering around her head, huge hands, and the wide back and shoulders of a lifelong swimmer.“So the dead guy isn’t the property owner,” Atkinson said to Maureen.Maureen shook her head.“There’s a man’s name across the bottom of the signs.I did confirm that’s the property owner.You want me to get you that number?”“I’ve already got it,” Atkinson said.“Thanks, though.He’s on his way.” She took a drag on her cigarette.“Quinn and Ruiz have nothing for me, I take it.”“Not the slightest,” Maureen said.“It’s been a tough canvass.The usual resistance.”“Well, damn.I’d hoped you all would make this an easy one for me.”Maureen smiled.“Sorry to disappoint.”“Was there somebody squatting in the house?”“Nobody on the block said anything about a squatter,” Maureen said.“And judging by the signs, I don’t think they were even worried about drugs.They wanted the place cleaned up.The whole rest of the block, it took years, but they’ve rebuilt after the storm.” She shrugged.“They’re trying to work, put the kids through school.Normal-life shit.They’re pissed this last house has been left to rot.Like a reminder.”“Hard to blame them,” Atkinson said.“You think he’s a gutter punk?”“Nah.The clothes weren’t right,” Maureen said.“I didn’t see any tattoos.And they hardly ever make it this far uptown.” She knew Atkinson was testing her.The detective had already reached her own preliminary conclusions.“It’s not impossible, but I don’t think so.”“Tell me, then,” Atkinson said, “what you think happened in there.”“My first thought is the obvious one,” Maureen said.“Sexual assault, going by his pants being down.He gets her into the house, whips it out, she whips out her weapon, previously hidden on her person somewhere, and slashes him dead.”“Why go into the house with him, then?” Atkinson asked.“Why not show the weapon before she’s trapped?”“Drugs? They went in the house to get high, he got wrong ideas, started feeling romantic, got aggressive, and things went bad.”“Possible,” Atkinson said.She dropped her cigarette in the street, crushed it out.“Drugs are always a good place to start.That’s no small wound he’s got.Ugly.Whoever cut him got him with something special.Something she, presuming it is a she, which I’m not sold on, had on her.Nothing found in the house could do that.” Atkinson sucked her teeth.“I’m not so sure the killer is female.There’s some serious strength behind that cut.”“You could do it,” Maureen said.“I eat.I exercise,” Atkinson said.“Sometimes I even sleep.I’m not a spirit in the night like this guy.He wasn’t in that house with someone he met at the gym.”Maureen shrugged.“Okay.Same narrative then, only he’s in there with some guy.Maybe one of them was tricking [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]